and linda mcmahon crushed sha sending close to $20 million.ll that's small potatoes compared to $50 million that mcmahon spent in the 2010 senate bid. and a 70-year-old four-term governor tommy thompson held off challengers to eke out a victory. he moves on to battle tammy baldwin to see who will be elected for the retiring senator herb cole's seat. here with us, david catnee. thanks for joining us tonight. >> good evening eliot. >> eliot: let's set the stage. how many seats do the republicans need to pick up to regain or gain control of the senate, and obviously that would be the fulcrum around an awful lot would pivot. >> you're looking at four seats if president obama is re-elected. that's the baseline that we're going off of. that's how republicans are planning. and in two of these races that were last night to determine the primary, they are battlegrounds seeds that the republicans are targeting, wisconsin, herb cole's democratic seat that republicans feel very good about because of the environment in wisconsin, because of the success tha

. >> crazy linda mcmahon, in connecticut, who would normally support anything crazy, has said linda mcmahons medicare. she's even running away from this. >> it's easier to say what you won't do than what you will do. and i think in this case, paul ryan forced a lot of people on the record. there's only ten house republicans against this budget. and now people who weren't in congress like linda mcmahon, they

. >> crazy linda mcmahon, in connecticut, who would normally support anything crazy, has said linda mcmahon would never support a budget that cuts medicare. she's even running away from this. >> it's easier to say what you won't do than what you will do. and i think in this case, paul ryan forced a lot of people on the record. there's only ten house republicans against this budget. and now people who weren't in congress like linda mcmahon, they're not going to jump in and endorse something they don't have to, so they're going to stay as far away as they can. >> we're out of time. sam stein gets the >> good evening, americans. welcome to "the ed show" live from minneapolis. 83 days until the 2012 election. well, mitt romney is whining about a hate campaign, his buddies are stealing your right to vote. this is "the ed show." let's get to work. >> the president's campaign is all about division and attack and hatred. >> the romney campaign is raging about chains. and silent about voter suppression. tonight, the reverend al sharpton on the romney campaign to distract and conquer. >>> and the nat

linda mcmahon is running ahead by three points to. that is real. she has the democrat on the defensive. this is a place where democrats have not spend money. they will have to spend money there. if missouri is off the table, you will see republicans try to put more places in places like florida and michigan. indiana has been more interesting. i know democrats want to make arizona a tossup race. i am dubious about arizona because of the demographics there, and democrats have a candidate that has had a free ride for a long time that ends today. republicans have have some disappointments. it is harder for them to get there. they can still get there, but they need a few breaks. >> david, how about you? what did guy harrison say that was right and wrong, and what is your range in the house? >> i think he was more or less on target. i would take a less bullish view of the republican chances in the house. we have had three ways where elections hit a low, but it will not be partisan, it will be generational. we have 62 seats with no incumbent on the ballot

. >> is it the linda mcmahon effect? >> people are getting sick of it already. it's an interesting question, whether the republican advantage in spending, i say this with no idea, whether that advantage will help them or not. we're in unchartered territory here. >> except i can tell you -- >> people may at some point shut off the tv. >> i lived in washington, d.c., during the 2008 campaign, and i can tell you that there were 200 barack obama ads for every three john mccain ads and it made a huge difference. grainy thing and john mccain wants to raise your taxes and that moved the polls. that did make a difference. i'm wondering, though, this year, if it's even beyond that? >> it is beyond that. the obama campaign, the disparity will not be as great this time even though the obama campaign will be outspent. as i say, if you're talking about six or seven or eight states and this amount of money the saturation could get to the point -- we don't know what people will do. there is no analog in the past. if you're talking about we're going to spend $2.5 billion in thi

former wrestling executive linda mcmahon hasn't stopped running for the u.s.last time and former congressman chris shays, face off for the republican nomination. this has been nasty, chris hayes is promised if linda mcmahon wins, he is not supporting her. >>> in this week's ten hottest advertising markets, remember it is all about saturation it is all about iowa. four of the ten aets most saturated, des moines number three, quad city, sioux city, seven, eight and nine, you see the other states there, virginia market is back on top. roanoke, lynchburg at number one. unbelievable, you look at the amount of money being spent, team romney is outspending team obama by 2:1 this week. the romney campaigning the rnc and outside groups spending $25 million this week compared to team obama at $11 million. still, an unbelievable amount of money in august. >>> all right. next, we have got more of my candid conversations with retiring senators. today, it is kay on not being a moderate. her one-time white house dreams. and why she says governors don't make the best presiden

