>> i think the senate, the prerogative that any senator has in the senate because the rules of the senate is one senator can shut the place down, and they always say the only rules in the senate -- two rules, unanimous consent and exhaustion if you wear somebody down. but i guess many of my colleagues have different tactics. they use their prerogatives as senators in different ways. in the end, if the democrats want to get the votes on a piece of legislation, they can file cloture and shut off debate and stop one person from shutting the senate down. i think that i'm not going to pass judgment on any of my colleagues with regard to the tactics that they employed to try to achieve the objectives that they want to achieve. but in order for the senate to function effectively, you have to at some point have the necessary votes to get the 60 votes to get things done. but wung thing i will say -- one thing i will say with regard to -- i'm not going to defend all the tactics that my side employs. but if you look at the tactics the other side as has employed. harry reid has failed the amendmentry

senate. >> this may surprise everyone, i do not agree with justice scalia often, but he is a masterful mind. he does good things. i do not always agree with his opinions, but he is a great example to anyone that appreciates the law. lloyd, i like him because he has good opinions and as a football player. we can go far back in this country with the opinions dealing with slavery that were told the wall. but my opponent keeps talking about obama care. remember, 30,000 small-business is in the data had the ability to get health insurance supplements. an insurance policy that gave them a reduction. she keeps talking about people losing and women because of health care. i would be happy to sit down and talk to them because they should be able to do much better now because of health care. they simply do not understand a lot. >> the supreme court's question. let's thomas, the -- >> thomas, because he understands his constitutional boundaries. we need justices that will sit on the supreme court and do

senate. for answers, we bring in two senate leaders. from austin, texas, john cornyn, chairman of the national republican senatorial committee can. from st. louis, democrat claire mccaskill. you say this is going to be a wave election. what does that mean? and will republicans take back the senate on november 2? >> chris, this is going to be a referendum on unpopular policies that have been shoved through congress on a very fast track, where the american people wondered has congress even read the bills or do they understand the impact? the president said today, i believe, in the "new york times" magazine that there isn't such a thing as shovel-ready projects. he just finally discovered that after we spent $787 billion on ill-conceived stimulus. this is going to be a referendum on the administration policy, majority controlled by the democrats the last two years. it's going to be about jobs, spending and debt. that simple. >> chris: if i may, sir, let me ask you to give me a simple answer to m

senate. we are coming to you live from spokane, washington. the debate is seen locally. we are also being heard on news radio 920. i want to begin by introducing the candidates to you. senator patty murray is the incumbent candidate. she is johnston this race by republican dean rossi. welcome to you both. -- she is challenged in this race by republican dino rossi. welcome to you both. we're joined tonight by a studio office. thank you to all of you for coming. we want to get to as many questions as we can to the next hour. the audience has agreed to hold the applause until the end of the debate will start with opening statements and mr. rossi will go first. >> america is in trouble. that is why i am running for the u.s. senate. if we do not have a course correction in this election, we will wake up in 24 hours -- 24 months from now with a country we do not recognize. the problem with washington, d.c. is that many people believe that they cannot admit when they are wrong. they cannot change co

senator patty murray and former state senator dino rossi.come, and thank you for being here tonight. >> before we began, we want to explain how this debate will work. can this will have 90 seconds for opening remarks and in 90 seconds to answer questions. at the end of the debate, we will have 90 seconds each for closing remarks. >> the opening was predetermined by a coin toss. mr. rossi, you begin with 90 seconds. >> america is in trouble. if we do not have a correction in this election, we will wake of 24 months from now in a country we don't recognize. someone told you that the federal government was want to own or control card companies, banks, insurance companies, student loans, health care, on and on, you would have called them a conspiracy nut. it has all happened in 20 months. we are wishing -- we are witnessing the reaffirmation of america and we cannot let that happen. -- the preformation of america and we cannot let that happen. i have four beautiful children, a 19 -- year-old daughter and a 16 year-old son and a 14 year- old son

