if you ask any balderson supporters who won this race, they'll say balderson has won it outright.ociated press, which is what fox news goes by, technically has not called this race. but you heard balderson himself claim victory. and then president trump went ahead on twitter shortly before balderson spoke and said, yes, troy balderson has won this race. and he took credit for it. president trump came here on saturday to rally his supporters around troy balanced -- balderson. if he had lost this race, it would have been just an epic upset for republicans heading into the midterms. they've held onto this seat for nearly four decades, but in the end, troy balderson it appears is going to be able to squeak out a win. this is really a sign that when the republican establishment and really the entire republican party comes together, they are able to hold back this blue wave that many are predicting heading into the midterms. you also had house speaker paul ryan and republican governor all come here and back balderson. and they don't exactly see eye to eye or like each other all that muc

ohio -- o'connor, then balderson, then o'connor, now it appears balderson may win the so we waited a few minutes. >> the hottest race of the night, so many implications and we will bring you troy balderson's comments when he does take to the stage. the lead has gone back and forth, democrat danny o'connor and republican troy balderson many times back and forth, it is down to delaware county which is leaning toward the republican balderson, too close to call. byron york, author of outrage, and leslie marshall and radio host todd starnes, welcome to all of you. how much does this or doesn't this say about donald trump? he won by 11 points and tonight it is razor thin. >> this is more about the district and donald trump helps, the polls showed it going the other way and momentum going the other way but in the scheme of things we will face off. this is a setup, democrats will declare victory no matter who wins, moral victory a hello victory but a moral victory, interesting to see if a end up outside the half percentage point margin to avoid a recount, we could have a recount and delay hi

but that's all balderson really needed. when he endorsed balderson, and we've seen this happen in several races across the country, there is a trump effect. he has a very loyal base. it's a majority of the republican party. when he endorses a candidate, wave seen it again and again and we saw it today in several states, it drives out the republican base, the conservative base that are loyal to trump they come out and they basically act upon his direction. in this case they voted as he suggested for mr. balderson. >> and would you say the ohio special election was a referendum on the trump presidency as some have suggested? >> not entirely, no. because the democrat didn't make trump an issue. he knew that it's a republican district and that trump is very popular in that district and voted for him by 11 points. so the democrat did not run on the issue of donald trump. he ran on the issue of medicare, on the issue of health care. he talked about inequality. he talked about a lot of things but not donald trump because he knew t

balderson won ohio maybe. balderson is ahead -- >> you guys are going to get me in trouble -- >> but that's not the end of the story. you can take what you want and the missouri right to work same thing. you take what you want from it. we'll see, we only have 90ish days before -- we're going to find more out soon. >> more wendy's. >> go to wendy's, go to sleep -- >> double spicy chicken. >> disgusting. not healthy. >> oh, really? >> back to earth here. minutes from now, paul manafort's deputy rick gates returns to the stand for a third straight day as he lays out for the first time the roam he and manafort he says had and talks about the detail of it within the trump campaign. also there is no relief in sight for the firefighters on front lines in california. it could take weeks to get the state's largest fire ever contained. and of course we are following the results in ohio as they pour in, a thrace is too clorace tha call. can democrats eke out a win? i'll have ask the vice chair of the democratic national

for troy. >> right from the beginning troy balderson, he is the guy. >> troy balderson is going to help me do that. right, troy? troy? yes. okay. he said yes. if he said no, i'm out of here. okay? >> tremendous troy. and trump tweeting in part today, "ohio vote today for troy balderson for congress." so will the gop win and turn around trump's losing record on special locatielections? he's 1 for 3 for endorsements when it comes to a democrat versus a republican. it's a nail-biter and the last special election before the mid-terms. first, though, this hour we also have breaking news about president trump's former campaign chairman paul manafort. his right-hand man rick gates face a grueling cross--x admitting to an afarks a secret life, and lie after lie about money. and the question now is who will jurors believe, the acued liar paul manafort or the admitted liar rick gates? cara scan nell is outside the courthouse. how did it go for manafort? >> well, manafort was really trying to put rick gates on trial today. his defense lawyers were hammering gates about his lies about his admitted

this isn't about o'connor and balderson. all due respect to both their campaigns, they've both made some good plays in this race. we've been doing our research. but, van jones, do the democrats have the better case in these midterms? >> well, i mean, first of all it does matter that we are right now watching a race where the republican is running on flat ground, and the republican is running uphill in the rain with short legs, and they are neck and neck. we should not be within one point of anybody in a district that red. something is happening out there. we've forced republicans to spend 5 million bucks in the middle of the summer. this he had to fire donald trump, all his weaponry, and we're still neck and neck at this time of night. something is happening out there, and i think it has to do with the message on both sides. donald trump is causing himself problems. he's stepping on his economic message with all this nonsense that he does. and you've got somebody who is out there running for the democrats saying, i'm going t

