. >> joining us now for a look at some of these key race last night, mark murray. and mark, a lot of peoples obviously talking about delaware, but also new hampshire's race, too close to call, as chuck just mentioned. i had a white house official argue to me today, don't just say this is anti-incumbent that's going on across the board, it's really anti-incumbent sentiment going on within the republican primaries. >> i think that there is some truth to that, savannah. you look, there really does seem to be a purge that's being conducted within the republican party. it's actually something that dates back to last year. remember when arlen specter defected to the democratic party, and in the spring, charlie crist had to quit the florida senate republican primary. we saw bob bennett lose in utah. a lot of this is occurring on the republican side. now, there have been some democratic incumbents who have lost their primaries for re-election. we saw alan mull hahn in west virginia, carolyn kilpatrick lose. but those had to do more with ethical issues than ideological issue

mark murray joins us from washington, d.c. mark, you noted that mrs. visit five states in your top ten senate takeover list. >> exactly. as you mentioned, in this political environment, democrats can use all the help that they can get. certainly the first lady is going to help democrats in the most competitive contests in the country. she's going into five contests starting on october 13th in wisconsin for russ feingold. she'll go to illinois. the next day, to colorado for michael bennett. and then later on to california and washington state for barbara boxer and patty murray. these are all toss-up contests. also, contests that democrats can win even in this political environment. >> we pointed out, mark, the first lady's favorability rating is at 66%. some might say that is because she has stayed out of the political fray and tackled issues like military families and helping them and the issue of obesity. is this a risky move, putting her in such tight races? >> well, potentially. although it would be riskier to keep her out of the -- off the campaign

mark murray, nbc news deputy political director joins me. the potential replacements, mark, we're hearing this could come down friday, right? >> exactly, tamron. savannah guthrie reported it could come as early as friday, and that all signs are pointing that he would make this mayoral bid. it's not a done deal. due to family considerations, emanuel hasn't completely made up his mind yet. most are oermting und ioperatin asujs assumption that he will run for mayor of chicago. >> let's look at the outsiders first. >> this is people who are outsiders, but very well known to washington, d.c. you have tom daschle, the former senate leader who isn't certainly working the white house, but knows all the types of players. there's also clinton's former chief of staff in the 1990s. another, john podesta and then leon panetta. he's a former clinton chief of staff. they may want to tap someone who certainly knows what the job is and also knows a thing or two about dealing with republicans in charge of congress if that turns out to be the case after novembe

a debate last night that both candidates, brown and whitman, thought that they did well in. >> mark murrayright now, the house of representatives is making a new attempt to pass a health care bill for 9/11 first responders. the clerk is reading the bill following debate that's been going on all day. the $7.4 billion measure would guarantee medical treatment and economic compensation for those injured and sickened at ground zero. nbc's luke russert joins us live from capitol hill. luke, the republicans want to bring in the issue of people who were undocumented workers who could perhaps be compensated. that's the issue that they were holding on to for this, right? >> yes. let's take a little history lesson here, tamron. back in july, this vote went down under suspension. democrats tried to offer it without an amendment process. the reason why that vote failed was essentially because not enough republicans came over to the democratic side because they were worried about legislation in there that would actually give these benefits to undocumented workers and first responders who appeared on th

nbc news deputy political director mark murray joins me from washington, d.c. to talk about. how big of a political factor could someone like bloomberg be in the fall? >> it could be a pretty big factor. right now there's broad dissatisfaction with both political parties, the democratic party and the republican party, and that does create an opening for an independent like mike bloomberg. bloomberg, once a democrat then a republican, now an independent, he's endorsing centrist democrats and republicans on the republican side. along with illinois republican senatorial nominee kirk. harry reid, the majority leader along with joe sestak in pennsylvania, who president obama is campaigning for today. he's trying to straddle and find centrists from both parties. >> what else are moderates doing to get their voice out a bit? >> sir isaac newton said for every action there's an opposite and equal reaction. with the big tea party forces we've been seeing, the center is starting to fight back. maybe not as strong now. but we saw evidence of it over the weekend. kohl listen powell was o

deputy political director mark murray on a busy primary day. thank you. >>> we move to the weather now. hurricane igor, the massive storm stretching more than 100 miles across now moving over bermuda as it heads across the atlantic. bill karins, love the name. igor. looks like a tough storm. >> a couple years ago we had ivan which you knew would be a bad storm. we saw igor and knew it would cause problems. it's category 4 storm still. huge hurricane. very dangerous if headed toward land but as of now it's not. right behind it this morning our fifth hurricane of the season formed and that's hurricane julia. julia doesn't really strike fear in you. this one will stay in open water and not threaten anyone. igor is the one we'll be watching ever so closely as we go throughout the next couple of days. here's the official forecast. keep an eye on bermuda to the north. that's the area that we'll be watching. the storm will slowly -- painly flow mover. it will take five days to get from its current position to get toward bermuda. winds are now 135. it

