[applause] indeed, mitch mcconnell would have you believe that president obama is on kentucky's ballot. we all know that senator mcconnell has been in washington a little bit too long. [applause] so out of touch that he can't tell the difference between a doup jersey and the university of kentucky. let me set the record straight for our senior senator. president obama is not on the 2014 election ballot. nothing about this election will change who was in the white house, but we can change who is in washington dc and put somebody for the commonwealth of kentucky. senator mcconnell, this race is between you and me. that is the name that appears on the ballot. [applause] as you said so many years ago, it is my number one priority to make sure senator mcconnell does not see another term. [applause] mitch mcconnell, he wants to tell you who i am. he has said -- he claims kentucky will be lost if we trade in his seat for a kentucky woman he believes will sit on the back bench. i am here to tell you tonight, my fellow kentuckians, i am not an empty dress or a rubber stamp. i am not a cheerlead

my style. >> the marquee race of this evening centers on had this man, senate minority leader mitch mcconnell who, in his fifth term as senator, is in peril. mcconnell is the man who represents the state that four years ago gave us the tea party senator ron paul, a man in mitch mcconnell who has presided over scores of minority led filibuster who filibustered his own bill. the man who famously and infamously said this about president barack obama. >>> he is trying to avoid becoming the first minority leader in the long history of this great republican to lose his race while his party is occupying the white house. . that is what mitch mcconnell finds himself desperately trying to avoid. tonight he survived the very first test against his primary challenger matt bevin the. mcconnell will go on to endure the most difficult election he's faced in a state that president barack obama lost by 23 points and elected rand paul. a state mitch mcconnell knows every inch of and should win walking away. a state that has expand ed medicate implementing obamacare more than any conservative state in the count

and the president who sold it to us. >> mitch mcconnell went after his opponent's father. h this. this is very personal for mitch here, mitch mcconnell. >> she is a partisan, partisan. who has been practicing party politics since she learned to talk. i mean, let's be honest. anybody who learned politics at the school of jerry lundegran will not be a model of bipartisanship. barack obama's candidates preach independence but practice loyalty above all else. and tonight i'm confident of this. those in kentucky will not be deceived. alison lundegran grimes is barack obama's candidate. they know it. and they'll issue the same verdict on this candidate that they have issued twice before on him. kentucky cannot afford to empower the people who have been waging a war on jobs in the state for 5 1/2 years. so tonight, i ask every voter in the state off to help us win this race. and put kentucky first. >> well that was mr. coal right there. heard the references, jobs, coal, everything else making it scary to us. that's what it was bought. he will run against comb. and obama not necess

mitch mcconnell is on -- gone.8 billion people who signed up for obamacare. but that's not right now. i'm just talking about alison grimes. we are going to put her up there. thank you very much, alison grimes, for speaking for every woman. >> host: thank you for the call. in his opening remarks senator mcconnell made reference to his wife as well as his own mother, his battle with polio, and a reference of three kentucky women who do not like the affordable care act. of course, that will be the key narrative in the kentucky election. in pennsylvania national journal is writing about john wills win once in a high-stakes contest against republican governor tom gordon. next from north carolina, republican line. good evening to use. >> caller: hello. my comment is about alison grimes, you know. we, the people, of the united states have been fooled by obama. this makes twice. he has promised us all kind of promises. he spends most of his time vacationing. they fly around the country. on our dime, you know. he never has

and the president who sold it to us. >> mitch mcconnell went after his opponent's father. this is very personal for mitch here, mitch mcconnell. >> she is a partisan, partisan. who has been practicing party politics since she learned to talk. i mean, let's be honest. anybody who learned politics at the school of jerry lundegran will not be a model of bipartisanship. barack obama's candidates preach independence but practice loyalty above all else. and tonight i'm confident of this. those in kentucky will not be deceived. alison lundegran grimes is barack obama's candidate. they know it. and they'll issue the same verdict on this candidate that they have issued twice before on him. kentucky cannot afford to empower the people who have been waging a war on jobs in the state for 5 1/2 years. so tonight, i ask every voter in the state off to help us win this race. and put kentucky first. >> well that was mr. coal right there. heard the references, jobs, coal, everything else making it scary to us. that's what it was bought. he will run against comb. and obama not necessarily h

