evan mcmullin might be a swing vote. senator lee is making 11th hour plea from fellow republican. >> mick, if you like to protect, give us a chance, get on board and help me win reelection. >> shannon: senator, welcome back, senator mike lee. your opponent says you betrayed your oath to the constitution with regard to the 2020 election. here is what he said. >> lee helped plan the effort to recruit fake electors and american democracy, no one need take my word for it, it is a matter of public record, the truth is the truth. >> shannon: here is text he cites between you and chief of staff mark meadows. december 8th, if small handful of states had slates of delegates, there could be a path. january 4, i've within trying to unravel this for him, say day, i've been calling state legislators for hours and will spend hours doing the same today to figure out path to persuasively defend. evan mcmullin says the texts speak for themselves, how do you explain them? >> there is no truth to what he's suggesting there, there were rumo

is it time for a third party, evan mcmullin? >> well, i recognize the reality of an entrenched two-party system in our country, but i don't think it well serves our country. it's left tens of millions of americans feeling poorly represented, and i, frankly, would favor a multi-party system that would allow for better representation of more americans and, i think, a healthier competition of ideas. whether that will develop and mature, i'm not sure. it will depend, i think, largely on the direction of those two parties. will republins and democrats be consumed by their extremes and move further to the fringes? i just don't know. i think the republican party is headed, certainly, right. on the democratic side, certainly the far left has gained a lot of influence within the party. and if the parties, the two major parties, drift further to the extremes, i think it will create a lane, but more importantly, a demand for an alternative. but i think the real determining factor will be what the two major parties do. >> evan mcmullin, we'

for evan mcmullin to suggest otherwise is an absolute farce. as to why i'm not on a black list for russia i do not know. i look forward to being put on such a blacklist. they should put me on one because i cannot stand vladimir putin. >> will see if you end up there. want to talk about the issue of abortion. a couple of things here would you onto the 15 week nationwide ban after republicans for years have said this should be solely a state issue most of them. and also the link of the draft opinion from the supreme court, you clerked over there. are you concerned whether or not we are ever going to get an answer about that leak? >> as for the leak, i am troubled we've not gotten an answer but i believe they could have and should have gotten an answer right away. it baffles me too know why they haven't figured this out. i know some things are more difficult to investigate than others. me quite frankly we have gone this long for that section may not get an answer. as you senator graham's bill, i have much respect for lindsey graham part he is a de

hopefully evan mcmullin wins because he is a real republican. not caucusing with either party could mean he would become the most powerful senator when there is a close vote. look at what joe manchin did and he was a democrat. james, you are entirely correct. all roads will go through utah. now, the criticism at msn from the person that i was quoting, and by the way i should at least acknowledge who that person was. natasha noman is that, hey, it's a small state with population. why do we give so much power to utah or west virginia in the case of manchin? that's the system we have. it was set up for a reason. every state gets two votes. you would have to negotiate with him and i guess i'm tipping my hand here. but he's reasonable. remember, i want to know what you think. go to my website at smerconish.com and answer this question. which party will control the senate after the 2022 election, republican or democratic? cannot wait to see the result of that. >>> still to come, nearly eight months after putin invaded ukraine, as the battles rage on a

where incumbent republican senator mike lee is being challenged by independent an ex republican, evan mcmullinember him, and undercover cia officer ran for president as a third party never trump candidate in 2016. but lee has gone from opposing trump and backing mcmullin six years ago to becoming a hard-core trump loyalist. going's far to help the ex president pull off his attempt coup. lead text to trump's chief of staff, mark, medals to help get crazy conspiracy lawyer sydney powell into see trump. and that's metals in late november 2020 quote, please tell me what i should be saying, as team trump worked to overthrow the will of the people. with less than a month to the midterm elections, mcmullin is -- has convinced democrats in that run a candidate in this deep red state. and essentially ensuring a one-on-one matchup with senator lee. that may be paying off. a new poll released yesterday show mcmullin -- trailing leave by just four. point 37 to 40. one in a stately 16 years ago by more than 40 points. and right, now 12% of utah voters are still undecided. joining me, now evan mcmullin, the