his republican opponent troy balderson by 754 votes. whatever ends up happening, there is the possibility an automatic recount by end up being trigger. both candidates are running against each other anyway. 90 days from now in the midterm election. tonight both danny o'connor and troy badderson are looking ahead to that november showdown. >> we are fighting for a better america. we went door to door. we went house to house. we made our case for change. we're going to make that case tomorrow. we're not stopping now. tomorrow we rest and then we keep fighting through to november. let's go out there, let's get it done. let's change this country. thank you all. >> it's time to get to work. over the next three months, i'm going to do everything i can to keep america great again. so that when we come back here in november, get ready, we've got to come back here in november, i have earned your vote for a second time. >> okay. so it was not a concession there from the democrat o'connor, more of a hey, i'll see new november kind of statement. le

can balderson get ahead of o'connor. if he does that, that is going to be a key thing tonight. >> so the numbers with we are going to see right now, counting that early vote. wildly in favor of democrat o'connor. don't bracket that. my question to you is we know trump carried the district by a healthy margin. this has been a republican district for quite some time. >> a perfect story of the republican party in the era of donald trump. historically been a republican district because of the columbus suburbs delaware county. talking higher income, white collar professional, think of john kasich, congressman from this district. that strain of republican used to be the heart of this district. in 2016, what we saw happen with donald trump on the scene, franklin county it was dead even when it was obama versus romney. the flip side is when you get outside of franklin, outside of the wealthy suburbs of delaware and into the blue counties of rural. you saw some of the biggest swings in the country from romney in '12 who did terri

troy balderson. and let's repeat the way we opened the hour from our decision desk, and this is boston germane and important to everything we're watching and trying to understand tonight, this race is too close to call. we will not be calling this race tonight. so look, there's a possibility you'll see other news organizations give estimates or the like. we are not. that's where we stand, separated by 1,754. as steve kornacki has so ably laid out for us, we have something north of 3,400 so-called provisional ballots. we believe this is triggered the state's own system to look back through all the votes cast. this is going to be a while. and let's not forget, they get to run again in november. before we were interrupted by the republican candidate, we were talking to garrett haake at democratic headquarters. garrett, you were talking about how it has to be half victory speech, half concession speech, although officially neither. >> reporter: that's right, danny o'connor leaving the door open to contin

and we must elect troy balderso balderson.get your family and to get out and vote for troy on tuesday. >> sandra: president trump campaigning for troy balderson who is in the fight of his life and tomorrow special election. the latest polls show balderson, a state senator come up with just one point lead over democrats in ohio's 12 district. the race is being closely watched restaurant carried the district by 11 points in 2016. the fox news power rankings now rate the ohio 12 a toss up. kristin fisher's live in columbus, ohio with more. >> this is widely viewed as balderson's race to lose. last time a democrat won this district was nearly four decades ago, and yet here we are, election he eve and this race s razor tight. even if balderson can squeak out a win, the governor said the fact that this race is so close should be very telling and troubling for republicans heading into the midterm. >> it doesn't bode well for the republican party because this shouldn't even be contested. >> governor kasich's concern that it could hurt

his republican opponent troy balderson by 1754 votes. whatever ends up happening, there is the possibility an automatic recount by end up being trigger. both candidates are running against each other anyway. let's go out there, let's get it done. let's change this country. thank you all. >> it's time to get to work. over the next three months, i'm going to do everything i can to keep america great again. so that when we come back here in november, get ready, we've got to come back here in november, i have earned your vote for a second time. >> okay. so it was not a concession there from the democrat o'connor, more of a hey, i'll see new november kind of statement. let's take you through. one of the reasons this was so closely watched tonight is what clues do we get from these ruts tonight for that november midterm election? you can see the margin here sits at 1754 votes. i can zoom in closer on the district. i want to show it you inside the counties in a second. beak the issue is this. when we say too close to call, 1754 is the margin fo

it is a guy named balderson. age old message that works in midterm election. it works until it doesn't work. you are the opposition party and don't control everything and you say you know what, how about a check? >> and that is true and look at what is happening in washington with president trump. all over the place with a million things. he has no one cohesive message. he should be talking about one thing, the economy or health care. but you see him tweet about everything, and talking about ten different things. if you are saying i don't like politics anymore, you might say, okay, let me go with this new guy. >> and we mentioned this earlier in the hour, the republican candidate here, he tried to close out the race by ginning up enthusiasm in his hometown. zanesville is a small city, rural district. shown in this video circulated by the o'connor campaign. >> we don't want someone from franklin county representing us. >> a third of the voters come from franklin county. balderson tried to explain his gaffe today.