lundergan grimes in part because it seems like she knows, in some polls, a double-digit lead over mitch mcconnellomen voters. she seems to be trying to press her advantage there. do we know how that will play out in terms of the positions, the way they campaign and how much mcconnell may try to turn that around. his deficit with women voters could be fatal. >> that's right. women make up 53% of the electorate here. i thought it was interesting what you heard from the two speeches tonight. you can play the clips on a loop the next five months and throw in 75 million dollars or so and get the same result. i think what you heard from alison lundergan grimes over and over again is the same thing you heard since she got in the race, i'm a strong kentucky woman. what you heard from mitch mcconnell say, i know a lot of strong kentucky women, he talked about his wife and mother. three examples of people adversary affected by obamacare. all of them women. he recognizes it as a weakness and something he is trying to shore up. alison lundergan grimes recognizes it as a strength and a constituency she wants

he actually supported and still supports mitch mcconnell. that mcconnell was able to crush matt bevin, his tea party challenger by having the support of a tea party darling like rand paul. when this program starts here at this victory party where i am in about an hour, one of the things that we're going to see and hear is rand paul. he is in washington. the senate is in session. but i was just told that rand paul is going to deliver a video. now why does that matter? not only because it's about what happened now in the past with this primary, but it's the future. because this isn't over when it comes to the percentage of the vote that mcconnell is going to get from republican voters. and that matters because it is going to be so neck and neck we expect between mcconnell and his democratic opponent. and he loses a good percentage of the republicans that he loses today in november, it's going to be a problem. so having rand paul come out and give what we expect will be a unity message saying okay, everybody, it's time to get together, mitch mc

mitch mcconnell pushing back against matt bevin. how mitch mcconnell is the head of the republican can you cause in the senate, and he sees the potential to become the top senator in washington if republicans can take control of the senate by winning just six seats. he has made it his personal mission to push back against tea party challengers who mitch mcconnell fears may not make the best general election candidates. now senator mcconnell is going for his sixth term and he's being challenged by matt bevin, who is a tea party-backed businessman. it turns out as we get close for tomorrow's election it looks like the polls are showing that bevin's fight against washington, his fight against the establishment has not been enough to go up against mitch mcconnell's seniority. he's telling voters i'm bringing home what you need, and i am a conservative guy. allison grimes, kentucky's secretary of state, the real question will be if mitch mcconnell wins tomorrow can he get those tea party-supporters to back him over a democrat. >> is the

lundergan grimes in part because it seems like she knows, in some polls, a double-digit lead over mitch mcconnellnst women voters. she seems to be trying to press her advantage there. do we know how that will play out in terms of the positions, the way they campaign and how much mcconnell may try to turn that around. his deficit with women voters could be fatal. >> that's right. women make up 53% of the electorate here. i thought it was interesting what you heard from the two speeches tonight. you can play the clips on a loop the next five months and throw in 75 million dollars or so and get the same result. i think what you heard from alison lundergan grimes over and over again is the same thing you heard since she got in the race, i'm a strong kentucky woman. what you heard from mitch mcconnell say, i know a lot of strong kentucky women, he talked about his wife and mother. three examples of people adversary affected by obamacare. all of them women. he recognizes it as a weakness and something he is trying to shore up. alison lundergan grimes recognizes it as a strength and a constituency she w

mitch mcconnell actually did not run a great campaign. in terms of this masterful campaign, he did not run a great campaign. he ran one of the weirder ads anybody has ever seen. everybody had been worried about some threat to him from the tea party. in the end, even though he didn't run a very good campaign, this did end up a real cake walk for mitch mcconnell heading into tonight's voting. he was 20, 30, 40 points ahead. the associated press called this race, called the republican senate primary in kentucky just moments after the polls closed tonight in kentucky at 7:00 with mitch mcconnell wrapping it up and handily dispatching his tea party challenger. even with senator mitch mcconnell easily fending off that challenge tonight, the reason the attention tonight is still on kentucky is because the general election in kentucky for november is still shaping up you to be a doozy for mitch mcconnell. the polls show mitch mcconnell to be tied with his democratic challenger. she's pretty well known across the state, the secretary of state in k

they are really upset with mitch mcconnell. person after person i talked to over at the bevin place said, "look, he isn't the guy elected 30 years ago. not a conservative." they were mad about the way that he, mcconnell went after bevin. i talked to a couple. a couple where the guy said we are going to have to vote for mcconnell. the woman said no way i am never voting for him. one of the interesting questions will be, are some of the conservatives turned off enough not to vote. may be a few that will not vote for grimes. and then the other thing you saw tonight. mcconnell is going to try to make sure that doesn't happen by running this entire campaign against barack obama. i was struck by the fact that -- mcconnell is running against obama. because obama has high unfavorables. grimes against mcconnell. mcconnell has high unfavorables. the one person who does not have unfavorables yet, grimes. starting tomorrow. mitch mcconnell will tripe to drive those up. >> you saw. i can't quite remember. obviously every time you are in an e