here to break down the hot races and more, republican senator john cornyn of texas and democratic senator robert menendez of new jersey. thank you both for being here. let's start out, i was told the last time we talked, at least in this forum was june. start starting with you senator cornyn, what is different in the political landscape from join? >> primaries are over, september 14th we had our last contested republican primary, and all of the enthusiasm you see is going to be directed toward turning out vote and providing checks and balances to government that many people see as out of control when it comings to spending and debt, and of course, high joblessness, and the administration seemingly confused about how to get america back to work. so there's a lot of enthusiasm, and it's all directed toward the administration, the democratic majority, and restoring those checks and balances that people feel are so necessary to the safety and security. >> senator menendez, can you look at anything in the economy or elsewhere that tells you the dynamic in june running heavily against the democ

senator murray?> thank you for joining us this evening for a very important discussion about who will be your voice and advocate in the united states senate. how many families are struggling today because of the mistakes and agreed on wall street? this state is my family. my family is hurting. that is why i am working so hard with your community leaders to get you jobs and get this country back on track again. i will take on even the most powerful to make sure that you have a voice at the table. i grew up in a small town in washington. my dad ran a store on main street. i learned as main street values of hard work and fighting for what you believe in. those are the values i take that to be your voice in the united states senate. i believe that by working together we can solve the problems in front of us if we had the courage and take the responsibility. >> our first question is for mr. rossi. >> the war in afghanistan is becoming one of the longest wars this country has ever waged and the casualty co

the senate is controlled -- senate is controlled by republicans. and we have a republican governor with mitch. but the one district we live in, district 19, is a democratically controlled seat right now. and if the republican would win this year, it would give the republicans control of both the house, the senate, and the governorship. but the republican we're running is so totally unqualified that he shouldn't get a vote for anything. and so as an active republican, who would like to have the republicans have control of the state, i can't vote for the republican. i'm going to have to vote for the democrat and let the democrats keep control if she wins. shelly vanderberg is the democratic candidate. ron dan kline is the republican. he was kicked off the ballot for mayor here. he lost his chance to run it again. the republicans didn't want it. so it's hard. nationally i'm thrilled with how it's going. i wish in one way this is a republican year because i don't want to see dan kline win. i would rather have indiana stay in the hands of the democrats.

reid has. >> senator reid?mitch, my opponent did not answer the question. ever since she said in an advertisement -- everything she said in an advertisement was false. i never voted for social security benefits. that is not the law. she needs to stop saying it. that is why she moved toward social security that had nothing to do with the question you asked. >> i think the question has everything to do with social security and what has gone wrong in our system because we have not secured the borders and enforced the laws. senator reid talks about comprehensive immigration law, but what he is talking about is something that did not work in 1986. i am a great fan of ronald reagan, but he had it wrong when he gave amnesty. we need to first to secure the border. >> on this next question i will ask for a simple yes or no and response. would you be in favor of a constitutional amendment establishing english as the official language of the united states? >> yes. >> english is already the official language. >> we will go

reid has. >> senator reid?> mitch, my opponent did not answer the question. ever since she said in an advertisement -- everything she said in an advertisement was false. i never voted for social security benefits. that is not the law. she needs to stop saying it. that is why she moved toward social security that had nothing to do with the question you asked. >> i think the question has everything to do with social security and what has gone wrong in our system because we have not secured the borders and enforced the laws. senator reid talks about comprehensive immigration law, but what he is talking about is something that did not work in 1986. i am a great fan of ronald reagan, but he had it wrong when he gave amnesty. we need to first to secure the border. >> on this next question i will ask for a simple yes or no and response. would you be in favor of a constitutional amendment establishing english as the official language of the united states? >> yes. >> english is already the official language. >> we will

so my apologies, senator cornyn. also with us, democratic senator, robert menendez. i appreciate you both being here. let me ask you, first, about a couple of things that you all have done or said over time. senator menendez, when you -- two days before you left town, you introduced major immigration reform, which republicans immediately said, well, this is cynical. we're not going to pass it in two days. this was sort of a blatant appeal for the latino vote. why is it not that? >> first after all, senator hatch introduced legislation, a different time of legislation on immigration at the same time, and he's a republican. i introduced it because if we're going to have any opportunity to, for example, consider the possibility of lame-duck movement on it, where a lot of senators are retiring and might be willing to look at the issue, you need something to jump off from. if we're going to go into it in the early part of the next congress, you need something to have as a foundation. and what i introduced had a series of republican initiatives in it, as an invitation to b