mark murray is nbc's deputy political director joining us from washington. so it's called the pledge to america, mark. what's in it? >> well, savannah, there are many components, but among the provisions that they are going to be laying out today, one would be make all the bush tax cuts permanent. another priority for them would hold weekly votes on spending cuts. and then finally, to repeal and replace health care. of course, many of these ideas aren't necessarily new. we've been hearing from republicans for a very long time their desire to repeal and replace health care along with extending the bush tax cuts. but this is a response to democratic charges of where is the beef? what would republicans do if they take back control of congress? and this 21-page document essentially does that. it lays out their ideas, what they would like to accomplish, and their priorities for the next congress. >> all right. mark murray in our washington newsroom. you know, savannah, the interesting thing was the reaction among folks at national review, for instance, or represen

mark murray is here. mark, a lot of voices getting in on this. >> exactly, tamron.urned into a major distraction for the whitman campaign. not only do they have to contend with jerry brown, the democratic nominee, and gloria alred, now the powerful organization union has an independent expenditure campaign tv ad in spanish hitting meg whitman while she was run during the republican primary saying she would not grant amnesty towards illegal immigrants. this tv ad says she attacks illegal immigrants and then hired one for nine years. certainly a distraction with 33 days out. this is all about the economy. california's budget deficit. every day whitman isn't talking about that and instead talking about this former housekeeper isn't a good day for her. >> i know it is a distraction for her. but this is a major political issue, obviously, if these accusations are true. >> you are correct, tamron. and certainly the latino vote and immigration. immigration is a very big issue in california. and certainly this is a bit of a black eye for her. theirampaign is acknowledging t

mark murray is there. mark, explain who us, who is this summit intended for?eporter: well, thomas, this summit is sponsored by the family research counsel, associated more with social issues, opposition to gay marriage, opposition to abortion. of course, the economy is issue number one politically. we've heard tons of economic red meat aimed at the obama administration, at the democratic leaders in congress. we've also heard on soeshl issues as well. there's an interesting social economic divide going on in the republican party. the tea party has a lot of roots in libertarianism. sometimes that's at odds with social conservatism. but certainly the economy is number one. it's been a topic here at this conferenc conference. >> in the past social issues have always drummed up support from the base. right now with america facing the recession it's in, it's all about the economy, though. are they focusing on that as well? are you saying they're spending more time focusing on the social issues that always drive out the republicans? >> it's both. but it's very heavy.

mark murray, deputy political director, we're going to play more from the value voter's summit later. thanks. >> the only u.s. senator to win via write-in is the infamous strom thurm man. so what she's attempting to do would be historic if she pulled it off. >>> all right. world leaders are in new york for the united nations general assembly. true to form, iranian president, ahmadinejad, is lashing out at the united states on the eve of his big speech. also in new york to cover this is ali. i've got to ask you, is this going to be one of the classic ahmadinejad goes off on america for 45 minutes, an hour, and folks in there have to sit there and roll their eyes while he does it? >> chuck, it would certainly follow the pattern. he doesn't seem to mind to be the villain here. he likes to play against america and saying that iran has always been mistreated against america. it would certainly fit the pattern. i think he wants to come here as well and show that he's been very compassionate by releasing sarah shourd. just before he left iran on friday, he made a big statement saying, it's n

mark murray joins us live from the site of the event. a lot of red meat for the faith there. including pleas to keep abortion and same-sex marriage as part of the gop platform. i understand why it's in their speeches. but is it really what they think will get conservatives elected. or is it more of a reallilying call? getting people fired up? >> it's important to point out this is sponsored by the family research counsel, always the social issue in opposition to abortion, opposition to gay marriage, with more opposition in the public sphere. it's no surprise social issues are front and center. the dominant political issue now in america is the economy with the unemployment rate at 10%. but this conference is really trying to hammer home that social issues and getting the social voters out to vote is important for republicans this fall. right before christine o'donnell speaks in a few minutes, i was just hearing a panel talk about their opposition to the repeal of don't ask, don't tell in the military. so they really are trying to keep the social issues at the forefront here.