what has to happen for them to do that. >> she thooz make the campaign about mitch mcconnell. mpaign about him and bevin going to cockfighting rallies. people in the polls show they are tired of mcconnell. if the race is about mcconnell, he will lose. grimes has to make sure the race is not about her or barack obama. >> right. the thing to remember about mitch mcconnell, 30 years in the senate. he's had close re-election races in kentucky before. this is not a widely beloved senator in kentucky. getting to georgia, open senate seat in georgia. he's retiring. this is a state democrats are going to run. michelle nun, the daughter of sam nunn. a brand name in georgia politics. these are the only two where democrats think they can get the republican seat. this is what the republican primary looks like now. a run off between the top two. the interesting thing about this is no clear tea party candidate emerged in this. kingston -- there's no clear tea party candidate. is that the story of georgia, in the absence of that, this guy perdue, he's the establishment candidate. he's going t

exhibit one, mitch mcconnell seizing on his opponent matt bevin's attendance at a pro cock fight. mcconnell response was quick and sharp, quote, matt bevin's cock-fighting episode will go down as one of the most disqualifying moments in kentucky political history. reason number two, the establishment started acting like the tea party. for an example of this, we go to mitch mcconnell again. taking a stage at the tea party sen trick cpac in march, brandishing a rival. charlton he ston. and outside groups supporting the establishment candidate. republicans might have tried to hide the tea party, but it's there, of course, with its powerful influence over the party generally. the former chair of the republican party, the republican national committee and an msnbc political abnalysanalyst. i could -- it seems to me the tea party people are losing in name, but the people who are beating them are buy into what the tea party stands for. they're co-opting it. if. >> if this is the establishment, the republican party has been co-opted by the tea party. look at this georgia primary. a year ag

they are really upset with mitch mcconnell. person after person i talked to over at the bevin place said, "look, he isn't the guy elected 30 years ago. not a conservative." they were mad about the way that he, mcconnell went after bevin. i talked to a couple. a couple where the guy said we are going to have to vote for mcconnell. the woman said no way i am never voting for him. one of the interesting questions will be, are some of the conservatives turned off enough not to vote. may be a few that will not vote for grimes. and then the other thing you saw tonight. mcconnell is going to try to make sure that doesn't happen by running this entire campaign against barack obama. i was struck by the fact that -- mcconnell is running against obama. because obama has high unfavorables. grimes against mcconnell. mcconnell has high unfavorables. the one person who does not have unfavorables yet, grimes. starting tomorrow. mitch mcconnell will tripe to drive those up. >> you saw. i can't quite remember. obviously every time you are in an e

as you said, as you said so many years ago, it is my number one priority to make sure mitch mcconnell see another term. >> how did mcconnell's number one priority work out? president obama's in his second term and mitch mcconnell's fighting for his political life. joining me now are ryan grimm, washington bureau chief for "the huffington post" and democratic strategist tarah dibell. thank you both for being here. ryan, let me go to you first. senator mcconnell is running against president obama. is that enough of a strategy, and what can grimes do to attack that? >> you know, it might actually be enough strategy, just because everyone in kentucky is so deeply unpopular and people there are angry at everyone across the political spectrum. mitch mcconnell's approval rating is absolutely in the tank. the only thing you could possibly compare it to in kentucky would be president obama's approval rating, so he doesn't want people to look at this kind of, you know, fresh faced new voice coming in to politics. he wants people to say, look, this is between president obama and me, so grimes' c

up against mitch mcconnell who is very well known. if you talk to the grimes campaign, they are happy about the fact that he is well known and not that well liked. so what you're going to see, and you already are seeing, and you heard it in that soundbite just there, we heard it there in this room, he he is trying hard to define her before she can define herself. it is politics 101. particularly when you're entrenched in running against an unknown candidate. he is already doing it. but you heard also the really explicit appeal to the national level and national message that mitch mcconnell is giving. it is not about her. it is about barack obama and making mitch mcconnell the majority leader to try to stop obama and his policies the last two years he is in office. >> let's go to arkansas now. can we, wolf? >> yeah. a fascinating race in arkansas. incumbent dayer pryer, or i should say mark pryer. cotton, from arkansas, will be the republican challenger for the senate seat in oregon. tom cotton, an iraq war veteran. harvard grad. someo

especially in kentucky with mitch mcconnell.the weekend, he predicted that tea party candidates would get crushed in the primaries. tonight he appears to be doing