evan mcmullin is running as an independent against mike lee, evan mcmullin has the support of the utah democratic party. tonight's debate in utah, evan mcmullin said this. >> for you to talk will -- i think you know exactly how important it is, and i think he knew how important was when you sought to urge the white house thought a lot of election time fake electors to overturn the will of the people senator lee, that was the most egregious betrayal of our nations constitution in history by u.s. senator, i believe, and it will be your legacy. senator ali is still casting doubt. >> joining us now is evan mcmullin the independent senate candidate for utah, he's a former cia officer and policy director. thanks for joining us tonight i really appreciate it. what, for you, was the most important difference that you identified tonight between yourself, a former republican, and mike lee, a current republican, in this debate? >> well i would say just two things. number one, senator ali, you see somebody embodies the politics of extremism that i think now played our politics, and prevent us from

evan mcmullin, yes, sir, he had a much lower vote share in that state than many past republican presidentspart of that is antipathy against trump in utah. that's week mcmullin has focused so much on mike lee. take a listen to how he framed that in the debate last night. >> senator lee, it is a betrayal of the american republic. you were there to stand up for our constitution, but when the barbarians were at the gate, you were happy to let them in. >> there is absolutely nothing to the idea that i would have ever supported -- ever did support the fake electors. yes, there were people who behaved very badly on that day. i was not one of them. i was trying to dismantle the situation. >> the center of mcmullin's attacks were reporting from earlier in the year about texts that lee sent to mark meadows, sort of cheering on the efforts around the 2020 election. will this matter is an open question. utah is a difficult state for democrats to win in. the last time they elected a democratic senator was in 1970. so this is a long shot for any party outof the republican party to win in utah. we'll obv

evan mcmullin joins me now. we invited senator lee on the program, but he declined to appear for this sunday. we hope to ask him again. mr. mcmullin, welcome back to "meet the press." >> good to be with you, chuck. >> let me start with what we heard from your opponent this week. let me play what senator lee said on fox news with tucker carlson. >> i'm asking him going right now, mitt, if you'd like to protect the republican majority, give us any chance of seizing it again, getting it away from the democrats who are facilitating this massive spending free in a massive inflationary binge, please get on board, help me win re-election. help us do that. >> have you spoken to senator romney about his neutrality? do you expect him to stay neutral in the race? >> well, i haven't spoken to him about it, but i deeply respect senator romney's leadership in the senate for utah and for our country, and i respect and appreciate his decision to stay out of the race. that's about all i can say. i don't know what his decision wi

evan mcmullin is roughly as independent as kamala harris is . he's considerably less i independent than, say, ellen ohmar, evan mcmullen, is anything but independent. he is entirely controlledn. and has always been. >> mcmellon even uses the democratic party's fundraisinarg platform, actblue. his campaign has paid nearly two million dollars to democratic party consulting services in the last year alone. that would include precision strategies co-founded by a biden adviser. other firms include foundationad strategies, blueprint, public affairs and cms strategy. d these are all partisan democratic party firms iny politics. consulta you pick a side inhire the consultants you hires side and mullen has picked his side. the democratic side e. not surprisingly, the creepy liberals at the lincoln project who lie for a living are busy pretending that evan mcmullen is not one of them. oh, no, republicans, they write. evan mcmullen truly represents your values, really, whichalues. values are those? does evan mcmullin oppose amnesty for illegal migrants? doe

placing me with evan mcmullin. >> tucker: do you think the voters of utah understand how fervently evanullin's donors hate the values of the state of utah? for real. not about tax raises. do you think your voters get back? >> i don't. the local media in utah is complicit. they want evan mcmullin to win for that reason. they are refusing to ask policy questions. they allow him to engage in ad hominem attacks on me notwithstanding that he claims to be campaigning on this platform of civility which is laughable. they never make him answer any actual policy questions. i think a lot of utah ones are beating -- are being duped and fooled. the tacit assistance of my republican colleague from utah. all 48 of my other republican colleagues are on board with me, have supported me in my campaign and of interest me. it's not too late, mitt. you can join the party. i welcome you to do though because otherwise you'll be stuck with two more years of chuck schumer being the leader and two more years of joe biden having unfettered rule over the united states senate. without any republican backstop. >> t