balderson ahead. if you told them at the start of the night they were going to get turnout and support they got at franklin they'd say they won. the republicans getting bailed out by the rural areas where trump surged in 2016. >> steve, so are we going to have more votes counted tonight? >> the procedure and the rule in ohio is that no provisional ballot is counted for at least ten days after the election. >> okay. so you've created a bit of suspense there. we're going to come back to you, steve, in a minute. msnbc correspondent garrett haik joins us from the o'connor headquarters in westerville, ohio. garrett haik, a group of democrats there waiting for their first victory in over 35 years in this district. what's the latest from there? >> well, lawrence, it sounds like they're going to have to wait a little bit longer. they're trying to keep enthusiasm up here, but as steve pointed out the numbers are just really, really tough to make up for this democratic campaign here of danny o'connor, who by a

danny balderson -- i'm sorry, troy balderson. essentially declaring a victory. we have not called it yet. all the votes are not in. but if things continue on in the way that they are going, it is likely balderson will be declared soon the official winner. i want to call back in my political dream team. gloria, you mentioned john kasich. >> he didn't. >> he mentioned trump and pence, the person who had the seat before, but he did not mention john kasich. >> and many others. >> and many others. and the rest, like gilligan's island. >> kasich was late to the game, grudging in his endorsement, and that was obviously, and he did it, and i still believe that kasich helped him. >> and also because of the comments kasich made on the sunday shows, questioning whether balderson requested trump to come there. balderson came out and said i was happy to have the president come here. >> doesn't like kasich either. >> i've got one question for ryan. the president loves to talk about how he backs winners. i want you to check this out when trump has made endorsements in republic

so maybe he can help balderson. but, you know, he and balderson disagree on medicaid money for the state. john kasich said let's take it. balderson said no. and kasich doesn't like donald trump. so it's kind of a -- it's kind of a mixed bag there. it will be interesting to see what influence, if any, kasich has in this race, and what influence he really wants to have, to be honest. >> dan narcotics kris kobach, who obviously helped field the president's unfounded claims of voter fraud who headed up that commission and was disbanded, he is running for governor of kansas. if he wins the gop candidate there, could that help democrats' chances in november? >> they sure think so. that's one of the things they've been crossing their fingers and toes all day. they want the republican who the president endorsed to win the primary in the governor's race in kansas. >> why? >> because they think that he is much more -- they know that he is much more beatable -- i shouldn't say that. they feel very confident that he is much mor

balderson? the question is turnout. if they don't show up, then the democrats, the vote is tied or likely to push danny o'connor across the finish line. >> melissa: the president's post pelosi's puppet looking see which one sticks what do you think of that. >> plots' puppet and raise your taxes that is correct that has to appeal to middle class voters around columbus. maxine waters probably is going to carry too much weight with those people. and, again, trump has got to hope that he can rally enough republican voters in a largely republican district to come out and vote on tuesday. because, if they don't, melissa, this bodes poorly for a lot of open republican seats that aren't as republican as ohio 12. >> melissa: why is it that these guys are so tight then? is it the fact that o'connor is pretty moderate and he feels, you know, more centrist or is there something inherently weak about troy balderson as a candidate? >> you know, they are both standard politician. troy balderson is a state sena

troy balderson has my vote.r vote, too. >> i have so many people to thank tonight, my son joshua, his fiance, my girlfriend melanie. i want to thank god. my mom and dad. the thousands and thousands of volunteers. i would like to thank president trump. i would also like to take the time to thank vice president pence. congressman pat teaberry. chairman steve stivers. there's many others, i could go on and on. >> republican troy balderson he thanked a loft people last night for his narrow lead in ohio's special election. but he didn't thank the state's republican governor. he didn't thank john kasich, joe, who held the same congressional seat and who vouched for balderson with ohio voters. balderson holds a raiser thin edge over democrat danny o'connor, but the race is too close to call in a district that went republican by almost 37 points less than two years ago. welcome back to "morning joe." it's wednesday, august 8th. kind of a special day. >> it's a special day. katheri katherine scarborough's birthday. >> we