what you will see are people turning out today who are weary of the mitch mcconnell of 30 years. there's a mcconnell fatigue that will be thrown off, i believe, in this race and time will tell. >> you have said that you think mcconnell is unelectable in november. that's one of the reasons why you have made the case to some republicans that they should support you. our own polling has shown one in four of your supporters say they'll vote for the democrat, alison grimes, and not mitch mcconnell. what do you say to those supporters of yours, very fired up about you, very upset about mitch mcconnell, who cross over and perhaps give the democrats control of the kentucky senate seat and the u.s. senate? >> i mean here's the bottom line. neater i nor any other person is some type of a savant who mind melds into other voters. this is not something i'm going to tell people what they're going to do. if people are frustrated for having been said they're going to be crushed or frustrated for having been called the fringe or traitors, if they're frustrated for being told that they're going to

[applause] indeed, mitch mcconnell would have you believe that president obama is on kentucky's ballot know that senator mcconnell has been in washington a little bit too long. [applause] so out of touch that he can't tell the difference between a soup jersey and the university of kentucky. let me set the record straight for our senior senator. president obama is not on the 2014 election ballot. nothing about this election will change who was in the white house, but we can change who is in washington dc and put somebody for the commonwealth of kentucky. senator mcconnell, this race is between you and me. that is the name that appears on the ballot. [applause] as you said so many years ago, it is my number one priority to make sure senator mcconnell does not see another term. [applause] mitch mcconnell, he wants to tell you who i am. he has said -- he claims kentucky will be lost if we trade in his seat for a kentucky woman he believes will sit on the back bench. i am here to tell you tonight, my fellow kentuckians, i am not an empty dress or a rubber stamp. i am not a cheerleader. i am

people will turn out who are weary of the mitch mcconnell of 30 years. there's a mcconnell fatigue natural be thrown off i believe, in this race and time will tell. >> beavan's bevin's charges never stug. he wore his decades in congress as a badge of honor. >> it's a new face. but a new face for what? a new face for the status kuo. if you want to change america, you need to change the majority leader and change the majority in the senate. i have the second best seat in the senate and with your help i'll have the first best senate seat. >> if you listen to "time" magazine, the veteran operator conquered the kentucky tea party thanks to his key position the hiring of rand paul's campaign manager to support the tea party crowd and the method cal resej on bevin and his allies. were the steps right? there was mcconnell's charge in the senate against obama care and the rifle he waved around on stage at this year's see cpac conference and the cosponsorship to prevent the irs from getting raises. and the pictures that look, you don't win by shrinking into a shell

complimentary q&a book, with information from experts on your condition. >>> welcome back, looking ahead, mitch mcconnellfacing his toughest challenge yet, the kentucky senator is expected to sail through today's primary but will likely battle allison grimes who hopes to become kentucky's first woman senator and end mcconnell's chances of becoming the majority leader. casey hunt joins me now from louisville, great to see you. tell me how this is shaping up. you spent a lot of time with both of them. >> reporter: this is the second or third time i've been here since the race got off the ground. mcconnell at this point is really turned to the general election, he was campaigning across the state yesterday and did a plane tour and is focusing if he were to be re-elected he would be one of the most powerle from kentucky in a long time and grimes is selling herself as the kentucky person in in race and also really heavy focused on the fact that she's a woman and reaching out to women voters and that's something that they view as basically the crux or a crux of their election strategy, turning out female voter

republicans and for democrats in the fall. >> the biggest surprise was just how early senator mitch mcconnelleat back a challenge by a tea party favorite, matt bevin. he fell to the five-term senator from kentucky in that state's republican primary. now, the real fight begins. mcconnell will face the democratic secretary of state alison lungergan grimes. the two are already fighting. >> my opponent is in this race because barack obama and harry reid want her to be in this race. there's a reason, my friends, a reason every hollywood liberal is sending her a check. >> together, we will take this fight to mitch mcconnell and hold him accountable for his 30 years of failed leadership. >> solid and big defeats for the tea party in idaho. the centerpiece of this year's fight for control of the republican party. cnn projects mike simpson won his primary, easily against brian smith. he's the chairman seen as an insider. governor bush otter. he's leading against russ who ran as the more conservative candidate. >> in georgia, it will take a run off to see which republican will run for chambliss' seat.