>> i think a prerogative that any senator has in the senate, because the rules are that one senator can shut the place down, and they always say that there are two roles in the senate, unanimous consent and exhaustion. you wear somebody down. i guess many of our colleagues have different tactics. the use their prerogatives as senators in different ways. in the and, if the democrats want to get their votes on this piece of legislation, they can have cloture and stop one person from shutting the senate down. i am not going to pass judgment on any of my colleagues with regard to the tactics they have employed to achieve the objectives that they want to achieve, but in order for the senate to function effectively, you have to add some point have the necessary votes, get the 60 votes to get things done. the one thing i will say, with regard to, i mean, i am not going to defend all of the tactics my side employees, but if you look at the tactics the other side has employed, harry reid, the majority leader in the senate, has filled the amendment to treat more times than the last six majority l

miller it is your turn to ask a question. >> senator murkowski said you are unqualified to be a senator. i want you to compare the experience you have today with the experience she had in 2002. >> that is a fair question. i have stood before my community the last eight years and had to account to constituents, friends, neighbors. i worked on eight public budgets between $15 million to $25 each. senator murkowski served her neighborhood in the state house for four years and served well when she was appointed by her dad. i know there was a time in alaska when there was a young banker who served three years on the school board and moved to juneau then to fairbanks, ran for office and lost and that is frank murkowski. so to say somebody who was a locally elected leader eight years is unqualified is a bit of an insult. >> 30 seconds to respond. >> i think that scott, it is up to the voters and you put it well the other night when you mentioned that vote your values. determine what the candidates stand for. make a decision based on what the candidate can deliver. i know we have differences of

senate. one race we're watching tonight is in missouri. that is where with republican roy blount going up against carnahan. the latest poll, blount has a lead of seven points. chief political correspondent carl cameron is in springfield, right about here. he tells us that they're trying to paint the other as the ultimate insider. >> counting on the seven-term congressman roy blount. former member of the house g.o.p. leadership to win the senate seat that kip bond is retiring from and keep it in republican hands. outside groups are ponying up millions of dollars, attacking democratic rival missouri secretary of state robin carnahan. they have failed missouri. and robin carnahan is one. >> missouriens want to make their own healthcare decisions. robin carnahan disagrees. >> her mother served in the senate and her brother is in congress. blount is raising questions about special favors and $100 million in stimulus money for another brother's wind farm. >> the pay off, over $100 million. >> carnahan's get a real windfall. >> we get the bill. n

senate can do.off the slush funds of the special interest groups to do it. >> greta: every candidate says that. i'm an outsider and we to get rid of the special interests. but nobody ever does it. why should voters believe you or anybody else when you say that? >> because i had to sacrifice a lot to earn my position on the ballot. i'm taking a lot of hits i'm committed to the people of delaware and their interests not the special interests groups in washington. i don't have a party behind me. i don't have big pacs behind me, special interest groups. but i've an army of volunteers who want me to be their voice that is humling and honoring. i've committed to have town hall forums similar to what we are doing on the campaign trail, when name washington. so i can continue to hear from them. one of the biggest reasons why we can ensure that the politics -- the politicians who go to washington do what they say is what their whole candidacy is about is about returning the political process back to the peop

senate. thank you very much, everyone. good to see you. [applause] [applause] >> what wonderful remarks. let me point this out. the senator is a busy guy. there are a bunch of senate races around the country right now and we have to bring them home. i would like to think this guy here. i want you to give him a round of applause. without him, we would not have senator mcconnell here this evening. thank you very much. it is very important. the senator is going to slide out now. he is going to try to win a few other senate races around the country. thank you very much. [applause] as you know i have been active with a tea party in the past. there are a whole bunch of groups about -- around the country getting active, waking up. there are folks coming to a elections that have never been involved before. i'm excited when i meet the folks who have never voted before and there are a bunch of new groups involved. you need to hear from the sky. he speaks across the country. he is an inspirational speak

senator. >> senator murray?> i am not only going to completely respect that major, but i'm a sponsor of the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell." i speak to so many veterans who have come home from iraq and afghanistan, who served their country honorably. i talked to men and women on the ground and they know that everyone who wants to give back to this country by serving in the military ought to be able to do it. the major is a hero and i hope that she and many other men and women who are gay or lesbian are able to serve our military just like of appeals. i talked to a young woman here in spokane who is a senior in high school, who told me that her dream, when she gentry -- went to graduate in june, is to serve our country in the military. she told me the honor code she has to take is going to keep your from serving in the military because she is gay. i think that is wrong. she should be able to pursue her dream. >> would you like to respond? >> we will see what the report has to say. we have to make sure that it a

