>> the house meets for legislative work at noon eastern. today they'll debate a bill directing the s.e.c. to study the usefulness of requiring new business disclosures for investors. tomorrow another business related bill requiring public companies to report how many employees they have in each state and overseas. live coverage when the house returns here on c-span. house oversight committee chair elijah cummings died early this morning in baltimore. his office says he died due to complications due to long-standing health challenges. the 13-term democrat was 68. house majority leader steny hoyer made the announcement to members on the house floor this morning as members were beginning their daily speeches. gentleman from maryland, mr. minutes.r five mr. hoyer: thank you, mr. speaker. i have the sad task of announcing what probably most of

know.ready great american. a decent american. a wonderful member of this body. elijah cummings, who died early of illnesses he suffering from for a time.icant period of members of the house, the people people of the e united states of america woke up and shocking news that we had lost this dear a devoted public patriot whoedicated reflected courtesy and respect for all.

confrontation and and, yes,nt and anger beacon s hate, he was a of ivility, of fairness, justice. he was chairman of the oversight reform committee. too early.way at 68 years of age. of us who served with him justice, passion for his sharp intellect, having kappa from i beta howard university, where he was president of the student government association. we knew his wit. we knew his devotion to the cause of making government work the people.

will be surely said of elijah that he worked hard until the very end. was on a telephone call with on sunday talking about how we ought to proceed ith the heavy duties that confronted him, his committee, and the congress. e never waivered in his dedication to the cause he made, career, marks of his even in recent days when, as i said, his health was waning. causes were quality, for all.ty the son of a sharecropper who to be a great leader in this country. voting rights, civil rights, alleviating establishing justice, ensuring that those entrusted

ith high office are held accountable and carry out their esponsibilities lawfully and ethically. elijah cummings was, of course, of baltimore, a city of grit and hope, a city of and hard work. in the city of baltimore. at a time of great distress in baltimore, it was lijah cummings in the streets ringing calm and peace to that city. his life will forever be an example to all of us of striving to better one's community and of passion and service to one's fellow man and perseverance in the face of adversity while in ursuit of making this country and the world a better place. henever he believed we were

falling short of the vision of founders -- and many of you ill hear this resonate in your ears -- he would say to all of throughout our state, at a time of trouble and difference, he would say to all loving way, we are better than this. conflict, as we see people disparaging one ought to think to urselves, we are better than this. and think of elijah cummings, a great faith, of great great humanity, of great service.

cummings.iss elijah we are a lessor place for losing him. like the prophet for whom he was amed, he was taken from us too suddenly.o soon, too e can say from shakespeare, he should have died hereafter. tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow. elijah will not have those not have and we will them with him. dearly.miss him my thoughts are with his wife, three children, and i offer my condolences to the people of maryland's seventh district who loved their congressman. their d confidence in ongressman, and they knew that

better, and they service.er for his ay god bless elijah cummings, his family, >> reaction to the death of elijah cummings. republican senator james lankford. i was honored to serve with elijah in the house and got to know him. he was man of strong faith and shared kindness and friendship across party lines. he'll be missed in the halts of congress. democratic senator bob menendez. he was a dedicated and passionate public servant who fought his entire career for justice and equality. he was the epitome of putting country first, providing moral leadership and clarity at critical times and was a voice for the voiceless in our society. the white house ordered flags to

be flown at half-staff and here they are at half-staff at the u.s. capitol. also at the white house, the executive office building, and governor hogan of maryland ordering the flag, state flag there flown in half-staff at indianapolis as well. elijah cummings died earlier oday at the age of 68. we go live now to the u.s. capitol to stand by for a briefing from house speaker nancy pelosi. the house will be in session -- legislative session in about an hour an 15 minutes, at noon eastern. we'll stay here live as her news conference is set to go under way.

>> here on capitol hill waiting for the start of the briefing with house speaker pelosi. we'll have it live when it gets under way. until then part of this morning's "washington journal."