will john boehner and mitch mcconnell, especially if mcconnell wins the senate leader, will they bring up the immigration reform, the debt ceiling, will repealing obamacare become amending obamacare and will that be the revenge against the tea party? >> we have to seechlt you mentioned mitch mcconnell could possibly be the majority leader. we don't know about the house. is there going to be a revenge against the establishment in the house where the tea party says it's our turn now to have a leader that looks a little like what we want to do. i do think it's instructive to look at clinton's presidency. he was able to get more things done in those last six years because he had those two houses of congress that were in the other side of -- >> if mitch mcconnell is the leader with 52, 51 and still has ted cruz, the tea party won't win many races but still have allies in the senate. how does that play out? >> it increases the voices that have become more marginalized in that respect. the big question mark for me and you can speak to this more than i can, the big question mark for me is can

so mitch mcconnell did a good job.that does not mean he is not in a, what i would say a serious race of his political life. because he quite clearly is. >> except that i think the race is not going to be against allison. it's a race against barack obama. who is extremely unpopular in kentucky. and i think that mitch mcconnell, while he certainly is known for bare-knuckle politics against his opponent, is also running as the guy standing in the way of barack obama. >> here's an excerpt from allison, direct to camera initial ad coming out of the gate. >> it seems no matter how many elections we have, nothing gets better in washington, it only gets worse. a lot of that is because of the people at the top in both political parties. if we keep sending them back, nothing will change. >> so, chris, it looks like both are running against washington. >> oh, you heard her in her victory speech. you heard her in her victory speech last night that she doesn't agree with barack obama using the phrase, war on coal. obviously his ene

obamacare. >> you would think that unrelenting opposition to obamacare would be a big benefit for mitch mcconnell, considering the law continues to be unpopular in kentucky. there's just one problem for mcconnell. it's called kynect. it's the name of obamacare in kentucky. it refers to the state's online health insurance exchange and the medicaid expansion. it was created by the state of kentucky for the people of kentucky and the people like them. >> and if you want to know the real impact this law is having, talk to governor steve bashir of kentucky. >> this is working. >> more than 413,000 residents have signed up for kynect coverage, causing the unemployed rate in the state to plummet some 43%. and while recent polling shows kentuckyians don't so much care for obamacare, they seem to really like kynect. >> i think it's going to be a really good thing. >> so what is mitch mcconnell to do? what does he tell the hundreds of thousands of kentuckyians who have gotten care under kynect? well, he tells them he wants to repeal obamacare, but, you know, keep kynect. >> should kynect be dismantled? >>

let's start in kentucky that's the big one where senate leader mitch mcconnell won. mcconnell, he'll now face who you just heard from allison lunder gren grimes who easily won they are contest. and that promises to be an expensive and tough race. sees it as an opportunity to knock off a republican incumbent. there are two in the general election, but last night, a third name was getting a lot of attention. take a look. >> my opponent is in this race because barack obama and harry reid want her to be in this race. a vote for my opponent is to vote for obama care. barack obama's candidates preach independence, but they practice loyalty, above all else. and tonight, i'm confident of this. kentuckians are not going to be deceived. alison lundergan grimes is barack obama's candidate. >> mitch mcconnell would have you believe that president obama is on kentucky's 2014 election ballot. president obama is not on kentucky's 2014 election ballot. nothing about this election will change who is in the white house, but we can change who is in washington, d.c. and finally put some

tea party challenge to mitch mcconnell by matt bevin and that is looking like it is coming up short, and what is the number? surpass by 60 or is the anti-mcconnell vote going to stay with him in the general election, and idaho, major outside groups who say that mike simp is going to pay for being too close to boehner and too cooperative and that is going to fizzle out, and those who are not seeming to be in play are in idaho so the e ttea party could 0 for 3. another part of the storyline which is important to democrats is that the battle for the control of the senate is what is on the line in 2014. democrats are leaning on brand names, political dynasties and two of them are on the ballot today, and democrat alison lundergan grimes, and her father was one of the cogs of the democratic party, and then michelle nunn daughter of sam nu nunn, and both of them are hoping that the name brand trumps the party line. and another story is that the republicans have a good slew of women candidates they have nominated and a couple that we are watching today and you brought up oregon, is she goin

listen to mitch mcconnell last night and then alison grimes. s barack obama. >> you're not going to be deceived. alison lundergan grimes is barack obama's candidate. >> she comes out though at her acceptance speech and says, i'm sorry, she calls mitch mcconnell senator gridlock and she says, don't try that. >> i'm here to tell you tonight, my fellow kentuckians, i am not an empty dress, i am not a rubber-stamp, and i am not a cheerleader. i'm a strong kentucky woman who is an independent thinker. >> dan, mcconnell crushed he said he was going to crush the tea party everywhere and he did it back home. what was striking to me last night was how quickly all of these conservative groups that yesterday morning were saying mcconnell must be beat. he's part of the problem. he's a problem in the republican party. the establishment is wrong. they all quickly said he won. he's our guy. is the republican party going to unify quickly here or is he in trouble back home? >> i was struck by that, too, john. i was not necessarily surprised but it was very strik