senate. that is the reason i voted against the tarp deal and the wall street bailout and the unfair trade agreements that sent tens of thousands of wisconsin jobs overseas. that is the reason that i voted against the no child left behind the which forces teachers to teach to the tests and takes local control away from education. you all know what the priorities are. it is jobs and cutting federal spending. i have offers this of the plants on jobs and federal spending. the jobs tax credit and a 41 point plan to cut half a trillion dollars out of the federal budget. my opponent has chosen in six months of campaigning to do nothing of the kind. he has not offered a jobs plan, and he has not offered is this a good plan to cut federal spending. i'm still hoping we can have a discussion about it tonight. thank you so much. >> ron, johnson you have 60 seconds. >> six months ago i was a full term businessman running a manufacturing plant. ambition.t my life's our country is headed in the wrong direct

senate. republican senator lisa murkowski, republican challenger joe miller, and scott mcadams.skan public broadcasting presents debate for the state. >> did evening and welcome to debate for the state. this is the last debate of this intense election season. we're coming to you live from kakm-tv here in anchorage. joining us tonight are the candidates for u.s. senate that registered at least 5% in polls. lisa murkowski's is the republican incumbent. she has held the seat since september 2002. joe miller is the republican party nominee. he is from fairbanks. democrat scott mcadams this the former mayor. welcome, candidates. joining me is they donaldson. later in our program, laura townsend will also join us. we will also be hearing questions that we solicited from our viewers and listeners and we will include those in the program. our thanks to the studio audience for being here tonight. please remember to remain silent during the entire broadcast. candidates, each answer will be timed and you will see a yellow light at the 15 second mark telling you that you have 15 seconds lef

talking to not just democratic senators, but republican senators. we were criticized within our party and are still being criticized today because we spent so much time trying to forge a bipartisan consensus. the president's idea was that it could be another generation before someone would try. he was determined to get at this. we wanted to do it in a bipartisan fashion. senators said on a couch with the president and run through the program. at the end of the day, the health care plan was designed largely not on a democratic prototype, but a middle-of-the- road approach to this. we had republican and -- we have republican senators said on the couch and say, we agree with you. the president said, will you vote with me? and they said, no. why not? if i can i get 10 other senators to vote with me, i cannot do it. it has been a sheer rock from the very beginning. >> it was not that different in the bush administration. we faced a similar kind of situation. the tarp that david talked about, the famous bailout, without which the u.s. economy and the glob

senate seat.k you very much. not surprisingly, the head of the democratic and the republican national committees are making differing predictions as to which party will emerge with control of the house after the mid-term. who made the better case? steve centanni has details. you can decide for yourself. steve? >> reporter: the final vote drawing near, the two party chiefs are predicting the mid-term election will swing their way. now the president turned to the campaigner in chief for democrat. he just finished a four-day swing across the country. he hits the road next weekend. he's trying to rekindle some of the missing enthusiasm among democrats. while the party chairman, tim kaine, says the democratic get-out-the-vote efforts will make all the difference. he says there are strong trends that favor democrats in these time days of the race. democrats in these final days of the race. >> the races are close but from this point forward it is about turnout and ground game and we are seeing good early

then we have to go to the senate. [laughter] i just want to make sure you knew what i was talking about. and then barbara boxer had to go through and explain we are not building for today, this is for tomorrow. yes, we will put the shovels in the ground, we will put people to work now, but we have to address the future, the problems that the mayor addressed, the governor and legislature talked about. that brings us here today, her success, and that is how we have to address this to get the nation moving again. it is very exciting to work with speaker pelosi, senator boxer, senator feinstein on these huge projects. we have always believed california is on the cutting edge. being here in this great city with this great leadership is once again the proof that we are on the cutting edge. thank you for the vision of the transportation secretary as well for recognizing that. [applause] >> thank you. now it is with great pleasure that i introduce senator barbara boxer, who from the beginning, has worked on the transbay proje