balderson had a bout a ten-point lead a month or so ago. it is now a one point race according to the polls. this in a state where president trump one and has been republican for decades. why so tight? >> that's a good question. it could be a number of reasons. despite the economic success that president trump has seen that there is concern about the tariffs they are talking about. that there is general concern with the trump presidency. it's a state that supported trump but it is a swing state. it is a sign or a part of the democratic trends going into the november election. some people think it will be a blue wave. >> john: here is a quote from earlier in the week. republicans worry that and energize republican base, o'connor's a big fundraising lead puts the seat at risk. the significance is magnified by the fact that is the final special election before the midterm. people will be looking at this as a test to the president's power. >> absolutely. the fact that the president is going there today up the pressure on him. it is a sign of whe

that has been helpful for balderson.eal to get the endorsement. >> blake: when you look at the monmouth university poll as a coin flip 62% of the people said it's important to show that their vote is for the president or against. it does this race. >> i think the folks voting for o'connor are going to be voting because of what's going on in washington. i think that is going to have another effect after the rally. that number will increase. there will be more republicans that cohere the president and will be for him. that number will increase. we have a polarized country. the 12th think aggression will district is polarized. we are at war on many things. >> blake: it is also a district that has a double the amount of republicans than democrats. >> that is true. what kind of republicans are we talking about? if you want to go into the nitty-gritty, it is a highly affluent district. income around $60000. a lot of educated republicans. a different type of republican district. even in other conversations you have different ty

balderson currently leads o'connor by less than one percentage point., o'connor refusing to concede, balderson quick to claim victory. >> i'd like to thank president trump. [ cheers and applause ] america is on the right path, and we're going to keep it going that way. over the next three months, i'm going to do everything i can to keep america great again. >> as we see division and discord tearing apart our country, we must remember that each and every one of us are god's children and that all of us need to be treated with dignity and respect. and i think we could use a lot more of that spirit in washington these days. >> president trump taking some time out from his working vacation to declare balderson the winner and take credit for it, even though the outcome is not quite yet official. the president tweeting, "when i decided to go to ohio for troy balderson, he was down in early voting, 63%-36%. that was not good. after my speech on saturday night, there was a big turn for the better. now troy wins a great victory during a very tough time of year fo

the problem for troy balderson 100% in here, here, here, here, here. which leaves us delaware county. 53-46, this race got tight. we had a sea saw in the fast hour, because troy has started to stretch a little bit bigger of a lead here in delaware county. is 53% enough? is the 2,2900 vote margin enough? this is when you come back to the full congressional district. now you look at the county, 201 vote difference in what should be a solid republican race. we should not be covering this race tonight, this should be a republican win, the fact that it's so close tells you it's a steep hill for republicans this year, obviously if you're a republican from ohio, if you're keeping track, you want to win this one tonight and worry about the rest later the question is, we got more votes to count, we're at 91%. >> you have a question for you. all the votes are not in, they could come in late usually if there's a scenario or case like this, what is the timing here, and is it moment by moment? is it more moment by moment now? >> now we're just waiting, every state

that is who troy balderson is, when he presented the opportunity.'connor on the other hand when is pushed you see the true democrat that he is. he is for nancy pelosi. elizabeth: he had a lot of pushback, almost 7 times about how he would feel about nancy pelosi. what is going to push balderson over the edge? what is the deciding factor? folks in ohio are getting tax relief, reaping or not reaping benefits? what is going to give him the final push for success to win the seat? >> having donald trump in ohio will be a fantastic energizer going into the tuesday election, republicans will be energized. at the end is a we cut taxes, troy was part of that, the president cut taxes nationally and ultimately people are thinking about their pocketbooks. can they raise their families and provide for kids and their families the way they want to and because of what is going on nationally and what we have done in ohio for the past 71/2 years many ohioans are in a better position and troy is an important part of that in 12th congressional district, voters member t

troy balderson must keep this red tonight. he needs margins something like this to offset the democratic votes closer to columbus. so watch delaware county tonight. then this, franklin county, where ryan is right now. this is the biggest county in the district. this is the biggest slice of the district. not all of franklin county is in the district, but the slice that is, you see it. it's closer to columbus. what have we seen during the trump presidency? republicans struggling in the suburbs with younger voters and especially educated suburban women. if this stays red tonight, then the republicans likely will hold the seat. if this is blue at the end of the night, then democrat danny o'connor has a chance in a seat the democrats haven't won since the reagan presidency. so if you look at this, one-third of the votes here in the franklin county part of the district, why then, oh, why? is this a gaffe? is this honesty? this is the republican candidate on election eve. >> my opponent is from franklin county. franklin county has be

