in colorado, senator mark udahl who seemed to be in trouble leads cory gardner by seven. one of the main reasons is the overwhelming majority the democrats enjoy among women voters. the numbers are something. in colorado, udahl leads women by 12. in michigan, peters leads by 13 and he's running against a woman. it's the same in other states. mark pryor leads tom cotton among women by 20 points. in all three states the men's vote is about even. in other words, all the advantage of a gender split goes to the democrat. women go one way where as men are 50/50 in these races. but in kentucky, an exception here. although the democrat leads mitch mcconnell by seven points with women, mcconnell's advantage is more pronounced. for whatevers nasty or positive

that republicans are trying to take away your birth control and we have seen republicans from cory gardner in colorado to chris christie becoming very uncomfortable getting anywhere near this subject. >> this isn't the first time chris christie's used that argument on a social issue. last fall when they declined to move forward with the state challenge to the same-sex marriage in new jersey, he said well this is settled law now, the state supreme court made this decision and it crystallizes the tricky dance that chris christie in particular has like you said navigating iowa, south carolina, new hampshire, florida, wherever, but also maintaining that kind of general election audience. >> it crystallizes something else. the answer that hillary clinton gave got a ton of media cover annual. that speaks to the fact that he has so sunk from public memory as a major 2016er. he will come back at some point, because i do believe he's running but his status among the chattering class and conventional wisdom has taken a hit. >> is that an okay place to be right now? >> it's not terrible. >> better to

for example against mark udall now cory gardner was. the tenth one of the tin most conservative house members in the last session that was by way of vote he was one of the most conservative but this organization puts their money behind cory gardner to the exclusion of mark udall so i don't know this is an odd mixture of oddball some of them political has millions simply trying to make money other political opportunists that are trying to relabel republicans when the label of republican becomes so disgusting and so ugly like we saw we just recently saw just hours ago with this vote to to sue the president when it becomes that stupid when the threshold of stupidity gets to that point you obviously want to change the name of your party and that's what mark mckinnon wanted to do change the name of his party and start calling it the no labels party so it's exactly like we saw with the with the tea party exactly the same scenario while most of their most of the money raised was going to their staffers there for the half million dollar budget

cory gardner has a base in the state.suggest i think, andrea, that you don't have democratic incumbents in such deep trouble whether because of the environment or because they weren't paying attention that they're just not going to make it back. mark udall appears as though he has native strength and won't be dragged down by what we think is not a great environment for democrats nationally. >> what about the overall picture, the president and the white house and the difficulties on different fronts? is that dragging down democrat candidates? >> it definitely is. the president's popularity numbers quite low and that when someone goes in to cast their vote, do they want things to stay the same or do they want change? well, the way things are right now, most voters probably opt for change and that makes many of these democratic incoupkucum weaker and some of them vulnerable. as chris said, when you look at colorado, i think the republicans saw that as a map stretch trying to bring some new races into play. but if the democra

last, cory gardner out of colorado who does not support impeaching the president. all the other candidates didn't confirm where they stood on the issue. everybody is freezing the ball. why go for the crazy shot of impeachment when you think you will win if you just shut up? >> you want to play it safe. i think you elect this guy. he's going to washington. first thing he'll do is start impeaching the president. that's not going to play well. >> i wanted the democrats to organize push-pulling and make sure every republican for the ticket and every cd in the country has to say for or against impeachment. >> you look at states like colorado, north carolina where there is just enough vote that if democrats did get out and remember in some of the states like north carolina, you already have a push because of things like voter i.d. to get more african-american voters out, more women because of the supreme court decisions. for republicans, absolutely. they are worried sarah palin will be made the running mate of every senator. she'll be stitched to their campaign. the prob

cory gardner is a tough opponent for mark udall and clearly udall is running away from the white house and this is all part of it. we saw it with mary landrieu in louisiana earlier in the year. it's interesting to see senator udall say a last-minute vote and legislative activity. as you pointed out, 71-26 didn't hinge on the colorado senator's vote on that input for castro. he mentioned that he's working on a piece of legislation to try to counter the hobby lobby contraception ruling in the supreme court. clearly the udall campaign believes targeting women on this particular issue is something that will turn their numbers around. numbers that don't look good for them right now. >> all right. bret, we'll be sure to watch you at 6:00 eastern on "special report." thanks much. >>> no wonder we didn't know more about the many disasters at va medical centers across the country before. why? there was apparently a sinister culture of retaliation and retribution against any whistle-blower who dared to speak up. right now there are 67 active complaints by veterans affairs employees being investi