>> trying to get some early clues what incumbents might be struggling. who are the strong challengers meerging. even though it's still early, it gives us a good look who are the races to watch. host: major take aways from these numbers? guest: there is a bunch of take aways you can -- in looking at house and senate races. one of the major take aways is the so-called green wave that brought a bunch of democrats to congress in 2018 hasn't been going away, especially if you are a house democrat. we saw on average house democrats who are in competitive races, they raised around $520,000 this quarter, which is a lot for one quarter. we saw several incumbent freshmen, house democrats, raise over $700,000. trying to fortify themselves going into 2020. the fact that that enthusiasm

among the democratic base still hasn't left is definitely notable. i think there are real questions going into this election cycle as to whether donors would still be excited about donating to congressional races with the presidential race happening. so far they seem to be tapping into their email lists and tapping into all the energy out there among democratic donors. host: are we seeing high profile freshmen like representatives omar and threeb, are they -- talib, are they bringing in strong numbers? guest: they are still raising good amount of money. they are in state democratic districts. it's likely they'll be re-elected. they are using their high profile status to raise a good amount of money. what i'm especially interested in are the pie hi profile democrats in competitive races. so we saw california freshman democrat katie porter, she's had some viral videos of her questions at hearings. she again raised over a million dollars in this one quarter.

again, topping the list of house democrats in competitive races. raising the most out of that group. she can really use that money, especially in california where it's really expensive to air tv ads and campaign. that will be useful to her going into 2020. host: any other democrats? freshmen that maybe the president won their districts but they won in 2018? guest: we saw several of those democrats pull in big numbers this cycle. congressman max rose from staten island, he raised over $700,000. congressman slotkin from michigan. we did see a bunch of these freshmen democrats in competitive races pulling in big numbers. many of them had over $1 million on cash on hand. the money that's in their campaign account at the end of the quarter that they have to spend about i believe it was 28 house democrats had over $1 million. one of them were freshmen. they have a lot of money to spend going into next year. host: any of these democrats

look -- do any look vulnerable? did they not have good numbers? what are bad numbers versus good? guest: the bad versus good numbers depends on the district. if you are running in a place with an expensive media market you want to build up more money than someone who has a cheaper media market in terms of buying television ads. we did see a couple house incumbents outraised by their challengers, two california freshmen, rouda, and congressman t.j. cox were outraised by their republican opponents this quarter. which can sometimes be a warning sign. when it comes to congressman t.j. cox he's facing a potential rematch against former congressman david valadao. that former congressman brings his own list and already has name i.d. and fundraising experience. you have that caveat there. for the most part we did see good numbers across the board. minnesota democratic congressman collin peterson raised the least

amount we are looking at folks in competitive races. that might raise concerns. but he's extremely well-known in his district. trump carried his district by about 30 points. could be a tougher race for ure, but democrats are still you're watching for in house and senate races and why it matters fairly confident that he's in a good spot. host: i want to invite our viewers to join this conversation and tell us what to you. republicans 202-748-8001. democrats, 202-748-8000. 7202-748-800 -- interpentz 202-748-8002. how do any member of congress go about raising that amount of money? do they get from veteran lawmakers or leadership? guest: i think they do get help. for the most part what we saw these democrats when they were candidates in 2018 really capitalizing on small dollar donors. on online fundraising.