nbc's news deputy political director mark murray joins me live from washington. the republican party in delaware is now running in 2008 robo call from o'donnell's campaign. let's listen to that first. >> those are the criticisms here, mark. but you know she's running neck and neck in this race right now. but the real question if she does come out with a win in the primary, can she win in november? that's the big question. that's the reason why establishment groups like the delaware republican party are airing that robo call in delaware. it's very unusual for a political party, particularly a state political party to get involved in a primary like we're seeing hair. but clearly republicans realize from here in washington, d.c. to delaware that o'donnell doesn't give them as good of a chance to win in november as castle does. he's been an elected leader in delaware for a long time. he's been a member of congress for a long time. . delaware is a blue state that barack obama easily won in 2008. that joe biden was able to win easily in 2008 as well when he was running

nbc news deputy political director mark murray is here in new york as opposed to his usual spot in d.cd you're here. >> good to be here. >> so she spends this kind of money. what kind of advantage does it give her? >> the biggest advantage is the tv ads in the state. california is not a cheap state to run television ads. that's the best way politicians seem to communicate with voters. she's able to define herself, define her opponent jerry brown. >> she claims she has to do this. there's like 2.3 million more registered democrats in the state of california. she has to intend more than jerry brown does for that reason? >> exactly. jerry brown has a lot of money on his side. he's still at a 6-1 disadvantage there. california is a graveyard for republicans with millions and millions of dollars to spend having money isn't always a recipe for success. >> mayor michael bloomberg spent on his own. didn't that happen this week? >> meg whitman's $119 million is now more than bloomberg spent in his 2009 mayoral bid. >> wasn't that like $120 per vote that he got. >> yef. >> he still won at the en

chief washington correspondent norah o'donnell joins me and mark murray. does this defeign what the gop needs to do in 48 days? >> probably not norah. sorry, contessa. it doesn't really change what they need. the political wind are at their back right now. everything is going their way. yes, they might not have the mathematical edge to get the majority in the senate but they still stand to pick up some big gains in the house and also in the senate. this does hurt their chances of winning the senate seat in delaware but it doesn't end and as christine o'donnell's victory proved, anything is possible right now and she could be able to pull off the win perhaps come november. i mean, she certainly starts out with a disadvantage but as even she said this is an unpredictable season so far. >> now the republican leaders in washington are making it clear they'll back here. in fact, the head of the republican national senatorial committee cornyn says personally we stand by the nominees include including o'donnell in delaware. that statement coming out this morning.

let's go to nbc news deputy political director mark murray who joins us live from washington. let's break down what these results mean beginning in delaware. it was a huge tea party win, obviously. the question is, obviously, what will happen in the midterm? >> you know, richard, we just don't know right now. certainly the tea party has given republicans a jolt of enthusiasm and energy even in delaware. honestly, that's the republican party's biggest advantage heading into the midterm electrics. they're the ones who have the enthusiasm and the democrats don't. on the other hand, the tea party has given democrats an advantage in contests like delaware and kentucky and nevada where it's their candidates, the democratic candidates probably wouldn't have a chance to win or even be the favorites without the tea party candidates there. in delaware, for example, chris kuntz goes in as the fro front-runner in this contest. castle would have been the front-runner had he won. >> hey, mark, let's go to new york where we saw paladino come away with the winner there. >> that was just a sho

mark murray is nbc's deputy political director. the big picture, the overall landscape hasn't changed. let's start with the first number. why is the republican lead now only three when it was nine a month ago? >> well, chuck, the biggest change has to do with the fact that african-americans and latinos are more enthusiastic about voting in the midterms, which has bumped up the democratic numbers ever so slightly. however, president obama -- the numbers among younger voters still are -- those people are still on the sidelines. but that is the biggest explanation for the incremental change. but the biggest story is, and speaking of change, that's what voters still want with more than almost 6 in 10 americans saying the country is on the wrong track. some of the biggest things they want differently, less of an influence among special interests. they also want more political outsiders. they want the tea party to bring fiscal conservatism and they want to repeal health care reform. >> mark, one of the things that jumped out at, i think,

i'm joined now live by deputy clinical director mark murray.ood morning again. >> good morning, alex. >> why isn't christine o'donnell's message resounding with voters? >> i don't think it has anything to do with her message. just the nature of the state of delaware, which is a liberal leading state. a state that barack obama won with 62% of the vote in 2008 and also when christine o'donnell was on the senate ballot in '08 running against joe biden, she only got 35% of the vote. when you look at the man like mike castle who had been a longtime member of congress as a republican and a former governor of that state as a republican, that same poll shows him potentially beating the democrat chris coons by 18 points. it is more about her conservative positions more than necessarily the message. this is just all about having the right republican running in the right state. and it's why we heard republicans like karl rove and others say that christine o'donnell was less electable than mike castle was in this race. >> what about bill maher's role this

mark murray is nbc news's deputy political director. so this is the first chance we get to see these candidates in action in a debate. >> absolutely is avanna. the california governors race is shaping up to be one of the most competitive and contrasting races this entire cycle. on the one hand you have former california governor jerry brown who has held almost every elective political office in the state as the democratic nominee. on the other hand you have former ebay executive meg whitman as the republican nominee. brown is running on his political experience. whitman is running on her business experience. so it's old versus new, future versus past. and also political experience versus business experience. a recent poll, the field poll, showed the race dead even. but a new "los angeles times"/usc poll had jerry brown ahead by just a few points. and one other thing worth noting. our colleague tom brokaw will be moderating the final california governor debate in mid-october. >> a good reminder on that. i am normally not one who thinks t