wrestling executive linda mcmahon won the senate nomination in connecticut. she spent $61 million combined in the primary in her failed senate run in 2010. in wisconsin, former gop governor tommy thompson fought off three rivals for the senate nomination, and in florida, long-time republican congressman john mica beat a tea party congresswoman to win the nomination in a newly formed district. >>> well, authorities in central washington state say a fast-moving wildfire has destroyed at least 70 homes there. a fire commander says a 40-mile blaze on the eastern slope of the cascade mountains is now just 10% contained. at least 900 people have been evacuated. >>> meanwhile, as higher temperatures and a lack of rain continue to plague much of the nation, u.s. farmers are still struling to cope with the worst drought in 50 years. nbc's jay gray visited one missouri farming community. >> reporter: for many in missouri and across the midwest, it's never been as difficult as this year. >> this year it's the intense heat we've had with the lack of rain. we've had two m

. >>> and former wrestling executive, linda mcmahon, won the senate primary. now, in the last race, she spent $50 million of her own money and lost. >>> and in wisconsin, former governor and health and human services secretary, tommy thompson, ran won the senate primary. >>> democrat dennis cardoza, served since 2002, is stepping down to deal with parenting challenges. cardoza and his wife have three children. >>> immigration is a hot-button issue today. under a new program, immigrants under the age of 31 who came to the u.s. before they turned 16 can apply for paperwork to avoid deportation. the work permits will lost two years and cost $465. but they do not guarantee citizenship. >>> out west, now where more than 60 wildfires are turning in 10 western states. in central washington, more than 70 homes have been burned. more than 43-square miles have been scorched by a fire that was sparked at a construction site. at least 900 people have been evacuated while others are battling those flames with about any tool at hand. >> look at this. and then, turn around a

is to like linda mcmahon. race for her had in some ways. chris murphy has been in congress for awhile. he's not well-known statewide. hard to get known statewide in connecticut. it is a small state with expensive media markets. so it is an interesting race. i'm sure democrats are going to use wretionelling against her again. but her job is to make some inroads with women voters, with independent voters, two groups she lost badly in 2010. she can do that. she can make this race competitive. >> bill: today you call it -- >> today, i have it likely democrat. i'm not underestimating her. i wouldn't -- it wouldn't surprise me if it is one of those races i end up moving. >> bill: north dakota. our friend retiring. heidi and rick burg. >> this is a race that surprises us a little bit. one that democrats are still in this game. because north dakota -- >> bill: you would think. write it off. >> it is one of the most republican in the country and it has become more republican in the last six years. >> bill: byron dorgan

in connecticut, linda mcmahon -- >> how are we doing in canada. >> still jet lagged. >> that's how youook at people in connecticut, isn't it? >> they're basically canadians. >> someone somewhere in the course of manhattan up there, i don't know. she outspent chris shays 12 to 1 in the primary. >> it's sick. >> it is sick. i'll tell you what, she beat a really, really good republican. >> yeah. >> last night and she beat a really, really good republican two years ago. and rob simmons who would have been elected. >> yeah. >> senator. >> more likely than not after all of the problems that the democrat had. but she wrote checks. >> see what the democrats said, she called her a greed ceo made millions marketing sex and violence to little kids. welcome to the general election. >> may i say i was one of those little kids who thoroughly enjoys professional wrestling as a young man. >> not a swing voter in canada. >> no up in canada. mike allen with a look at the playbook, thanks so much. >> y'all have a good day. >> it's starting to come a little unglued at fenway, mike barnicle. report says ma