see a senator go to another senator's home state. i guess bill frist was probably the first one who did it when he went to campaign against tom daschle. >> yes, but it's a sign of just how polarized our political party system has become. there's no question about it. the parties are a lot more polarized than they were 30 years ago. the american people aren't as polarized as the parties. but the center of the electorate is weaker. more people have flocked toward the extremes. that does make cooperation across party lines more difficult. having said that, i am a bit of an optimist as well. i think there's going to be an early confrontation, particularly if there's a fired- up new majority in the house of representatives with perhaps 80 new representatives beholden in some ways to the tea party people. but speaking as a veteran of the clinton white house, i can tell you that the confrontation comes to an end when one side or another hits a wall, because the american people expect parties who have a share of governing power to be part of

and you don't have to be a senate insider to hear about it.rald journal." at a church rally on friday demint said if someone is openly homosexual, they shouldn't be teaching in the classroom and he holds the same position on an unmarried women who's sleeping with her boyfriend. she shouldn't be in the classroom. senator demint is apparently still considering whether unmarried men who are sleeping with their girlfriends should be allowed in the classroom. needless to say, demint has made it hard out there for a gay republican. in our spotlight tonight, christopher barron, the chairman of goproud, chris, you have supported jim demint up till now. this is the final straw for you. why have you supported him up to now and why does this end it for you? >> well, what we've done is we've supported senator demint's work on issues that are critical to us, issues like social security reform, free market health care reform, tax reform, you know, and the size and scope of government issues. the reason why this is it for us and, quite honestly, should be fo

senate. >> my problem with the candidate is not that he owned a small business, but he decided to fire 300 of his workers an send those jobs to mexico to turn a profit. that was my problem with him. but turning back to our surprise -- >> he built a business which is always shocking to anyone in d.c., it doesn't come from government, it can't come from anyone. >> john, give me your surprise. >> my surprise, i think -- i'll give you one of two to choose from. either bara or the are charlie 10 seat. >> we'll open it up to questions. please raise your happened. we have some folks with microphones coming through the audience. >> matt benjamin, med my global advisers. it looks like we're looking at the very likely prospect of consecutive wave elections, with voters listing from party to party, clearly, and even with the tea party, those kind of energetic segment now, they routinely say they don't like either party. i'm wondering what this says for any of you, what this says about the entire system.

senate inclinations? do you want to give that list? >> you have five locks. you have north dakota, wisconsin, indiana. pennsylvania looks like it's gone. you have five that are very close. the kirk race would be one, nevada would be another. california, i'd salines democratic. washington state is very close. > let's talk about feingold. is he likely to lose to republican johnson for the senate seat in wisconsin? >> absolutely. it's gone. johnson has been above 50 in almost every poll. this is the key thing. these three liberal democrats, boxer, feingold, and murray, who never had to run in a republican year or ever had really tough challengers. you see all of them struggling this year. >> hold on. give me the exit question. will the democrats lose the senate? pat. >> i think the democrats will hold the senate. >> i agree. i think -- i see the republicans getting 7, maybe 8 seats, but i don't see 50. >> they'll get 10. republicans will take the senate. they'll get 10. republicans will take the senate. >> r

senate. also, you just heard from the president, pretty fiery speech there at the university of minnesota. we're going to be crisscrossing the country through this last hour of "ballot bowl" for today. jessica is down there in florida. they've got a very hot senate race. and cnn exclusively is going to have a debate tomorrow morning, sunday morning exclusive only here on cnn. we'll bring you details about that. we're also going to be going to nevada, as i mentioned. a big senate battle. i had a one on one exclusive with harry reid early this morning. he was trying to canvas with some of his volunteers, van cass for votes and he had some tough talk for sharron angle and her claim in the debate that it was time for him to "man up." we'll also be going to pennsylvania. some democrats thought may believe it was gone, the republican pat toomey was going to win easily. but joe sestak has stormed back. we'll also go to washington state where joe biden was stumping there for patty murray. she's in a

thank you senator lassa, thank you senator duffy barred -- mr. duffy. now have 1.5 minutes for closing statements. senator lassa? >> thank you again for hosting this debate. as i said, it is important for voters to know where the candidates stand on the issue. that is why, throughout this campaign, i talked about washington putting middle class workers and their families first. they have forgotten about us. we need to make sure that we are back on the top of the prioriti list. that is not special interests giving special favors. we need to make sure that we're growing our economy again. we need to be able to come up with innovative ideas to help the state and our national economy be able to move forward. one of the big issues that we talked about during this debate is social security. i will jump back to cial security if i can. i am not the only one talking abou how my republican opponent shifts his position on social security, but it is also politico. having voters be able to hear from the candidates, where they stand on the issues, is so very importan