capitol, and we'll start with evan mcmullin on this one. mr. in: it was a violent insurrection with the intention of overturning the american republic. you know, i think about my an saysors who fought in the revolutionary war, senator lee, and who fled across the east coast and traveled across the rockies to achieve freedom and think about the men and women i served with in the c.i.a. who left the warmth of their homes and love of their families to risk their lives not knowing if they'd ever come home in order to stop terrorists intent on destroying freedom in america. i think of all the men and women, the 14 generations of americans who have sacrificed for this grand experiment and freedom. they trusted you, we trusted you. and with that trust and the knowledge of the constitution, senator lee, you thought to find a weakness in our system. you advised the white house, find an alternative slate of electors for trump to overturn the will of the people. that's what you said. you said the president should listen to legal quack sydney powell, please

where mike lee is now locked in a tight race with his republican-turned-independent challenger evan mcmullin. in their only debate, mcmullin delivered what many considered to be the line of the night, reminding senator lee of who he vote for in the 2016 election. >> how would each of you approach foreign policy to make sure the united states remains ernlly dominant in peace and war? >> we have to invest this our power, increase the size of our nhl fleet, invest in systems like the updated, mod easternized international ballistic missile system. we also need a republican offset to a president who's not all there, to a president for whom my opponent voted. >> senator lee, i think both you and i have have had times of frustrations in the last several years in the options provided at the presidential level for both parties. in 2016, you voted for me out of that frustration when you stood on principle, as you should have. >> voted for me. evan mcmullin joins us now. good to see you this morning. watching that debate, the one and only time it appears for now that you are on a stage together with s

joining me now is evan mcmullin, independent senate candidate from the state of utah. evan, great to see you again. thank you for making time for us. look, mike lee was pressed on those messages with mark meadows just this morning. specifically, his text about trump fake electors plot. and quote, the path forward. i want to play for you interviewers what he said, watch. >> when you're saying, i'm looking for a path forward with the states electors. or would state legislators. that path forward would suggest that you were at some point on board with the idea? >> now, look, the point here was that there was only one path. and that path, i was trying to get the white house at the president's team to acknowledge. it was the only path, if the state concluded that it incorrectly certify the results of its election, and it shifted on the slate of electors, that would be the only way of doing out. >> i'm not sure if you're able to decipher that, i certainly not. but senator lee seems to be struggling to come up with a defensive himself. those techs lay out his actions pretty cl

they'vee s raised two and aed half million dollars for him in the last quarter alone. >> predictably, evan mcmullin then spendpredictas then throug, democratic consultants, people who represent other candidates who were far left just like he is and who work democrats only who admit that they'retheyn does. look, democrats. >> evan doesn't look. paourted courted t the democratc party's endorsement in thiste. race, convinced the democratic party not to run a candidatehe , and he explained to them very specifically, look, i can get elected in utah becausel they'll have an i after my name instead of a d, but i support so what you supportrt. he supports nuking the filibuster to pass s1, s1, a bill that would get rid of the state's ability to require voter get rid of the state's ability to determine legislative boundaries.legislat. he would nuke the filibuster to he would nuke the filibuster toa get that passed and that wouldns lead to the automatic registration of millions of fillegal aliens onto our voter r registration files. >> so that's wrong. so if it became a fifty one forty nine senate and or he'

joining us now, evan mcmullin, the independent utah senate candidate. mr. w. >> great to be with you, hallie. >> sure. so let's start with this race and your platform here. you list strengthening our democracy and standing up to extremists as your number one focus. i wonder how that is resonating with voters in utah you're talking to considering that for republicans specifically jobs and the economy, the cost of living, rates as a more important issue to them. >> well, we're building a cross-partisan coalition of republicans, democrats, and independents. and yes, protecting our system of self-government and standing up to the extremes who want to tear it down is a priority of mine. my others are lowering inflation, getting our fiscal house in order, lowering the cost of health care and making sure that we protect our air and water. we've got some severe challenges on those fronts. and maintaining a strong national defense. those are my five priorities. but what i say out here and what i truly believe is that we can't solve any of the major challenges that fa