balderson: my opponent has a different idea though. dishonesty daniel o'connor wants to repeal those middle-class tax cuts. [booing] sen. balderson: dishonest danny o'connor wants to take away your guns. [booing] sen. balderson: dishonest danny supports open borders and sanctuary cities. [booing] sen. balderson: dishonest danny o'connor will fight against the policies that are turning our country around. [booing] sen. balderson: and worst of all, dishonest danny o'connor will vote for nancy pelosi for speaker. [booing] sen. balderson: if you want someone who will fight for president trump, economic agenda, and is putting america back to work, then i need your help. and i need your vote on tuesday. i will win this election on august 7. and go to congress to fight for ohio and for the great people of the 12th the district. -- of the 12th district. thank you all very much. thank you. god bless america. thank you, donald trump. [cheering] pres. trump: he means it. he means it. he means it. thank you, troy. thank you, troy. a vote for troy'

that didn't stop balderson from claiming victory. it's time to get to work.to do everything i can to keep america great again. president tramp handed him the district in 2016. he put the full weight of his support behind balderson, going to ohio over the weekend to campaign for him. can you believe how close this is? we are in a tied ball game. regardless of who comes out on top, the two men will face each other again in november's general election. four other states held primaries yesterday. in missouri, democratic senator claire mccaskill will face attorney generaljosh hawley, a republican, in what is expected to be a close race. this is a state that voted for president trump by 20 points. 20 points. so being independent in this state means standing up to the liberal wing of your party. you guys are all fired up! and in michigan, the president tweeted that iraq war veteranjothames is a future star of the republican party after he won the primary against the democrat senator debbie stavinal. argentina's senate will vote today on whether to allow abortion in

troy balderson had not been a candidate who had gotten people here fired up. he needed that to get people back into his corner. and i think that's one of the key things here. the second is o'connor himself is not a flashy guy. he's not a unicorn. not a democratic super candidate. he's running on meat and potatoes democratic issues and if he's able to win on issues like protecting medicare and protecting social security, really base sick stuff like that, it's going to make a lot of democrats in a lot of districts that look a lot like this feel better about their changes in november. >> how much of this is about the democrats' message or is it more about as we suggested in the lead-in the open to this show that this is about a republican party that is in the middle fl an existential crisis, except for the identity of the man in the oval office? >> it's not about democrats as a national party they are messaging. you see a huge difference obviously from alexandria cortez talking about abolish s i.c.e. and danny o'connor, two different candidates. it's not even abo

you see him there campaigning for balderson. not long ago, the president weighed in on tonight's special election saying this, "when i decided to go to ohio for troy balderson, he was down in early voting. 64-36. that was not good. after my speech on saturday night, there was a big turn for the better. now troy wins and again we're not declaring that, a great victory during a very tough time of the year for voting." he will win big in november. congratulations to troy balderson on a great win in ohio. a very special and important race. for the latest, we go back to our man tonight in charge, steve kornacki, national political correspondent at the big board. the math gets more and more interesting. >> yes, and we've got a new and potentially cleaarifying piece information. take you through what we know. 1754. that is balderson's margin. that translates into a lead of 0.9%. the state law says 0.5 or less is a recount. right now, there would be no recount. why do we still call it too close to call? there are 3,345 provisionals yet

troy balderson should be writing his victory speech, but he is fighting for every vote he can get in the district against his opponent, danny o'connor. the race is too close to call. that is a surprise for republicans here because this is a seat that republicans have held solidly for decades. not this go around. what happens in this race could very well pivot on independents. we spoke to some independents out here in the district and they tell us who they end up voting for very much may pivot on how the president and how they feel the president has been doing while in office. >> i believe that a man's character is very important and i don't believe our president currently has my best interests at heart and i watched some of the things that have happened in the past few months and it's a little scary. >> you are defining decision wasn't about candidates, but the president? >> more about getting democratic back intoes office and really for the people -- into office and really for the people. >> i'm like millions of americans it is not if you like the candidate of choice, but who you di