she's running for senate. there is a big difference between running a company where you have to make those choices and running the government. so what is the approach to wages, what is the approach to taxes that could save us from this crisis? >> wages are set by the private sector. we have a minimum wage. i support it. i don't know if my opponent does or not. but the fact is she is still supporting tax breaks to companies who ship jobs overseas. so this is a very relevant conversation. the fact is, i believe in collective bargaining. i believe in an educated work force. i believe that it is very important that we not lose the middle class. the words made in america can be real again. for example -- >> senator, thank you very much. we don't have time for your examples right now. next question is for ms. fiorina. >> ms. fiorina, on immigration, in june you said on fox news that the obama administration had defunded securing the border. you also said that a latino told you that crossing the border is the questio

senate candidates.ndependent charlie crist, a republican marco rubio, and democratic congressman kendrick meek. and later a debate between the wisconsin candidate for senator. what political campaign coverage each night on c-span. >> "washington journal" is coming up next. from london, british prime minister david cameron will outline cuts to his countries defense budget. that is live from the house of commons. at noon eastern, a speech from the ceo of defense contractor northrop grumman. later in the day, a discussion on next month's elections. from democratic adviser frompenn and karen hughes. that is live from george washington university at 6:00 p.m. eastern. >> in the final weeks of campaign 2010, the c-span video library is a great resource for voters. hear from the candidates, party officials, strategist, and reporters. c-span video library, all free, on-line, any time. >> coming up this hour, democratic strategist and cbs news political analyst jamal simmons will talk about african- american vot

senator shumer in new york.t's going to be a battle between the two of them to see who emerges as between them. some people think shumer can win and the others i think durbin. so, you know, it's going to be up in the air between the two of them host: the last two democratic leaders have been from swing states or republican states. the fate of daschle and reid has had a heard time. it's been hard to tow the obama agenda. it's really been difficult for him and really hurt him. host: in 2008, barack obama winning nevada and carson city. the rest the state was entirely red. guest: that's right. reid's problem right now is not only he tends to have high unfavorable in states. but nevada has an unemployment rate higher than 14%. it's given a great chance for sharon angle to say. since reid has taken office. our unemployment has gone into the double digits. she can make the argument what he has done. it's been working. she has a small but durable lead. given the fact the republicans electorates are supposed to come out

i remember seeing senator john kyl come to the for the united states senate and saying we should not pay for maternity coverage because i do not need maternity coverage. and senator debbie sao said, yes, but i bet your mother did. that is what it means to have women on the floor of the senate and on the floor of the house. without that perspective, the policy is that we are -- the policies that we are adopting will not represent the population. >> women or democratic women on the floor of the senate to? >> i would say that democratic women have fought very hard for things like maternity coverage and have really fought to ensure that women have choices in their lives, particularly in their reproductive health. i think about the women who fought hard to ensure that the very first bill that got through was the lowly ledbetter act for fair play. that was because there were a lot of democratic women who fought very hard to make that happen. >> it was written about your announcement on the senator boehner campaign this week. we men are involved in the process -- criticizing them for policy

senate. on behalf of nevada taxpayers, i'd like to know, we'd like to know, how did you become so wealthy on a government payroll? >> senator reid? >> mitch, that's really a low blow. i think most everyone knows i was very successful lawyer. i did a very good job in investing. so her suggestion that i made money being a senator is simply false, and i'm really disappointed that she would suggest that. >> john, is this the new politics? is this the sleaze way? this the dirtiest, oldest trick? in politics you play a number, if you made money off money you invested, money from before, you're stealing. >> well, she's just playing into what a lot of her supporters think. >> she's saying he's a crook. >> yeah. but she's playing into what a lot of her supporters think, which is harry reid is corrupt and made all this money. and chris, it's patently false. harry reid of a millionaire when he was elected to the house in 1982. he had made a lot of money off of real estate in las vegas as a lot of people