in connecticut first former world wrestling entertainment ceo linda mcmahon putting chris jays down for the count. she is running for joe lieberman. in wisconsin former governor tommy thompson winning a four-way race for the senate nod. he will replace tommy baldwin. connie mac the 4th cruises to a victory. he is looking to unseat bill nelson. >>> major hasan is expected to plead not guilty today in the fort hood shooting rampage. hasan's trial is scheduled to begin monday. yesterday a judge refuse to do delay the trial a third time despite the defense saying they still haven't finished sorting through all of the evidence. >> patty ann you might not be able to visit mars any time soon but at least you can do this. you can still explore the surface. nasa's rover sent back these stunning 360 degree pictures from the red planet. they are pieced together to create an interactive panoramic that allows you to have a look around and zoom in on different shots. in the distance you can see mount shark a 3 mile high mountain that curiosity will travel to within a week. >> that is your 5@5:00. >>>

linda mcmahon will make another run after crushing chris sheas in that state's republican primary. and connie mack won his senate primary and will face off democratic senator bill nelson in the fall, that is a 50/50 race. >>> republican megadonor sheldoned aal son has put more money into the -- tuesday he attended a las vegas event with congressman paul ryan. >> of all the places that needs jobs, that need home values to rebound is it's nevada. the unemployment rate, i had to read this number three times, 11.6% in nevada. you deserve better than that. we will get this economy growing, we will turn things around, we will get the economy back on track, and we will not duck the tough issues, we will lead. >> by the way, as john ralston, my man out in vegas pointed out, paul ryan dan did pronounce nev correctly. adelson is moving money everywhere. >> i was talking to one of his associates, close associates just yesterday, he's already spent about $42 million to try to defeat president obama, reports of up to 100 million, i have asked how much is he prepared to spend? the answer, whatev

and after outspending her opponent by almost ten times linda mcmahon beats former congressman christophers in the g.o.p. primary for the u.s. senate in connecticut. mcmahon shelled-out 11 million dollars, while shays only spent about one million. she'll square-off next against u.s. democratic congressman chris murphy in the general election. mcmahon ran for the u.s. senate back in 2010, and spent 50 million dollars of her own money... and still lost big in the general election. next: why you maybe seeing ads in your facebook feed. they get rid of germs but could those popular anti- bacterial products be affecting your muscle functions. the 30th running of the arlington million takes place this saturday at arlington park. you are looking at the post position draw announcement happening at wgn studios this hour. we are going to check back in a little while for the unveiling of the post position. you can watch coverage of 'the arlington million' this saturday starting at 5-pm centeral on wgn-tv chicago and wgn america.... with an encore on cltv at 8-pm central. think you can't get great auto

linda mcmahon is running ahead by three points to. that is real. she has the democrat on the defensive. this is a place where democrats have not spend money. they will have to spend money there. if misery is off the table, you will see republicans tried to put more -- from missouri is often the table, you will see republicans try to put more places in places like florida and michigan. indiana has been more interesting. i know democrats want to make arizona a tossup race. i am dubious about arizona because of the demographics there, and democrats have a candidate that has had a free ride for a long time that ends today. republicans have have some disappointments. it is harder for them to get there. they can still get there, but they need a few breaks. >> david, how about you? what did guy harrison say that was right and wrong, and what is your range in the house? >> i think he was more or less on target. i would take a less bullish view of the republican chances in the house. we have had three ways where elections hit a low, but it will not be parti

going to be very front and center important in this 2012 election and some of the senate races, linda mcmahone champ but she is with wf businesswoman won the primary over chris chez in connecticut. she will be unagainst congressman murphy, democrat and tommy thompson. i don't know how many lives tom mcmorries thompson has governor, cabinet secretary, ran for president, remember, as the other thompson. now he is back again. >> i totally forgot. you are right. >> tommy thompson, fred thompson was the big star at the time and tommy kept saying i am the other thompson, funny, nerdy little guy. >> total dweeb. >> some love him in wisconsin. he won the primary yesterday. and he will be up against tammy baldwin. here is how exciting tommy thompson was last night. >> we are going to take america back. we are going to send barack obama back to chicago. >> where are we going to send him back to? where is he from again? tommy, you are running for senate, not president of the united states. he thinks he is running for president of the united states. we will bring you up to date on some of the other prima