moderator: our thanks to senator mike lee and evan mcmullin for participating tonight. election day is tuesday, november 8. registration and voting deadlines are fast approaching. this debate and others are available online at the utah debate commission website. we appreciate the panelists and those who submitted questions. we also greatly appreciate the many broadcasters who have air tonight's debate. thank you so much for joining us tonight. [applause] >> maintain control of the senate? follow c-span coverage with our covege debate and c-span.org /as theycapma now out. in -- >> this comes nearly two months after the president first announced his intention to counsel desk to cancel student loan debt for individuals making musselman hundred $25,000 a year and as much as $20,000 a year for pell grant recipients. the president -- making less than 100 $25,000 a year and as much of $20,000 a year for pell grant recipients. >> up to $10,000 in federal student loan debt and up to $20,000 if you received a pell grant for. earning less than $125,000 a year. today, i am announci

senegalese office didn't get back to us near -- evan mcmullin joins us tonight. thank you for being with. as you may the january six insurrection central to your campaign. do you believe that if elected you'll find more common ground on protecting democracy with republicans or democrats? >> well, i think there is a pro democracy coalition to be had in the senate, anderson, and you've got democrats of course and i think there's some republicans who would join us. the bottom line is, if we're gonna protect our democracy in america, we need to build across partisan coalition to do it. democrats don't have the votes on their own. principled republicans don't have them either. or neither do independents. we need to come together and that's what we're doing today in utah. senator lee try to overturn the last election, our democratic republic with fake electors, and utah guns aren't having it. we're building a coalition of republicans, democrats, independents to replace him. but the nation we need to do the same across the nation. >> we have a republican senator from ro

evan mcmullin, i appreciate your time tonight. thank you. >> thank you. >>> coming up next, a closer look at the appearance of armed men at a polling place in arizona over the weekend and some late word about arizona's top election official referring that incident and several more to federal authorities. >>> and later, ukraine, we'll have a live report from a city under heavy attack from the air and talk from the russian side. remover wipes p remove the 30% o of makeup ordinary cleansesers can leave behind. your skin will thank you. neutrogena®. for people with skskin. ♪ what will you do? ♪ what will you chan? ♪ will you make something better? ♪ will you create something entirely new? ♪ our dell technologies advisors provide you with the tools and expertise you need to do incredible things. because we believe there's an innovator in all of us. age-related macular degeneration may lead to severe vision loss. and if you're taking a multivitamin alone, you may be missing a critical piece. preservision. preservision areds 2 contains t

. >>> independent candidate evan mcmullin is hoping to bring cll one of most unique contests this f fallon and extremism. >> reporter: he's no longer a republican and never been a democrat but evan mcmullin is asking voters from both parties to join his campaign to win a senate seat. as an independent from utah. >> our democracy is at great risk right now and we will decide as a nation over the next two cycles this cycle and the next whether we still are a democracy or whether we're going to head down a road towards authoritarianism. >> reporter: in one of america's most consecutive states, he's going against to grain to challenge mike lee. >> senator from utah. >> reporter: and to take on the entrenched two part. it's one of the unique senate races of the fall after democrats decided to stand down and not field the candidate. >> it's time to break the glass and pull the fire alarm. this election in 2022 and 2024 will be a critical moment for our country. >> reporter: ben mcadams is a former democratic congressman supporting mcmullin. >> we've been calling on republicans for many years t

senate candidate from utah evan mcmullin joins us tonight.ith you, bret. >> we look at the nation and see a right track, wrong track and knew call is no different where the wrong track gets 70 plus percent of the polls if i are in utah and say the country is on the wrong track and the biden administration is in power. why does someone say i'm going to vote for this independent who make take the senate away from republicans? i would say that the biden administration certainly has responsibility for the track we are on and for inflation and so many other problems that we are facing elected leaders and go to washington and start taking the money of party bosses and special interest groups which is what my opponent mike lee has done. who they no longer represent us. they tell us they are going. to say and they get there and all these other interests get their hooks into them and they don't answer to us. that's why i refuse to take any money from special interest groups and why i'm not going to answer to party bosses in washington. i will work wit