. >> reporter: the democrat seat appeared safe until two term colorado congressman cory gardner jumped in. since then nearly all polls show the candidates within two percentage points. now with the president's first appearance in a mid-term battle gardner is seizing the opportunity. >> let me utter two sweet words. president obama. >> reporter: both campaigns are fighting for women voters. gardner says he no longer supports ballot measures to grant fertilized eggs legal protection. >> my opponent led a crew sid that would make birth control illegal and sponsored a bill to make abortion a felony. >> he's running a campaign which is a desperation technique. >> reporter: udall hopes images like this will not distract the issues he supports. >> raise the minimum wage. >> reporter: recently touted as a conservative reformer by senator marco rubio gardner misses no chance to tie the colorado senator to the president. >> senator udall cast a deciding vote on obamacare. >> reporter: analysts say this tight race could come down to those with no allegiance. about a third democrats, third republi

udall leads cory gardner by a point.mbent democrat kay hagan leads tom tillis by two and a half points but close to the margin of error. joining us from austin, texas, republican karl rove. also montana and alaska situation in the senate, correct? >> well, in south dakota, west virginia, and then there are are five other races where the republicans are competitive oregon, michigan, minnesota, new hampshire and virginia. but, yeah, look, this is going to be a wild year. the "new york times" came out yesterday and moved their rating on the senate from a 56% chance that republicans took it to a 60% chance. and the "the washington post" recently issued its model and said it felt there was an 86% chance for republicans would take control of the senate. i'm not as optimistic as the "the washington post." but i think the "new york times" has it about right. >> 60% chance that the republicans will gain enough seats to control that body. and that means harry reid is out of there. >> >> right. >> you know, he isn't going to wield

in colorado, republican congressman cory gardner is trying to unseat democratic senator mark udall.n colorado, gender is playing a defining role in that race. the udall campaign has gone to great lengths to highlight gardner's record on issues relating to women. that record includes past support for several personhood measures that would have banned all abortion and arguably would have also banned the most commonly used form of birth control. issue of contraception was amplified by the supreme court's recent decision in the hobby lobby case. udall has been focusing on the issue since the early days of this campaign. now new polling just out today shows gardner trailing udall by seven points overall in colorado and by 12 points among women voters. so just like for president obama in 2012, women right now are making the difference for mark udall and they could make the difference for other democrats in other critical senate races this year, too. now in light of that, democrats are upping the ante. today on capitol hill, senate democrats, a new piece of legislation that attempts to cou

he's got a seven-point lead over gop challenger cory gardner. meanwhile in michigan, congressman gary peters has a six hof point lead over terri lynn land. keep in mind, these polls are among registered voters, not likely voters. in the last midterm cycle, only 48% of registered voters actually came out to the polls in colorado. percentage was even lower, actually, in michigan. one sunny spot for democrats in these states is that voters are even more down on congressional republicans, but is that enough to weather a late autumn storm? >> i see what you did there. >> let's ask our own mr. sunshine, msnbc political analyst howard fineman. how's it going? >> just terrific. thank you. >> nice and sunny over there. so the question here is, whose bad approval ratings are going to more define the midterm elections? the president under water, which has an impact on democratic candidates. but he looks great compared to the way that house republicans in congress in general is viewed. >> yes, if he's under water, they're at the bottom of the ocean. i think

i think cory gardner is one of the better candidates the republicans have found.nk you still have to give the democrats a slight edge in that. >> who would you rather be, udall or gardner. >> i would rather be udall. >> republicans do love their incumbents. let's go to michigan here, nathan. an open seat in many ways. six months ago democrats felt relatively confident. a little reason to change? >> there's some uncertainty, i think there's more confidence now. i'd rather be congressman gary peters because just looking historically republicans have been able to get over except for spence abraham's win. but they don't have to win michigan in order to get to the majority? >> any disagreement there? >> no. >> sort of a unanimous view on that one. let's move to iowa, amy. this is probably -- there is no race that has sort of changed more in the last six months than iowa. >> right. this was supposed to be an easy hold. this is tom harkins' seat. bruce braley was the candidate everybody united behind. joni ernst has turned out to be a very good candidate, bruce braley no