former six-term congressman chris shays is fighting for his life against linda mcmahon.'s far outspent her opponent, doling out a reported $65 million of her own fortune. >>> we now know what has kept jesse jackson out of the media for the last two months. they would not discuss his treatment. michelle barack obama finally explained what happened with this botched kiss cam incident on the tonight show. >> you turned him down? >> no, i did not. i did not. i had just walked in and sat down and i just saw my face on the jumbo cam. i didn't see the kiss part so i didn't know we were supposed to kiss and then malia came over after we got booed for not kissing and she was just disgusted with us. >> aerospace engineers are going to test a super fast aircraft that would fly at 3600 miles per hour, five times the speed of sound. it would make the flight from london to new york in about an hour. my question is, would you get on board that? well, you can answer on our facebook page at facebook dot kok/jansingco. [ male announcer ] wouldn't it be cool if we took the nissan altima an

he's behind a professional wrestling mogul named linda mcmahon. behind her by 48 points. it is hard to be the chris shays guy in this year's republican party. it's not like chris shays is a liberal. ne of these guys is a liberal. they're all conservative in fact by any reasonable measure, but they're not conservative enough because there is room at all to their right. they're all subject in one way or another now to the perfection process, the ongoing purge that is still gripping republican party politics. so far it has killed or cut short the careers of senator dick luger of indiana and senator bob bennett of utah and congressman mike castle of delaware and governor charlie crist of florida and john bruining in nebraska and trey greyson in kentucky and, and, and, and. and tonight in texas again, the case of a genuinely conservative republican rick perry's lieutenant governor seen here os tenationly holding a chick-fil-a bag this week to prove how anti-gay he is, texas lieutenant governor david dewhurst was wildly favored initially to walk away with the republican nominat

even slightly wacky linda mcmahon is running away from the paul ryan plan saying she would never support a budget like that. my friend steve benin who writes at maddowblog.com has had a useful framing for thinking about how candidates pick vice presidential nominees. they're almost augusts or novembers or januarys. the strongest possible candidate will pick a january. pick somebody who will help them govern once they get elected. sort of middle of the road candidate will pick somebody with an eye toward november. november, somebody who will help them get elected in the general election in november. somebody who would help them appeal to a broad swath of the nation. and then there's the type of vice president that the weakest candidate chooses, an august. the person who won't necessarily help you govern starting in january, won't help you win in november, but who does speak to your own party's base. it's the kind of choice you make to make your own party like you. to make your own side think you are one of them. paul ryan is the paragone of mr. august. i was hoping for liz cheney. paul ry

in a primary smackdown linda mcmahon won. she now faces murphy.isconsin former governor and presidential candidate tommy thompson won the republican primary despite attacks from critics over his support for a health care mandate. he edged out conservative opponents who split the tea party vote. he squares off against tammie baldwin. that could determine control of the senate. then in florida congressman cliff sterns is trailing. >>> the two presidential tickets spent the week blitzing a handful of battleground states that could make or break their run. has the addition of paul ryan tipped it in romney's favor. joining me is the presidential historian and director of the university of virginia center for politics. it's good to have you here. your blog puts seven states up for grabs. wisconsin not among them. could tommy thompson's win last night open a door for romney in wisconsin, at least maybe a window? >> it could. i think wisconsin is moving toward greater competition. i wouldn't put it as a pure toss up though. at least prior to ryan and you'

in connecticut, former world wrestling and attend an executive linda mcmahon defeated the more moderate congressmember christopher shays for the republican nomination in the primary to replace outgoing senator joe lieberman. she will square off against a credit congressmember chris murphy. on the campaign trail, president obama and republican challenger mitt romney traded barbs over energy policy on tuesday during separate appearances. speaking during a second consecutive day of campaigning in iowa, president obama said romney has failed to support renewable power sources such as wind. >> he said that new sources of energy like wind are imaginary. his running mate calls them [unintelligible] during a speech a few months ago, governor brown even explained his energy policy this way -- you cannot drive a car with a windmill on in it. that is what is said about wind power. if he has't know actually tried that. i know he has had other things on his car. [laughter] [applause] but if he wants to learn something about wind, all his got to do is pay attention to what you have been doing here in

