but you may have a couple of african-americans who get into the johnny isakson seat.ou have an african-american on the ballot in november of 2020 while the presidential race is going on, and you might have a surge in turnout that could bring one of those senators over the finish line. >> let's be clear that one of those african-americans will not be stacey abrams? >> she's made that very clear that she's not going to do it. there are other names out there. michael thurman who's been a long-time, statewide elected in the state. a few people out there. rafael warnock, pastor at ebenezer baptist church. there are a few people who might do it. >> let's talk big picture. say democrats could get one of the two. they need net four. say alabama is a tough race to win a second time, as trump is probably going to clear that state by 12 points or so. besides georgia you've got north carolina, which democrats have managed to win statewide in the governor's race, arizona, the mcsally loss, texas, beto o'rourke came went three points, colorado which looks -- the republican looked d

johnny isakson of georgia.ats do have a legitimate shot at flipping the upper chamber in 2020. they need to net four seats for a 51-49 majority or just three if democrats take the white house. so let's take a look at their path. these three states are the democrats' best opportunities. colorado and maine, they both went blue in '16. while president trump won arizona, democrats pikds picked up a senate seat last year. texas, north carolina and georgia, which now has two senate seats up in 2020. they're all seeing demographic changes that favor democrats. then there's iowa, which has been hit hard by president trump's trade war. finally there are some longer shots, but don't sleep on them. kansas and montana are very red, but both elected democrats to statewide office in 2018. and in a wave year, don't overlook kentucky and south carolina. both could be in play, especially with incumbents that democrats like to beat up. democrats also have some seats they'll have to defend like michigan where president trump won

most important, friend to me and many people here in this town and back home in georgia, senator johnny isakson. like

johnny, look, johnny isakson has had some health challenges.ffy is the latest this week, he's got a child that's coming in. he says he'll have his health challenges. so we have three republicans walk away this week. it's been -- it's a trickle that feels like is this about to become a flood of retirements? there was one congressman who tweeted over the weekend he said there would be eight announced retirements before in first ten days of september. >> well, when i started on capitol hill, we were in the minority and we worked in the senate. being in the minority in the senate is not that bad. but being in a minority in the senate there's no reason to come to work. i get that. if they think that the republicans won't take back the house then there's no reason to hang around. it is miserable. >> this becomes self-fulfilling when you walk awake like this. >> that's probably true. you're thinking about yourself. plus, these have become awful jobs. you know, the executive branch is where everything is happening. capitol hill, they don't get anything

. >> and rick, i wanted to quickly turn to you about georgia, georgia's republican senator johnny isaksonocrats have a shot there? >> some numbers here are important. we know that stacey abrams came close, 55,000 votes away from becoming governor. president trump carried that state by some 200,000 vote. it's different in a presidential year. stacey abrams their dream candidate is now taking a pass on that, she's not going to run. it's difficult. if democratic party are able to be competitive in the state of georgia, that's a growingment of the party and i think georgia is a huge opportunity for them now. >> all eyes on georgia. thanks to all of you for joining us on this labor day weekend. enjoy the rest of it. >>> up next, as economic concerns grow over the president's trade policy. a key republican senator openly questions trump and the president has taken notice. my report from pennsylvania on the impact of the trade war. plus, senator pat toomey joins us live next. we're back in just 60 seconds. live. we're back in 60 seconds. >>> we are finally responding to years of chronic trade ab

. >> shannon: i know there are some changes going on, senator johnny isakson, republican out of georgiaied and downright maddened by the news that a veteran under the care of the va was treated so poorly without any regard to his well-being, what can you tell us? >> should be outrage, and social the family, a wonderful family. the veteran fought in the same conflict your father and my father fought in and with everything we do, our veterans deserve dignity. the difference here is that unlike previous administrations, we make changes rapidly. in this day and age, our veterans deserve much better than they have received and i have preached that our mission is about life and about taking care of the families who have spent so much for the country. that's why we moved when this happened. i was outraged just as the senator was, and we have made it clear that our veterans take first priority and we are not going to tolerate this. >> shannon: at the idea of accountability, the president has said there was a time you could fire anyone the matter they treated our veterans. since then, he says th

looking to persuade georgia's governor to promote him to a soon-to-be vacant seat, being vacated by johnny isaksonb barr, any favorites of yours? this point.one i know the governor and i have every confidence he will make a sound decision on filling the seat that will only be for about one year because that person will have to stand for reelection in the november 2020 election. here ine already georgia quite a number of people , including doug collins, whose as a have been mentioned possible replacement. well-qualified individuals, including doug collins who is the ranking member on the judiciary committee on which i used to serve. hewould not surprise me if was among those being considered by the governor. i don't have any inside information at this point. line,arizona, gun owners go ahead. caller: i voted for you a few years back for president. the secondet to amendment. well-regulated at the time they were used did not mean a pile of paperwork that told the militia what they couldn't could not do. meant in good working order. well supplied. we talked about a well-regulated navy, the ropes were