adamantly against mitch mcconnell to come back. it was only about 35% of the republican voters who didn't support him, but if the race that mitch mcconnell has against alison grimes, the democrat here, continues to be as in the case and neck come november as it is now, even losing a small percentage of that, a small percentage of those republicans who didn't go for him, if they stay home, for example, which is probably the most likely scenario if they don't go for mcconnell, that could be big trouble for him. that is why they're continuing to work behind the scenes to bring him on. you mentioned the fact that across the board, tea party challengers were crushed. that was what mitch mcconnell famously said, that he was going to make sure he did. he certainly did it here in k kentuc kentucky. he did it with hard campaigning and privately they admit, some dirty tricks. >> dana, now comes the hard part because the election in november will be fascinating. he has a worthy opponent in the democratic candidate. tell us about her. >> she i

i'd like to focus on kentucky a minute and mitch mcconnell's primary run against the tea party candidate matt bevin. mcconnell is the minority leader and frankly talks like a tea party guy, even though he's establishment. listen. >> what he's really saying here is, you don't want a debate at all. a presidential appointment. sit down, shut up and rubber stamp everything, everyone the president sends up here. >> talking about harry reid there. still, mcconnell is about establishment republican and certainly took no chances. spent at least $35 million to beat the tea party candidate bevin, who also spent millions of dollars, and if you add it up, the total output for a seat in kentucky is $100 million. that would be a record. so, maria, what does that tell you about the tea party in general and establishment republicans? >> i think it tells you, carol, that the tea party is actually very much alive and doing very well, because what have they done? they've actually co-opted the establishment. this is not longer your father's gop establishment. they don't really exist. what has happened and w

mitch mcconnell brushed back a challenge from businessman matt bevin. oefd calls the race immediately after the polls close. he is now going to face allison grimes who won easily in her contest. it promises to be a tough and expensive race. one democrats see as a real opportunity to knock off a republican incumbent and there are two candidates in the general election. last night a third name was getting a lot of attention. >> my opponent is in this race because president obama and harry reid want her in the race. the president who sold obama care to us on a mountain of lies. president obama's candidates preach independence but they practice loyalty above all else. and tonight i'm confident of this. kentuckians are not going to be deceived. allison grimes is president obama's candidate. >> mitch mcconnell would have you believe that president obama is on kentucky's 2014 election ballot. president obama is not on tennessee's 2014 election ballot. nothing about this election will change who is in the white house but we can change who is in washington, d.c.

not that he won, but how easily mitch mcconnell won over bevin. now, a big, big fight begins. ce the democratic secretary of state, alison lungergan grimes. she's backed by many prominent democrats. mcconnell and grimes are trading serious bars. >> my opponent is in this race because barack obama and harry reid want her to be in this race. there's a reason, my friends, a reason every hollywood liberal is sending her a check. >> together, we will take this fight to mitch mcconnell and hold him accountable for his 30 years of failed leadership. >> a defeat for the tea party also in idaho. considered by many to be the centerpiece of this year's fight for control of the gop. cnn projects republican congressman mike simpson won his primary there turning aside the tea party backed lawyer, bryan smith. also governor butch otter appeared to be victorious in his fight to run for another term. results show him leading by a significant margin against russ fulcher who campaigned as a more conservative candidate. >>> a run off will determine who will run for saxby chambliss' seat. david pur

they had hoped that matt bevin would either beat senator mitch mcconnell or give him a real scare there by launching him weekly into the general election. mcconnell won handedly and he's in good shape in this red state where president obama has a 35% approval record. in georgia yes partly it depends on how these two-runoff finalists conduct their campaigns. they could end up destroying one another but i doubt it. i think, again, the democrats were hoping that congressman broun or gingrey would get the nomination because they were expecting one or both of them to be another todd aiken. they didn't get it. instead they will get a more mainstream conservative in this red state where president obama is well below 50% popularity. there you go. >> and every democratic candidate, juan williams, they have an issue of the polls. look at the political poll that came out this week. the country is not buying in to the democratic agenda. they don't think things are getting better. they don't like obamacare. they don't think the debate on obamacare is over. >> i don't think that's what the polls show