. >> congressman cory gardner's history preventing harsh anti-abortion laws is disturbing. he sponsored a bill to make abortion a felony, including in cases of rape and incest. >> voters should be offended at the lack of originality, the fact these guys have nothing to say and nothing to run on. they'll only have something to run against. ah, the midterms of 2014. >>> joining me now, white house press secretary josh earnest. josh, good morning to you, sir. >> good morning, chuck. how are you? >> i'm okay. >> good. >> i want to start with the lawsuit and speaker boehner's decision to do that. do you guys take this lawsuit seriously? >> well, chuck, i think what we take seriously is the fact that congress is nearing the end of a very pivotal week. they're about to leave on their traditional month-long august recess with their to-do list still full and unacted upon. we're concerned about the fact that congress is voting on a taxpayer-funded lawsuit. but they're not taking action to raise the minimum wage, they're not taking action to guarantee equal pay for equal work, they're

this could offer a lever for udall to work against cory gardner so that's the state to work. >> rickg a move to put the national guard down at the border, something john boehner has called for and you see rick perry there in iowa slowly but surely getting to making that point, what's the politics behind that? is there this idea that he's going to stand up and be the conservative warrior making this his issue? this was an issue that was problematic for him last time around. he was being criticized for being too humane. rick perry going out on this -- >> this is a great opportunity for rick perry. this issue landed right on his lap. it's on the border. he's got the right position now. in the 2012 campaign he was the most pro immigrant and romney attacked him. here he can show himself doing something where voters in iowa are very anti-immigration reform. this is a great step for him to start his potential 2016 campaign. >> we talked about it a few weeks ago, rick perry is getting his groove back. >> to a degree. we have a very pregnant perry pause right there. he really is lucky in term

cory gardner has a two-point lead over mark udall in the latest poll.s gardner 4 4rks udall, 42. very close. in michigan where gary peters leads terri lynn land by nine points. 45-36. we'll be right back. that's goohhh.o go right in your glove. see that? great job. ok, now let's get ready for the ball... here it comes... there you go... good catch. perfect! alright now for the best part. let's see your pour. ohhh...let's get those into the bowl. these are way too good to waste right? oh yeah. let's go for it... around the bowl. share what you love with who you love. kellogg's frosted flakes® they're g-r-r-reat!tm good catch dad. that's why allstate gives you money back every year you don't have one. [ alarm wailing, dog barking ] whoops. claim-free rewards from allstate. your home protects you, protect it back. that's why i always choose the fastest intern.r slow. the fastest printer. the fastest lunch. turkey club. the fastest pencil sharpener. the fastest elevator. the fastest speed dial. the fastest office plant. so why wouldn't i choose the fastest

republican senate candidate in colorado, congressman cory gardner, backs keystone and backs fracking a house-passed bill to pass liquid natural gas exports and neck-and-neck in race against used dow. pretty clear example how energy policy is making it difficult for democrats in energy states, leland. leland: carl, break it down for us. are democrats having election year conversations to support more energy development now? >> reporter: not really, unless from the energy states with vulnerable democrats. great can't pell of that is alaska. freshman senator marge begich is very, very vulnerable not only as freshman but alaska is huge energy state is criticizing the president very, very aggressively for the greenbaum agenda. he says ultimately it will black and hurt alaska's economy. begich flat-out said he is not interested in campaigning with president obama. now the gop has a multicandidate primary. one is a guy named dan sullivan. he is former commissioner of natural resources in alaska. former states attorney general. he is promising to safely open up alaska energy resources to get