it included close in the senate, not likely to gain a majority in the senate. i'd say around seven or exceeds likely in the senate. perhaps just as importantly when it comes to the implications for 2012, probably about eight governorships. a lot of them among the great lake states, battleground states for the electoral college. and then he mentioned their leadership committee which hopes to elect house and senate candidates in the state legislatures. and i think we'll probably make it not doub-digit backing of state leat as well, which is important down the line because of the di cycle. those legislators cycle selected this year which are the i will have an effect on control of congress, n just this year, but for a decade that could affect 15 to 25 house seats for the next five cycles. so that's what's going to come. the wise because the american people believe this president and the democratic congress has overreached a lot of voters who will come out and vote republican this year, voted for barack obama in 2008, but they thought they were voting to change was

senator? would she be a good senator? >> i think she would be. i don't get to make that judgment. the people in her state get to make that judgment. they're the ones who vote for her. they're the ones who nominated her. for the establishment in washington or anywhere else to sit back in judgment of her abilities to be a senator, to be effective on the senate is misplaced. all that matters is that the people have decided this is the standard-bearer we want and the real push and the fight now is the general election and the broader population of voters in the state of delaware, florida, around the country, are going to make the judgment about the standard bearers that we have and at the end of the day i think we'll do very well. >> let me ask you about the role of outside money in this campaign. speaker nancy pelosi appeared on "countdown with keith olbermann" this week. she, as the president, describes it as a real threat to the country's democracy. . >> this election is also about our democrac

thank you senator lassa, thank you senator duffy barred -- mr. duffy. you now have 1.5 minutes for closing statements. senator lassa? >> thank you again for hosting this debate. as i said, it is important for voters to know where the candidates stand on the issue. that is why, throughout this campaign, i talked about washington putting middle class workers and their families first. they have forgotten about us. we need to make sure that we are back on the top of the priorities list. that is not special interests giving special favors. we need to make sure that we're growing our economy again. we need to be able to come up with innovative ideas to help the state and our national economy be able to move forward. one of the big issues that we talked about during this debate is social security. i will jump back to social security if i can. i am not the only one talking about how my republican opponent shifts his position on social security, but it is also politico. having voters be able to hear from the candidates, where they stand on the issues, is so very

the colorado senate seat.answers and have shorter answers on these things. mr. buck, the issue of gays in our country, in a debate last month, you expressed your support for don't ask, don't tell, which we talked about with mr. gibbs. you alluded to lifestyle choices. do you believe being gay say choice? >> i do. >> based on what? >> based on what? >> yeah. >> i guess you can choose who your partner is. >> you don't think it's something that's determined at birth? >> i think that birth has an influence over, like alcoholism and other things, but basically you have a choice. >> outside the mainstream views on this? >> definitely believe he is outside the mainstream of views on this. >> if president obama or general petraeus would determine they need a significant number of troops to stay in afghanistan beyond the july 2011 deadline, is that a position that you would be able to support? >> my position is we ought to begin bringing our troops home in july 11. there will have to be troops there, i recognize that.

senate member. >> thank you. i want to thank all abc affiliate's for the work you have done on this debate. my name is kendrick meek and i am ready to be a next states senator. floridians will have to take a stand of the next few weeks. if you want the united states senator that will stand with oil companies and the special interest groups and stand with health care companies and deny you health care, you should vote for marco rubio. if you want someone who is going to stand by and be a very weak united states senator that will not speak up when it is time, you need to vote for governor crist. if you want a candidate and united states senator that will stand with you against oil companies and not allow them to drill off the coast of florida as i have done because i am the only one who has done it or if you want someone who will stand by the decisions that have been done as it relates to health care that insurance companies cannot drop you in your greatest time of need, you are looking at the candidate that will s

senator michael bennett was appointed to the seat. he has worked with the denver public schools and in the private sector. he is 45-years old. he is married with three children. his opponent is republican ken buck. he has worked as a prosecutor for the u.s. department of justice and in the colorado attorney's office. he is married and has two children. someone. beack beat this is one of the most hotly contested senate races in the country and could tip the balance of power in d.c. has anything about this race been what you expected? mr. but we'll start with you. >> it is a hard-fought race. there is a lot of outside money in the race. this is a key race in the united states. i think the issues are pretty much what i expected the issues to be. we are talking about the jobs, the economy, and spending. those are the issues that i think are imported or, rather. >> senator bennett? >> i have travelled around this state. we have had serious conversations about what is happening to our working families, our middle class families who are goin