kentucky doesn't really like mitch mcconnell. his disapproval in that state has been within 50 and 60% this entire time. so he not only needs to overcome a strong democratic challenger with significant national resources and get over his own unpopularity in his home state. >> where does, speaking of the senate, how does it look for republican control of the senate? >> it's a jump ball. it is entirely possible that republicans can perform a akeover, particularly if president obama's ratings continue to be so low, particularly in these red states where they're defending race i am, arkansas, louisiana, north carolina, and the fact that republicans seem to be, they have wised up and have better candidates. it's going to be a very expensive race. i think people, particularly the outside money we see coming in know what's at stake. >> so from here forward, what surprises do we possibly have left in store? a lot of the primaries are done, there are still a come out there. one interesting one is mississippi. >> yes, mississippi is probab

it measures how much the tea partiers in kentucky despise mitch mcconnell. >> excuse me, i'm center left on most things. why do they hate mcconnell when he's pretty much a stalwart republican? >> if you have been to washington and paid attention, you would see him as basically the number one foe to obama, yet the tea party argument is that he didn't vote for shutting down the government. you know, he hasn't figured out a way to stop obamacare. he supported the bank bailouts which matt bevin supported, too. it's the very far right ideological somewhat -- >> even more than that, david, he's actually come out and said that the tea party needs to be crushed. it's more than he's seen as the establishment. he's positioned himself as a tea party vanquisher and he may very well end up being that. >> you always know the candidate is in trouble when they bring the wives out. i'm sorry. he has a very nice wife, of course, stands there with him, talking for him after he's been in office how many year? 18? 24? all those years, i think it's his sell h of by day and she's there to freshen him up. and a

if he takes a lot of republican voters away from mitch mcconnell that could hurt mcconnell in the fallven weaker and his campaign is saying, you know what, it is true that you have primary battles and they are divisive but at the end of the day the primary voters are going to come home and vote for him rather than a democrat. >> it will be interesting. pushing the word change so much. if he gets through the primary, 4th will face in the general, could be the first woman senator from kentucky, that would be a different kind of change as well. dana bash, thank you very must have. let us know what happens. >>> we're going to have much more on today's primaries in "inside politics" segment coming up. you want to stick around for that. >>> turn to china. fighting back this morning. accusing the united states of hypocrisy after the obama administration charged five military officers with cyber crimes for spying on american companies. china has now summoned the u.s. ambassador there and is threatening to retaliate. let's bring in david mckenzie live in beijing. what are you hearing at the cha

senate majority leader mitch mcconnell challenged matt bevin' both candidates gave a hint tuesday nightheir general election strategy. >> my opponent is in this race because barack obama and harry reid want her to be in this race. there's a reason, my friends, a reason every hollywood liberal is sending her a check. >> we all know washington is broken, it's not working for kentucky and after 30 years, it is mitch mcconnell, at the center of the gridlock obstruction and extreme partisanship that we seek. >> i'll answer to the people of this state. i won't answer to the president, no matter who he or she might be. >> we're back with dan henninger and jason riley, and kim stra s straussal also joins the panel. >> i think what we're learning, paul is that the voters and the donors on the republican side want to win. the theme here, you have had a lot of outside groups who have been pushing with what's been called the republican civil war, the idea that all of these primaries so a divide between the quote establishment candidates and the tea party candidates. the voters think it's more impor

last night mitch mcconnell delivered an aggressive message. watch this direct personal attack on the democratic nominee for the united states senate in kentucky. >> my opponent is in this race because barack obama and harry reid want her to be in this race. there's a reason, my friends, a reason every hollywood liberal is sending her a check. a vote for my opponent is a vote for obamacare, and the president who sold it to us on a mountain of lies. barack obama's candidate's preach independence, but they practice loyalty above all else, and tonight i'm confident of this, kentuckians are not going to be deceived. alison lundergan grimes is barack obama's candidate. >> and here comes the attack from a defensive position. a few moments later, grimes herself didn't duck that attack, went right after it head on, hitting back from her defensive position. brilliantly executed. here it comes. let's watch. >> mitch mcconnell would have you believe that president obama is on kentucky's 2014 election ballot. president obama is not on kentucky's 2014 elect

and kentucky has had 30 years to get to know mitch mcconnell and over the years he's brought home so ork half the state is called the mcconnell something or other. even if mcconnell does win the primary tomorrow and does win his re-election effort in november against alison lundergran grimes, which is no sure bet, even if that happens then it turns out thereafter he will still have another problem. >> will you support mitch mcconnell in kentucky as the leader of a republicans in the u.s. senate. >> my answer is no, jim. >> i'm going to support whoever will sign off on my drive to change the status quo. >> i don't know. >> the answer is no. >> yes, jim, because in the problem with senator mcconnell, isn't that he's ineffective. he's ineffective because he's in the minority. >> absolutely not. we need new leadership with new people there and that means we need new leadership in the leadership too. >> i think this is not really simply a yes or no answer, jim. >> that was from the republican senate candidates debate in georgia. only one of the seven running said if he's elected to the sen