evan mcmullin is raising millions of dollars off of actblue, a democratic donor database based on this idea help that he's going to defeat me dec and help perpetuate the democratic majority. so maybe you don't want to say this. maybe you're not even aware of it. but i believit's te it is true e members of mitt romney's immediate family's nuclear family are actively helping mcmullen against you. so mcmul is it possible to justy mitt romney, whom i know you've known your whole life, and say, please, there's a lot at stake here? well, i've asked him. i'm asking him right here again. tonight. f you'd likeitt, i to protect the republican majority, give us any chance ofn seizing the republican majority once again, getting it awaymocrt from the democrats who wers e facilitating this massive spending spree in a massiv thise inflationary binge. please get on boarionary bd. t. >> helped me win reelection. help us do that. entire and you can get your entire family to donate to me through leifur senate dukkha. i invite all of your viewers to do the same because this is a race that's getting closer

>> look, first, i think evan mcmullin was correct in pointing out what senator mike lee has done, the text messages to mark meadows at the time he was certainly complicit in this really dark time in this country and that legacy of those actions still lives on today and we're seeing people running across the country on election denying platforms that's a danger to our democracy. voters are looking at inflation and kitchen table issues, what i think is concerning here is should people like those election deniers win that really changes really impactfully the game when it comes to our elections and what this means going forward because when people are voting they may not be represented in the voters they actually cast if these people have the power to overturn elections in future. >> are there some things you're watching on both election day and the days that follow, as absentee ballots are counted? what's on your radar? >> well, certainly watching for what people say in their statements in the immediate aftermath after the midterm elections and quite candidly threats against the poll wo

evan mcmullin that independent, if he were to win.dependent who has said that he is not going to caucus with the democrats, or caucus with the republicans. and we are talking about this slim margin, this slim democratic majority. that would really throw credit wrench and everything, right? >> yeah, i mean, if he doesn't tell democrats who is gonna caucus with who he chooses not organized. it would throw, potentially, the chambers in chaos. i will just say, in the past, he's betrayed himself is a conservative on some issues. his campaign is almost being fully funded by democrats and outside democrat groups. >> but he is saying he will not caucus with them. guarantee that who he would -- well if you are running in utah you would say that too, and then when the elections over you might. i don't know, i don't know what he's gonna do. i think likely he is gonna win. the correct strategy for senator lee is to portray mcmullen as the democratic candidate. he is running as an independent because you can't win a race as independent and utah. >

in utah, flashes of evan mcmullin attacking incumbent senator mike lee accusing him of betraying america on january 6th and a chance to confront lee over text messages he sent to mark meadow, then president trump's chief of staff in the leadup to the attack on the capitol. lee denied doing anything wrong. >> cnn's omar jimenez up all night watching these debates play out. omar what did you see? >> reporter: these, spiriteded to say the least. con tentious second time in a rw in ohio between tim ryan and j.d. vance, felt personal at times. meanwhile in utah, in that race, got indent adam mcmullen against incumbent senator mike lee and it's the only race where democrats didn't field a candidate. so independent is fighting an uphill battle. two crucial senate debates party politics took center stage. in ohio democrat tim ryan and republican j.d. vance debated for a second time in a closer than expected senate race. issue, donald trump's endorsement of vance. >> "new york times," front page, he's kissing my ass he wants my support so bad. >> joking a be a "new york times" story. that's all h

evan mcmullin would support that. >> he is focused on lee's text messages with mark meadows after theows was then president trump's chief of staff. lee wrote meadows about ways to challenge the election and mentioned alternative slates of delegates. mcmullin calls it "rich" when lee talks about the importance of the electoral college. >> i think you knew how important it was when you sought to urge the white house that lost an election to find fake electors to over turn the will of the people. the most agregious betrayal by a u.s. senator i believe and it will be your legacy. >> lee maintains he was only researching possibilities and theories, came to the conclusion it was not a viable theory or option and he notes that he also voted to certify the election for then candidate joe biden, now president joe biden. this race in single digits in the state showing lee up for much of the run here. john. >> john: unless i'm mistaking, i think the power rankings are a likely r. what could change between now and election day. typically the incumbent tends to pull out ahead in the closing days o