this is basically, the guy's name is balderson. i call this the weekend of balderson's campaign., paul ryan, mike pence. >> this is going to come down to what the people decide in central ohio. we'll all be watching it carefully tuesday. we thank you, david pepper, for joining us, giving us your insights. appreciate it. >> thanks, martin. >>> lebron james may have left for the bright lights of los angeles, but the lasting legacy for his hometown. a promise kept. we'll tell you about it. i can do more to lower my a1c. and i can do it with what's already within me. because my body can still make its own insulin. and once-weekly trulicity activates my body to release it. trulicity is not insulin. it comes in a once-weekly, truly easy-to-use pen. it works 24/7. trulicity is an injection to improve blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes when used with diet and exercise. don't use it as the first medicine to treat diabetes or if you have type 1 diabetes or diabetic ketoacidosis. don't take trulicity if you or your family have medullary thyroid cancer, you're allergic to trulicity,

that didn't stop balderson from claiming victory. >> it's time to get to work. over the next three months, i'm going to do everything i can to keep america grn great again. >> president trump handedly won in 2016. he put the full weight of his support behind balderson, going to ohio over the weekend to campaign for him. >> can you believe how close this is? we are in a tied ball game. >> regardless of who comes out on top, the two will face each other again in november's general election. four other states held primaries yesterday. democratic senator claire mccaskill will face josh hawley, a republican, in what's expected to be a close race. >> this is a state that voted for president trump by 20 points. being independent in this state means standing up to your liberal parties. >> and in michigan the president tweeted that iraq war veteran john james is a future star of the republican party after he ran against debbie stabenow. >>> and in the race for governor in kansas, republican kris kobach has a slight lead over current republican jeff colyer though the race

president trump stumping for troy balderson on saturday.ant to have a border, if you want to stop the radical pelosi and waters, maxine agenda, there is only one choice in this election, that's vote for troy baldz. bald derson. at ally, we offer low-cost trades and high-yield savings. but if that's not enough, we offer innovative investing tools to prepare you for the future. looks like you hooked it. and if that's not enough, we'll help your kid prepare for the future. don't hook it kid. and if that's still not enough, we'll help your kid's kid prepare for the future. looks like he hooked it. we'll do anything... takes after his grandad. seriously anything, to help you invest for the future. ally. do it right. seriously anything, to help you invest for the future. but how do i know if i'm i'm getting a good deal? i tell truecar my zip and which car i want and truecar shows the range of prices people in my area actually paid for the same car so i know if i'm getting a great price. this is how car buying was always meant to be. this is truec

balderson has gone out of his way to not address that question directly. tried to ask him a version of that the other day. he basically said, look, i'm honored to have the president here, always happy to welcome the president here, but wouldn't address the case sick part of that directly. getting kasich's endorsement was a big deal for him. this is kasich's base of support here. i do think the idea that somehow bringing trump here has a huge negative impact. it's probably a bit overblown. there wasn't anybody in the district who doesn't like donald trump who didn't know they didn't like donald trump before saturday. >> fair enough. garrett, stick around. let me get the panel in here. we want you to stick around because you're our on-the drn ground expert. cornell, how important is this to democrats? >> i would flip it around. how important is this for republicans? not being partisan at all. there are a lot of districts out there, chuck, that are a lot more close than this district. if you have 20-point republican registration advantage. if this is a two-po

the president saturday went to that district and campaigned with troy balderson and he believes balderson that the red wave will come through and he'll be part of it. >> president trump's economic agenda is my number one focus. his economic ajeb today are work than in many, many years. reporter: they are confident balderson will have a good showing among democrats. danny o'connor says he'll be part of a blue wave and voters will go with him. the message we send will be heard in this district and around our country. reporter: there are some other primaries in kansas, michigan, missouri, and washington state. the president won all of those states except washington state in the 2016 election. some of the primaries could take the democratic party a little bit farther to the left. kennedy: joining us, for tonight's panel, jessica tarlov, tom shillue, along with republican strategist noelle nikpour. all eyes are on this race in ohio. democrats are very optimistic. this is a very red district. it shouldn't be competitive. democrats are comparing it to the pennsylvania victory with conor lamb. >>

balderson is just 17 points ahead.t is a razor thin margin hasn't sent a democrat to office since 1980, can you believe how close this is? [cheers] >> we are in a tight ballgame. and you made this possible. the grassroots individuals who have been knocking on doors, fighting for the future of our country. >> now, harris, i'm sure you are thinking when will we know with 100 percent certainty who the winner is. it could take days, if not weeks, for all of those provisional votes to be counted and then these two candidates have to turn right around and run again, they're back on the ballot, facing off against one another in november. harris? >> harris: yeah, it's so important that people catch what you said because of where those provisional and absentee ballots potentially are coming from. it probably wouldn't tip to that percentage where they would need a recount. thank you for making that point. another race that's too close to call at this point the republican gubernatorial primary in kansas. where do we stand with th