it's on mitch mcconnell's watch, someine, that overburdened regulations have been imposed on the commonwealth of kentucky. this election will be about holding you, senator mcconnell, accountable for all that has happened on your watch. the three words that scare itator mcconnell the most, is pro-coal kentuckians. i don't agree with the president 's war on coal. i think it is wrong for kentucky. we cannot afford to have six more years of mitch mcconnell in washington dc either. as kentucky's next united states senator, i will fight to make sure that coal has a long-term place in our national energy policy, that would actually have the funding to implement clean coal technology and we restore aal to its rightful place as fine american export. anything that you hear to the contrary from mitch mcconnell is a lie, kentuckians. when it comes to the veterans of this state, 350,000 veterans that we have in the commonwealth, the fourth-largest in the nation, mitch mcconnell voted against him as he votes against making permanent without to hire heroes act. i will continue to champion an advocate on beh

and let's start with mitch mcconnell and matt bevan. mitch mcconnell was trying to rally his base while matt bavn was -- matt bevan was on "the daily rundown" last how. >> it is little respect for the public officials. >> we need to change the country now. we need to impose the laws now. and with your help, starting tomorrow, we are on the way to change neshg. >> and bringing in harry bac bacon -- perry bacon from thegrio.com, and sam youngman from the "lexington herald." what are you planning to see, perry? >> well, when matt bevin got into the race, we thought it would be a dead heat, but instead, it is a margin of vick trishgs a tri, and anything can happen. we do expect senator mcconnell to pull out the win, but the question is how much. and that will tell us how much repair work he has do in the republican party in the fall campaign against alison grimes. >> and perry, as we know that the immigration is a one of the big themes, and especially in the primary turnout as well, they will tell you how much enthusiasm for a candidate, an

this is why mitch mcconnell thinks for all the talk of a close race, it won't be close in november. midterm elections are about the president. what you'll hear from mcconnell is this election in november is as much about obama as alison grimes, but on this big night, let's see if he can crush his tea party challenger. we'll watch the margin in that race and learn how much healing he has to do internally in the republican party. >> turnout in a midterm election year, that's a huge issue we're going to have to see, assuming he wins tonight, mcconnell, the turnout for democrats, how enthusiastic they are in november and the turnout for republicans, especially if the tea party loses tonight, will they really turn out for mcconnell? >> excellent point. it's not exactly a place you expect president obama to be welcomed because he faired so poorly. >> we're waiting for the first results. let's go back to s.e. and van. they are in the "crossfire." >> thanks wolf. we'll get back to you in a bit. but right now in the "crossfire," we have democratic strategist brad woodhouse and republican stra

you're saying that mitch mcconnell is the strongest candidate.e's only i think basically a point or two behind grimes, which basically means they're tied and he has been an incumbent for a long time. and his popularity in the state is not that great. >> it's not great. but he typically had tough re-election rates. he doesn't fail. with 80% of the vote in kentucky. but he is a proven conservative, knows how to win, he has the name recognition and i think his opponent, his tea party challenger, would have fared much worse in a statewide election. >> but let me ask you about this idea of these mainstream candidates, okay? some of these -- they served in office. they -- thom tillis in north carolina, speaker of the assembly down there. will these candidates be able to win? because in 2012 we saw in montana, for example, denny ray berg and north dakota with rick berg, these were establishment republicans, members of congress, who got thumped. they turned out to be really lousy candidates. could we see the same thing happen here? >> i think it's less l

i don't see any reason why mitch mcconnell wouldn't be. i don't think anyone is looking at me -- >> don't you think it's somewhat bizarre you think your party is prepared to governor a you have people who are -- you have people running against mitch mcconnell in your own party. >> you kick joe lieberman out of a party and ed lamont. there are things that happen when you don't have the white house. your party is getting dragged left by elizabeth warren. been in office dragging the entire party to the left. >> the entire country is concerned about income you guys think income inequality isn't that big of a deal. >> to the left of elizabeth warren or bill de blasio -- >> here's the big difference. here's a very fundamental difference. the democratic party is unified behind an agenda of increasing opportunity for everybody. the republican party is finally, finally unified, as well. it's unified behind the tea party. the tea party has been fighting this war. it has won the war, because even the so-called establishment candidates are being pushe