member murray, before introducing today's nominee eugene scalia please let me acknowledge senator johnny isakson recently announced his retirement. his leadership on the penth protection act in 2007 andese grate waited workers and i am pleased today to zhu you to vince scalia be too the 28th u.s. secretary of labor. i worked closely with gene when i was secretary of labor and can attest to his keen intellect, respect for the rule of law, personal integrity and commitment to protecting our nation's workers. let me know that there's a quorum of scalia members here and let me mention maureen scalia who is a treasured friend for many years. she's been a strong, guiding influence on her family, she's a proud new englander who ensured that gene read a long biography of samuel adams when he was just in grade school to emphasize the importantance of dedication and character in public service. this is just one of the many ways that gene's parents instilled within him a profound respect for public service, but the founding principles of our country and for the importance of using one's talents to make a d

ranking member, murray, before introducing today's nominee, please let me acknowledge senator johnny isakson who announced his retirement. his leadership on the pension protect act of 2006 has greatly benefitted workers and our country and you will be dearly missed. i'm pleased to be here today to introduce eugene scalia who i've known for years. and i can attest to his keen intellectual, respect for the rule of law, personal integrity and commitment to protecting our nation's workers. let me know that there's a corum of scalia friends here. she's been a strong guiding influence on her family. she ensured that gene read a long biography of samuel adams when he was just in graduate school to emphasize the important of dedication and character in public service. this is just one of the many ways that gene's parents instilled within him a profound respect for public service, for the founding principles of our country, and for the importance of using one's talents to make a difference for others. these ideals and backgrounds are important to gene's success as a respected counselor and adviser th

ranking member murray, before introducing today's nominee, please let me acknowledge senator johnny isakson who recently announced his retirement. his leadership especially under the pension protection act has greatly benefited workers and you will be dearly missed. i am pleased to be here to introduce eugene scalia who i have known for decades as the nominee to be the 28th secretary of labor. i worked closely with him when i was secretary of labor. i can attest to his personal integrity and commitment to protecting our nations workers. there is a quorum of scalia members. -- sheespecially mention has been a strong guiding influence in her family. she is a strong new englander read ae sure gene adams.hy of samuel this is one of the ways his fornts instilled a respect public service, the founding principles of our country, and the importance of using one's to make a difference. these are important to his background. as a formidable attorney and dedicated volunteer during his many years in private practice. he has served three previous cabinet officers including me with distinction. in additi

most important, friend to me and many people here in this town and back home in georgia, senator johnny isakson. like everyone i was surprised and saddened to hear of johnny's upcoming retirement. since my very first day in the senate walking through this door back here to be sworn in with johnny escorting me, i've come to revere this guy. he's been a mentor that i've looked up to. he's been a great leader for our state for many years. he's been a reliable and effective colleague. most of all, he's been a friend whom i deeply cherish. it will be hard to see him go, but the reality is he won't go. he'll still be involved here. i'm sure i'll get the phone calls about when we might have disagreed on a vote or why didn't i think about this. but he has been a tremendous partner for me these last four years. however, johnny has left a profound legacy that's worth celebrating, one that we should all strive to follow here in this body. he epitomizes the best for this body, the united states senate. his legacy can be summed up in one word -- service. no matter what he does, johnny puts other people befo

president, while were on the subject, like all my colleagues unsaddled senator johnny isakson is retiring at the end of this year. we are members of the same freshman class in 2004. in 2004. he has been a tireless advocate for veterans during his time here and he will be deeply missed. but is hard work as head of the veterans affairs committee heret in us and will continue to bear fruit and willl continue to work to implement the v.a. reforms that he t shepherded it to ensue our veterans receive the care that they have earned. mr. president, i was here in washington, d.c. on september 11 and evacuated the capitol complex. one of the things i remember very clear from the day is a capitol police officers who directed us out of the buildings. we were running from the danger. they weren't. they weren't going anywhere until they were sure every last man and woman had made their way out. against that spirit of courage and self-sacrifice, evil will never ultimately triumph. may god bless all those who stand between us and danger it y

president, while we're on the subject of veterans like all my colleagues, i'm sadden thad senator johnny isakson is retiring at the end of this year. we're members of the same freshman class in 2004. he's been a tireless advocate for veterans during these time here and he will be deeply missed but his hard work as the head of the veterans affairs committee here in the senate will continue to bear fruit and we will continue to work to implement the v.a. reforms that he shepherded to ensure our veterans we serve -- receive the care that they have earned. mr. president, i was here in washington, d.c. on september 11 and evacuated the capitol complex. one of the things i remember very clearly from that day is the capitol police officers who directed us out of the buildings. we were running from the danger. they weren't. they weren't going anywhere until they were sure every last man and woman had made their way out. against that spirit of courage and self-sacrifice, evil will never ultimately triumph. may god bless all those who stand between us and danger. may he bless the victims of september 11 a

senator johnny isakson has determined that his health challenges will lead him to conclude his distinguished 15-year senate career at the end of december. putting georgians first like always. his depr tur will be a significant lot for the people of georgia and for the 99 of us here in this chamber. senator isakson is a tireless legislator. in particular, he's a dogged advocate for our nation's veterans. but he's even more than that. johnny is universally seen as one of the warmest, friendliest, most respectable and most collaborative members of this body. he has strong views and solid principles, but he knows that broad often bipartisan cooperation is the way to advance those very goals. so i hope that as the senate tackles the important matters before us in the weeks and months ahead, we'll not only make sure to savor our last few months working alongside of this great friend and colleague but also to embody his example in our work. and here's what that work will need to include. right off the bat this week, the senate will begin working through a slate of nominations to important federal o