that is vote for troy balderson. he's going to help everybody.get the job done. >> dana: when the president specifies it is maxine waters and not you. >> jesse: no relation. >> dana: troy balderson benefited from president trump coming, whether it can turn into a win, who knows. >> jesse: the president says he's going to be campaigning 5 to 6 days a week. that's a lot of political capital he's going to be spending in the midterm elections. he understands the stakes are high because pelosi running the house coming or going to have congressional oversight, subpoenas, potential impeachment. it's going to be an absolute disaster. i don't know what's going to happen in the ohio district if balderson wins. the media says he's expected to win. and he loses. it's going to be a huge momentous upset that's going to showcase the trend of the democrats retaking the house. we will see what happens. >> dana: geraldo, you are from ohio. if this is a special election, whatever happens tonight, then they go on to campaign again and they have to run again in the e

trump tweeted his support of balderson.d end up being a foreshadowing for these races in november. will republicans stick by the president or run away from him? the results could tell us about what happens in the fall. poppy? >> ryan, thank you so much. let's listen to something troy balderson told voters that has everyone talking this morning. listen. >> my opponent is from franklin county and franklin county has been challenging. we don't want somebody from franklin county representing us. >> with that he wrote off a third of the voters. why? joining me now, cnn congressional correspondent phil mattingly and cnn politics senior writer and analyst harry anton. you caught my attention when you said this is analogous to someone running in new york city and writing off the entirety of brooklyn. why would he do this? >> if you were to look up in the dictionary "gaffe" and then there would be a picture beside it or an audio rolling that is what you do. the reason he did that is because he recognizes his votes will come mostly f

balderson currently leading o'connor by less than 1% of

made a huge push for balderson. last week, trump came to ohio and endorsed balderson at a rally. surprised than troy balderson, because this is what ohio governor john kasich had to say about that rally: >> i said, "troy, why-- did you invite trump in here, the president?" he said, "no, i didn't." >> stephen: funny, that's what the majority of american voters said. ( laughter ) ( cheers and applause ) i think that's true. that's-- just a little bit? just a little bit, a little bit? but balderson needs all the help he can get, especially after he said this at a recent campaign stop in zanesville, ohio: >> my opponent is from franklin county, and franklin county has been challenging. we don't want somebody from franklin county representing us. >> stephen: yeah, good point. you can't have someone from franklin county representing the just one problem: franklin county is about a third of the district's voters. now, i'm no campaign genius, but i'm gonna guess if you want to win a race, don't insult a third of the people voting for you. it would be like if i came out here every night a

the republican candidate, troy balderson, is barely eking out a load after last night's vote. the result which we deem as still too close to call because there are more votes to be counted than the margin between the two candidates. but this close result should be a giant flashing warning sign for the gop. they significantly outspent democrats in this district and the president swooped in at the 11th hour on saturday to fire up the base. today the rnc said that event is what carried balderson across the finish line. >> do you think the visit on saturday even kept this thing close? >> the visit on saturday is why we won. >> well, the president also took credit for the apparent victory today as you might expect he would, but that suggests that the situation is even worse than some republicans feared, because that kind of rescue mission will be impossible to replicate in 435 races this november. if you had a base turnout problem in this district, then you have a major problem. so that's why i'm not sure i buy that. but for his part the president insisted as long as i campaign and

even if balderson wins, the other networks will say it's really a loss for trump. even if he wins he loses. >>> as we touched on earlier in the angle, one of your favorites and i know you've missed her on daily television, rosie o'donnell, has gone into full conspiracy theory mode with regards to president trump. and last night about how many blocks is it? 16, 17 blocks from here, o'donnell led a sing-along protest, i kid you not, in front of the white house with fellow hollywood and broadway stars, even though no one told them the president wasn't home. >> we're so thrilled to be here at the kremlin annex. on night 22. how many have been here every night? let's hear it. and we're going to keep coming back until he's out. let the president know in no uncertain terms that we are alive, awake and we are woke. we are not going away. >> laura: raise your hand if you're sick of woke. i am. mike huckabee joins us with reaction. first of all on my radio show i played all the really bad singing. these are great broadway stars with a lot of talent. but the chanting, no rhym