but evan mcmullin is asking voters from both parties to join his insurgent campaign to win a senate seattah. >> our democracy is at great risk right now. and we will decide as a nation over the next two cycles, this cycle and the. next weather we still are a democracy or whether we are going to head down a road to authoritarianism. in one of the most conservative states, mcmullin going against the grain to mike lee. and to take on the entrenched party system in washington. it has become one of the most unique senate races of the fall. after democrats here decided to stand down and not field the candidate. ben mcadams is a former democratic congressman and mayor of salt lake county who is supporting mcmullin. >> we have been calling on republicans for many years to put their partisanship aside. do you what is right with the country. and i think that this is the time for utah democrats to do the same. as he introduces himself to voters, but more on talks about his service as an undercover cia officer. >> my experience in the agency shift to the way that i look at our country. and why he le

coming up at the top of the hour with a midway i.d., evan mcmullin on his independent bid to take downastern on msnbc. after the break, came in and i will discuss the curious f differences between u.s. and uk politics at the moment. stay tuned. ed by asking your healthcare provider if an oral treatment is right for you. oral treatments can be taken at home and must be taken within 5 days from when symptoms first appear. if you have symptoms of covid-19, even if they are mild, don't wait, get tested quickly. if you test positive and are at high risk of severe disease, act fast. ask if an oral treatment is right for you. covid-19 moves fast, and now you can too. i think i changed my mind about these glasses. covid-19 moves fast, yeah, it happens. that's why visionworks gives you 100 days to change your mind. it's simple. anything else i can help you with? like what? visionworks. see the difference. (vo the new iphone 14 pro is here. and right now business owners can get it on us at t-mobile. apple business essentials with apple care+ is included so you can easily manage your team's devic

mike lee and evan mcmullin. me now is nicole wallace, she's the host of, deadline white house, she's also hosting a new series called deadline, special report, on americas mental health crisis. all four episodes that are streaming now on peacock. nicole, congratulations on that, it's good to see you as always. >> thanks so much for having me, it's such a marvel to listen to the tapestry we've, in your a lot block here on set, with my earpiece in, i usually watch it at home with some mommy water in a mug. except, really i have to say -- the only thing i would add to the backdrop, is that the republicans in terms their numbers, they may be the largest in terms of their numbers autocratic force the world over. there are a lot of american republicans, and if you support, them you support a party that does not believe in election results, unless say when i'm. all of the states the pass voter suppression laws. there were dozens and dozens, there were no flaws, but that doesn't stop 48 states -- integrity laws, it's a

the race in utah, evan mcmullin running an excellent campaign. in both of those cases and in the case of cortez masto who is ahead in many cases or tied, the conventional wisdom is they're all going to lose. no matter what tim ryan does, there's no way to win. i don't understand that because there's a democratic senator in place right now in ohio. democrats can win because sherrod brown does. what do you think is behind this conventional wisdom that these candidates who are running really solid campaigns, they're just written off as they can't win? >> know what i hate about conventional wisdom? it's wrong so often, particularly in washington, d.c. the amount of times we have seen conventional wisdom tell us that something was going to happen and the exact opposite is exhaustive at this point. they're so afraid, the media, to actually take a stand and put themselves out there, make a prediction, that getting it wrong, they're afraid of that blowback and looking like they lost credibility. it's like herd mentality at this point. they have no idea w

. >> in utah independent evan mcmullin pressing republican senator mike lee about his actions surrounding the january 6th insurrection. >> you advised the white house find an alternative slate of electors for trump. you were there to stand up for our -- for our constitution, but when the barbarians were at the gate, you were happy to let them in. >> i disagree with everything my opponent just said, including the words but, and and the. >> and in georgia's gubernatorial remark brian kemp linking stacey abrams to president biden's economic turmoil. >> georgians should know that my desire is to continue to help them fight through 40-year-high inflation and high gas prices that quite honestly because of bad policies in washington, d.c. i will refined mind you that stacey abrams campaigned to be joe biden's running mate. she supports these policies. >> cnn is covering everything angle of these developing stories. our reporters, correspondents and guests are standing by to bring us the very latest. >>> let's begin this morning in atlanta with cnn national politics reporter eva mcken. brian kemp