. >> mark murray, thanks. >>> now to that dangerous storm that seemed to come out of nowhere and hit new york city hard yesterday. 100-mile-an-hour winds and torrential rains sent people scrambling for cover as the storm stripped roofs off houses and pulled trees from city sidewalks. an apparent tornado was spotted on this video shot near staten island. peter alexander joins us live from queens, new york. peter, good morning. >> reporter: savannah, good morning to you. it's going to be up to the national weather service to make the official determination today if a tornado hit in new york city. if it did happen, it would be the second one in three months. but before that it had been three years. let's give you a sense of what some of the damage this morning looks like. ronnie, if you push the camera in, this is the top floor of a three-story apartment building that was really just knocked by these powerful winds in queens yesterday. you can see where the roof was literally peeled off, like the top of a sardine can. a short time ago i spoke to julio, one of 24 people that was forced t

for what more on what this vci means, i'm joined by mark murray. >> good morning. >> let's get right to these numbers. first of all, can you explain how you arrived at these numbers and what do they tell us? >> well, alex, the vci is essentially a snapshot leave to important data in most national polls. first it's a look at the right track, wrong track direction. people who think the -- how the country is doing. it also looks at the president's approval rating and then the generic ballot. do you prefer a republican dng or democratic congress. when you look at all the numbers, the better the vci, the better the party in power fares in the midterm election. the worse the number, the worse is fares. in 1994, the vci was at minus 30. of course, republicans took back congress there. democrats lost 54 house seats. another number was back in 2006 when democrats picked up congress. the vci there was minus 65. and republicans lost 30 seats. but there have been times in 1998 and 2002 where there have been positive vci. lo and behold, the party in power gained seats in those midterm elections.

unlike chris kal -- crystal city, the mark center will rely on a large degree on shuttle buses. jim madalyn murray o'hair decided to zest shuttle bus service from the franconia springfield metro station. because there is no hov exit at seminary road, the test shuttle bus had to use the regular slow lanes of traffic on i-395, a trip of 7 one miles. >> this took 50 minutes. >> reporter: shuttle buses from the opposite direction would probably run more quickly like the cars on the left here because they are running counter to the rush hour flow. congressman moran wants an hov exit built at seminary road and he wants dod to pay for it. currently, no such funding is in the pipeline and the new federal employment center is scheduled to open one year from now. john henrehan, fox 5 news. >> congressman moran is also trying to talk to his fellow legislators. he wants them to limit the parking at the new facility for defense works until traffic improvements are in place. >>> checking your health alert, medical experts have pointed out some disadvantages to having a desk job. for example, you don't get as mu

murray, director of community relations for pet food express. i've been involved in bay area animal rescue for 17 years now. i've known michael and mark for 15 years, long before they were a big business or considered a chain. i started a dog rescue group 15 years ago and i saw firsthand how their help and assistance helped our group grow. i joined the company five years ago because i admired their community support of animal welfare and i have an opportunity to further that and grow it. thank you. president chiu: thank you very much. let me ask if there are members of the public that wish to speak on behalf of the project sponsor, if you could please step up to the microphone and line up in the center aisle. why don't we hear from our first speaker? >> i'm louise actually and i'm the vice president of the police canine organization. we're non-profit and i'm unpaid volunteer and i spend part of my week for my regular job in san francisco every week and since i raise some police dogs as a volunteer, i patronize pet food express as well as cool places like george. what i want to say today is that pet food express has been incredible in

>> mark, she's not doing as well as other republicans across america, is she? >> no, she's not. both barbara boxer and patty murrayer democratic incumbent on the west coast are both doing better than a lot of the other democratic incumbents. unclear exactly why. she can win the race but she's not ahead the way other republicans are. >> too many people try to make these races nationwide, washington state and california are one extreme. southern states are another. wisconsin right in the middle. russ feingold slipping in support. i guess that's tied right now. >> on fiorina, i really didn't like that ad. i thought she came off as a snooty putdown, bitchy woman. it's very unfortunate. that's the last thing you would want to see between two women. for me she never recovered from the sound bite where she referred to barbara boxer's hair where she said, oh, so yesterday. it was a moment of truth to me. >> i want to go through some polls. let's put wisconsin back up, chris, i guess among all voters they're split. likely voters which as you get closer -- mark halperin, politicians look at likely voters. >> they do. democr