representative cory gardner saying heart breaking to hear of the plane crash in ukraine.yers are with the families from around the world that lost loved ones. charlie rangel says my heart goes out to all the victims of malaysia mh 17 and their loved ones. let's pray for highways and healing. mark kirk saying russian made advanced sam has murdered 285 people. overdue russian sanctions should expand to oil and energy sectors. also with a senate hearing earlier today on the gm ignition switch issue, we've been asking you has gm's response to the ignition switch problem when appropriate. you can continue to leave comments on twitter using #cspanchat or go to facebook.com/cspan. >>> 40 years ago the watergate scandal led to the only resignation of an american president. throughout this month and early august, american history tv revisits 1974 and the final weeks of the nixon administration. this weekend opening statements from the house judiciary committee as members consider articles of impeachment. >> selection of the president, it occupies a very unique position within our

his race is republican congressman cory gardner is one of the most competitive senate races in the country congress returns to capitol hill this week. the senate gavels in at 2 p.m. eastern today. he will vote on a judicial nomination and whether to move forward on a bill to open more federal land for hunting and fishing. the house returns tomorrow. you can see the house live on c-span and will have the senate debate live here on c-span2. and a look at the israeli-palestinian conflict this afternoon on c-span. the woodrow wilson center hosts a discussion with middle east expert at 4 p.m. eastern. >> now you can keep in touch with current events from the nation's capital using any phone any time with c-span radio on audio now. call (202) 626-8888. congressional coverage, public affairs forms in today's "washington journal" program and we did they list a recap of the day's events at 5 p.m. eastern on washington today. you can alter audio of the five networks sunday public affairs programs beginning sundays at noon eastern. c-span radio on audio now. call (202) 626-8888. long distance phone c

we have the latest poll on this, about a week old udall up a point over cory gardner, the republicangressman challenging him. 44-43. that's been a surprise, republicans doing better than people expected. what's the reason for that? >> that's a state where republicans did nominate a good candidate and where they weren't initially expected to. that's a race where they were thinking ken buck would run a disastrous campaign. now we have gardner, that's a much more serious candidacy than people anticipated. i think the polling in iowa, in colorado is a little split. nbc/maris showed him up. there's a state where a long record of the polls underestimating democratic support. so whatever the polls say, my instinct is to have my finger tilted towards the democratic side there. so i think udall probably still has an edge. >> we have two more categories to get to. including slip a break in here. the interesting one is all of the vulnerable democratic seats are also two vulnerable republican seats. one of them in the news this week because of a primary run-off, we'll get do that right after thi

in colorado mark udall is leading cory gardner by 7 points.evin. both democratic candidates are getting help from female voters. udall has a 12-point lead among women while peters holds a 13-point advantage. but there's a silver line for republicans. obamacare is up popular in both states with the majority saying the law is a bad idea. and the president himself isn't doing much better despite carrying both states in 2008 and 2012. presidential elections are just 40% of those approving from what he's doing in life. >> those are two races democrats probably have to one to keep the senate. and the up told story is how incumbents and challengers are working. they are doing great voter files. i still think republicans have a good chance to take back control, but quietly democratic candidates are doing well in the battleground races on the ground. >> senator rand paul is facing more backlash on his foreign policy views. yesterday former vice president dick cheney, wife lynn and daughter liz sat down with politico's for a family issue becoming a majo

in colorado democratic senator mark udall is holding on to a seven-point lead over cory gardner.x points separate congressman gary peters and republican terry lynn land. in colorado and michigan, the president's approval rating is just 40%. in iowa and new hampshire it's even lower, but republicans fair even worse. the republicans don't break 21% approval in any of the four states polled by nbc. joe, it's sort of hard -- chuck is calling it a race to the bottom? >> right. >> i feel like i'm not sure -- >> you guys need to change your breakfast cereal. elections are still a choice. i think this is always the case when you head into a midterm. each party's base is more animated than the general electorate at large. >> but nicolle it's usually a zero sum game. as the republican parties numbers go down in 2006, the democratic party numbers go up. as the democratic numbers go down in 2010, the republican party numbers go up in 2010. i think it's the republican party that needs to change its breakfast cereal. we have a great opportunity, a great opportunity to take over the senate, a g