kennedy is backing balderson. >> a man's character is very important.elieve that our president currently has my best interests at heart. and i've watched some of the things that have happened in the past few months, and it's a little scary. >> reporter: so you're defining decision -- your defining decision wasn't about both candidates but the president? >> more about getting democratic back into office. >> i'm probably a lot like millions of americans where it's not necessarily that you like the candidate of choice, but it's who you dislike less. i think that during the presidential election, i believe that's how trump ended up in office. i think the race with balderson is the same way. >> reporter: kennedy says she's concerned about o'connor's ties to democratic leader nancy pelosi who was seen unfavorably by a majority of americans according to a recent gallup poll. o'connor waffled on whether he would support pelosi during a previous interview and attack ads keep tying him to the minority leader. >> i've said time and time again that i would vote aga

balderson had plenty of gratitude to go around.t he said. >> i would like to thank president trump. and take the time to thank vice president pence. i am going to do everything i can to keep america great again. >> notably, he did not vothank governor kasich. the president trying to take credit for this. the role he is going to be playing when we get into september, october, early november. how active is he going to be going into these districts? >> he wants to be very active. white house advisers that i have talked to say he is hungry. clear effort by advisoors as well as congressional leaders. go to red states with senate races like montana, west virginia. the president on the other hand thinks that he is added value anywhere he goes. he wants to be out there. he wants the midterms to be about him and i think he is going to be active both on the trail and also you know, expressing his thoughts on twitter on these campaigns as they heat up. >> there are republicans there in d.c. trying to save the house. have they come up with str

balderson, we will see how it plays out.ets to that finish line i don't think he would get there if he didn't go and do that rally a few days ago. it's a reminder to republicans you need more than just trump out there campaigning to you. you need to be likeable. the local paper endorsed the democrat. first time they did that. he couldn't identify on anything other than trump. they didn't know who he was as a person. brian: good point and other candidates should take a lesson to that. good to have the president there and have the money behind you and have the support. who are you? tell me who you are. abby: why should we vote for you and not the president? steve: regarding alexandria ocasio-cortez we're going to be talking about this a little later on as well. in michigan, and bernie sanders came out for the governor, right? that guy lost. she campaigned for missouri's first district candidate, her candidate lost. in kansas, with bret welder, who she famously appeared with bernie sanders, the race is too close to call. meanwh

you've endorsed troy balderson but on his website, i want to read it.balderson believes he must repeal and replace obamacare once and for all, has consistently voted to keep obamacare out of ohio, opposing the governor's efforts to bring it to the state. danny o'connor, in his ad, seems to support you. let's take a look. >> i voted for john kasich the last three times. i voted for trump because i didn't like the way things were going in washington and now i'm supporting danny o'connor. john kasich and danny o'connor both don't worry about the labels of democrat, republican. they're going to go get things done either way. >> that does echo your message, doesn't it? >> both candidates. now, troy balderson -- i'm on television because they asked me to help him and why am i helping him. well, there are three reasons. one is he came out against this border separation policy. he came out against the tariffs, and he came out for fixing social security. on his website or whatever, i asked him the other day why are you bringing trump in and he said i don't have

which is very hard for troy balderson to do. because he is a president who should be coming in talking about the economy. instead, he is launching a twitter war against lebron james. it is just, it's not a very understandable strategy.the other problem is going to be at the event tonight, governor kasich was also endorsed troy balderson this is his old congressional district. i'm not sure he will be there. in fact i'm pretty sure he will not be there. as a result of a mixed message going on. it is almost a proxy sheet between john kasich and donald trump.and the two of them have made it clear they are not crazy about each other. laura: and get a word in my ear that the president has just tweeted about tariffs. what are voters in ohio saying about tariffs? how are they responding to the rhetoric on twitter? >> actually, tariffs are not all that popular in ohio. although people think they are because they think of it as the rust belt. but if you look at ohio it is a huge agricultural state. the expert like $600 million worth of so

but he is the reason that balderson might pull this off, that balderson might win because of the presidentclearly balderson won by, what? 1% or so? the president just came in to kind of help push that through. i would believe the president did lep. there are some who will say he didn't. but in the end him coming in will always help, especially in ohio. some states don't like the president. i get that. but ohio he does have a favorable rating here. i think it was positive for him to come in and push to help. it was also good that governor kasich endorsed balderson as well. >> sort of. i mean, yes, but at the last minute. i get to get you on this before i let you go. no mayor media outlet has called in race in ohio 12 yet. i understand the president has but we don't know who won this thing yet. let me ask you about your race for sfla for senate. you are in a heated race with incumbent sherrod brown in november. this mayors/abc poll has sherrod brown ahead of you 51%-38%. so what's your strategy and why are you down double digits in a state that president trump won by eight points and a state