this is the only way that we're going to stop evan mcmullin and his leftist allies from all over the country. one of the sentence by sentence ,all of this is that mitt romney is not endorsing you. i think after you do win this race and i'm confident that the the people of utah will see through this, and i hope they do, because you're an important constitutionalist in the senate. but the fact that mitt romney is not endorsing you in this race says everything i need to know about mitt romney. and i think senator jason chaffetz sounds pretty good to me about now. >> here's what i do know, sean. i've got to get through this and i'm thrilled to have the endorsement of all 48 of my other republican colleagues in the senate. i'd always welcome mitt to the party if he would like to join. he and i have a good working relationship and that will continue even after this race is over. >> but i will say this. >> it would be a shame and utter shame if he lost the majority, the republican majority in the senate. the ability to serve as an effective counterbalance to joe biden's excesses is rampant

that debate kicked off after a new poll shows vance up only two points overnight, mike lee and evan mcmullin had this exchange >> it is a betrayal of the american republic. you were there to stand up for our constitution but when the barbarians were at the gate, were you happy to let them in. >> there were people who behaved very badly on that day i was not one of them. i was one of the people trying to dismant thile this situation, trying to stop it from happen, because i believe in this document >> senator lee has been doing this thing with his pocket constitution for the last several years. senator lee, it is not a prop. it is not a prop >> reporter: tonight all eyes will be on florida where marco rubio and democrat val demings will go on one on one this is their one and only debate scheduled before election day. >> senator rubio has held that seat for nearly a dozen years now. all right, brie, thank you >>> the suspected stockton, california serial killer is expected in court later today. 43-year-old wesley brownlee is due to be arraigned on murder and weapons charges. and records reveal

it's a huge issue in these midterms, evan mcmullin

in utah, independent conservative candidate evan mcmullin is challenging the incumbent, republican senatored as policy director for house republicans and has the backing of utah's democrats. >> i'm not running to be a bootlicker for party bosses of either side. >> their clearest difference as candidates? president trump. mcmullin ran against president trump in 2016 and says trumpism poses a major threat to the american system of government. senator lee voted for mcmullin against trump in 2016 bus

and candidates, if it walks and quacks like a duck, in this case it is a democrat, that is what evan mcmullin guy, vote the for joe biden, he campaigned for joe biden, and encouraged others to do the same, he praised everything that joe biden has done. and criticized everything that republicans have done in 2020 he campaigned against lefler and perdue in georgia. he can't avoid the fact he has been helping democratic party for a long time. he is joe biden's guy. joe biden wants him in the united states senate. and we have to stop it. and to compound the problem, utah news media is in love with this guy, they have no real conservative media to speak of on a sp statewide basis, our media is far left. by any standard, comparison to utah. but they love the guy, they are giving him free media, he is getting a huge influx of cash from the democratic donor networks. so, i would invite your viewers any who don't want joe biden's guy to get elected, from utah g to lee for senate.com, make sure we have enough ammunition to fight back. mark: a serious issue. you have some polls that show close. and some

that's putting evan mcmullin first. there's a difference. a duck, walks a like a duck, that's a democrat. >> sean: that's a pretty good saying. how do you interpret that? >> i endorse mike lee. as a matter of fact, one of the questions we should answer right now is if you want to support mike lee, how do we do that? you go to leeforsenate.com. that's leeforsenate.com, associated with win red, which is for republicans. >> by the way, we are here for adam. i'm sure he has a website too. >> we'll get to that. >> sean, think about this, in 2020, losing a single seat in georgia cost the american taxpayers $4 trillion. covid relief package that only missed one thing, covid relief. the democrats spent $1.8 trillion on their priorities. we had a $1.2 trillion infrastructure package. they followed it up with a spending plan that raised taxes. you want to eliminate that kind of spending, there are three alternatives on this stage. vote for these two guys and me too. it's literally that easy. [applause] >> sean: we're going to bring out larry and leo.