and in connecticut, former wrestling executive linda mcmahon defeated former congressman christopherys. she's hoping to replace retiring senator joe lieberman. >> the issue is going to decide this election is who is best able to address the economic crisis that threatens our future and who best understands how to create jobs. folks, there is so much at stake in this election, perhaps more than ever before. washington is out of control. and it's not too much to say that america's future is on the line. >> sreenivasan: the night's big upset came in florida, where tea party challenger ted yoho beat 12-term republican congressman cliff stearns by about 800 votes. but another longtime florida congressman john mica turned back freshman congressman sandy adams, also a tea party favorite, in a redrawn district. this was the first day that young, illegal immigrants could apply to live and work legally in the u.s. it's a major policy change announced by president obama in june. under the new rules, applicants must be under 30, and they have to prove they came to the country before they were 16

and now people who weren't in congress like linda mcmahon, they're not going to jump in and endorse something they don't have to, so they're going to stay as far away as they can. >> we're out of time. sam stein gets the "last word." thanks, sam. >>> romney's complaint. let's play "hardball." >>> good evening. i'm chris matthews up in nantucket where kathleen and i have been enjoying summers since our honeymoon. let me start with mitt romney's dare to call out for negative campaigning. i was in iowa when he carpet bombed former speaker newt gingrich and did the same to santorum. now hoping everyone forgot how he got this far, the curtis will he may of massive tv bombing is sniping at a metaphor joe biden used against his economic plans for cutting medicare. here he is leading the party that drifts with birther talk where slurs with anti-un-americanism rich with chorus. references to food stamp, welfare the practice code of bigots. perhaps mr. romney should unchain himself from this cotillion of nastiness before he tries to play umpire against mr. biden. i begin tonight with cynthia tucker. an

we've got wonderful candidates for the senate who are willing to take on these tough races and linda mcmahonin connecticut. we've got really i think strong candidates who are women, who will add to the dialogue, and i believe that the republican party has reached out and i do think women now feel welcome in both parties, and i think that it is the views on the issues and the leadership potential that people vote on. some of the most touching moments that i have are fathers bringing their daughters to see me, to say i want her to see a woman leader and that she can do it, too. i campaigned my first campaign was on homemaker iras and i had husbands come up to me and say oh, my gosh, thank you, for giving my wife a chance to have a homemaker ira like i've had all these years but haven't been able to do for my wife, who does stay home and raise our children. i think that we sometimes focus on issues that men aren't against, but they haven't had the experience to know that they're issues. that happened when i was in the legislature and i passed the bill for rape victims to have equal treatment un

from denny reyhberg, linda mcmahon, heather wilson, scott brown, all saying they are against paul ryan on the medicare issue. this is just the first week of his rollout. this is the honeymoon. and then he himself started talking to the press, and he handled it roughly as well as he handled those hecklers at his first solo speech in iowa. he tried to insist he never requested stimulus money. he said "i never asked for stimulus." yeah. yeah, you did. after he got called out for lying about that the new vice presidential nominee had to backtrack saying he actually hadn't recalled, and it was a mistake when he took the stimulus money and then took the courageous step of blaming his staff. and then "the boston globe" called him out again on another program. he tried to get away with blaming president obama foreclosing an auto plant in his district, even though it closed before president obama ever became president. you want to join president bush for that one. this is week one. no honeymoon whatsoever. you can tell that mitt romney is answering questions about his tax returns. the rollout o

pro wrestling magnate linda mcmahon has defeated former congressman chis shays.ll face chris murphy in november. and in wisconsin, there's only 3% reporting, but former governor tommy thompson with 3% reporting, is trailing one of his anti-establishment opponents for the right to face tammy baldwin for the seat in november. obviously, 3%, still very early tonight. we'll be keeping an eye on that. the general election is 84 days away, and one of the most interesting questions in all of politics is how the paul ryan pick is going to affect not just romney's chances against barack obama in november, but how the paul ryan pick will affect the down ticket races, too. joining us now is steve schmidt. senior strategist for the mccain/palin ticket in '08. thank you for being here. nice to see you. >> nice to see you, rachel. >> there's all this hand wringing by anonymous republicans about how they're worried that paul ryan's medicare baggage and other things that are known about him are going to hurt down ticket races. is that just whining or is there substance there? >>