they clearly feel evan mcmullin could be their guy and mitt romney hasn't endorsed either candidate saying they're friends but it comes despite mike lee pleading for him to do so. so we'll see if that contributed to any difference now three weeks to election day. >> that is right. it is good to see you. thank you. >>> joining me now for more is cnn analyst malika anderson and from the atlantic constitution. let's start with the utah senate race. we don't have a lot of polling out of utah to give a good sense of where that race truly stands. but the fact n independent candidate is making a real run for it in utah, what statement is that making about the republican party right now do you think? >> that is a fractured party. and that trump still remains a powerful figure but there are people in that state who have some skepticism about him, skepticism about mike lee who has in some ways carried water for donald trump. donald trump carried utah in 2020 by something like 20 points. this race seemed to be quite close. the polls, as you said, there vent been a lot of polls but maybe it is within

it's a huge issue in these midterms, evan mcmullin brought it up tonight, here's mike lee, watch this. >> for you to talk about the importance of the electoral college is rich, i think you know exactly how important it is. and i think you knew -- to find fake electors to overturn the will of the people. senator ali, that was the most egregious betrayal of our nations constitution, in history by u.s. senator, i believe, it will be your legacy. >> and we just heard arizona governor candidate kari lake refused to say whether she'd honor the election results. juanita, to people realize that if one of the two major political parties in the united states, simply doesn't accept how elections work, democracy will fill. >> that's absolutely right, that's a message we've been heard from democratic current debates, it started out with president joe biden calling that -- if republicans like that are expected -- and dodging the question. even this call out of mike lee, that needs to happen every single day, so voters can it easily and into in these election deniers, we all know about this 5:38 ana

here's the exchange from last night's first and only debate between lee and evan mcmullin. >> to keepwho has been voted out of office despite the will of the people, senator lee, it is a betrayal of the american republic. you were there to stand up for our constitution but when the barbarians were at the gate, you were happy to let them in. >> yes, there were people who behaved very badly on that day. i was not one of them. i was one of the people trying to dismantle this situation. trying to stop it from happening. because i believe in this document written by the hands of wise men raised up for that very purpose. >> he's been doing this thing with a pocket constitution. it is not a prop. it is not a prop. senator lee, the constitution is not a prop for you to wave about and then when it's convenient for your pursuit of power to abandon without a fight. >> joining our coverage, former maryland congresswoman, donna edwards. michael, the only thing mike lee sought to dismantle was the will of the people. this is a tough state. it's amazing how effective mcmullin is in laying out the fa

republican senator mike lee of utah will face his challenger evan mcmullin in a race there. in ohio congressman tim ryan will debate nominee j.d. vance. they are seeking the seat of rob portman. cnn's omar jimenez is live for us. this is their second debate. what could we expect? >> reporter: yeah, john, their second and last time debating this election cycle. about three weeks to election day. and if you watch the first one it was contentious at times. they hit some on some of the major issues in the midterms like abortion, law enforcement, the economy, and more. but at times they were talking directly at each other, moderators were trying to jump in. tim ryan said of j.d. vance, kissing up to president trump at ohio, and i'm quoting here, an ass kicker, not an as kisser. so we'll look for that same dynamic and ryan didn't want to see president biden run for a second term saying he wants to see a generational change on both sides of the political aisle. and the other interesting fact here is that despite ryan out-raising j.d. vance by a large margin from july to september,

democrats didn't put up a candidate and decide to throw their support to the conservative candidate, evan mcmullin, who is challenging mike lee. >> good point in utah. he has both republicans and democrats supporting him in that state. but talk to us about how the third-party candidate phenomenon may impact the statehouses in the country or races for governor. in fact, president biden had to campaign. there's a third-party candidate too. tell us what that looks like and if there are others we should be looking at. we know governors' races, lar particularly in the age of election denying and jobs, very important jobs. >> in the statehouses around the country, a narrow margin decided the races. statehouses could be crucial because some conservatives are advancing the theory of the independent state legislature, which some of you have certainly heard of, where state legislatures can decide on their own who wins the presidential election regardless of how they vote. that's the kind of situation where, you know, third party candidates could have an impact. we're seeing it in oregon, where the presence