saw this huge surge in small dollar donors in the 2018 cycle. democrats use an online platform, they were reporting throughout the 2018 cycle record numbers of money flowing to congressional candidates. they have tapped into the digital aspect of fundraising and have continued to build their fundraising lists online and can go -- value of having these small dollar donors they can keep going back to these donors time and time again every quarter. can you chip in another 10, another 15. they have tapped into that grassroots energy. host: what about republicans in the house? couple of republicans who have drawn some criticism by their colleagues or under indictment in the case of steve king, criticized by his colleagues up on capitol hill. censured by thefment how is he doing? is he -- them. how is he doing? guest: congressman king is

struggling. he was outraised by a couple republicans running against him and the democrat who is running against him who almost beat him last time. in the case of congressman king he's looking at a tough primary and tough general election if he gets through the primary. which is a real question when it comes to him. we also saw congressman duncan hunter, who has been indicted for misusing campaign funds, he was outraised by one of his republican challengers in that primary. the democrat in that race also raise add good amount of money. those folks look like they are in trouble if you look at their fundraising numbers. congress manhunter did raise a good amount of money nim self, around $600,000. his campaign reported $400,000 in debt. he's been spending some of his campaign funds on his legal fees. overall house republicans in competitive districts, these incumbents, there are fewer than democrats, on average they raised around $380,000, $390,000 this quarter.

we did see freshman congressman crenshaw from texas raising over $1 million him sefment he's a rising star in the party. he gained some national fame by appearing on saturday night live after he won. he seems to be on the republican side somebody that maybe is tapping into some grassroots energy. host: on that $300,000 average you talked for house republicans is that a good number? guest: that's a good number. it's unclear at this point in temples their democratic challengers because a lot of folks are still jumping into races. democrats largery are -- question for these house republicans are they being outraised by their democratic challengers, how much money is their challenger raising? some incumbents were outraised by challengers including congress manhunter and congressman king, it's still early at this point. we'll have to keep an eye on what some of these didic challengers raised. host: we want our viewers to cowl call in and let us know as well what you're watching for in house and senate races in this

campaign 2020 cycle. we'll go to steve who is in california, independent caller. hi. caller: hi. i just kind of wanted to talk about the russ belt anti-bible belt -- rust belt and the bible belt. i was a republican, let me tell you that i was considered a rhino. i was moderate who leans to the right. i liked the judges from the right. but i want to tell you i think you're going to find in the rust belt and bible belt they have concerns right now, i don't know how the money is coming out in those areas for the republicans, would nt to tell you i have concerns with -- i do have concerns with the corruption and lies and -- right now, ma'am, the -- they are saying that the

consumers holding up the economy, but the consumer's doing it on credit. sooner or later those house of cards are going to come down. i have to believe -- i'm very interested in what the fundraising is like for the republicans in those areas. guest: sure. thinking about republicans in these areas of the country, in places where democrats were able to win in some of these areas in 2018, like i said they are still pulling in a good amount of money. one thing i will probably be digging into that's a question is how much money is come interesting these areas and how much money is coming from out of state or in state. for example, in iowa, for example, democrats are defending two seats they flipped. we saw both of these still raise a good amount of money.

the question here in these races is how they are going to use t. how are they going to communicate with voters? the more money they have, obviously, helps them in these places for sure. host: gary in new york, democratic caller. caller: yes, i live in the new york 27th district which has been wracked by the scandal from the congressman who got convicted, mr. collins. i'm wondering if you can project any ideas who would be good candidates or what the real issues are in new york. we have never had in the last few years even any kind of meetings with the congressman for say the regular little town hall meetings. you might see him at coffee cashes. guest: that's a good question. it's my hometown area. i'm from buffalo, new york. i think congressman collins resigning definitely raising a lot of questions about the future of this district. it's still unclear as far as i know of governor cuomo hasn't set a date for a special

election yet. when collins resipped it opened the possibility there could be a very crowded republican primary for his seat. a lot of republicans interested in his seat. the special election process is interesting where party leaders choose a nominee. it's unclear right now in the 27th district. the democrat who nearly defeated congressman collins last time is running again, nate mcmurray. he's still raising a fair amount of money. state senator chris jacobs from the area has also been fundraising at a strong clip. the political environment right there right now is so unclear, i think democrats kind of believe they had a better shot at winning those seats if they were running against congressman collins. it is a very republican district. it's the district that president trump won by the widest margin in all of new york state. kind of a regular, more -- less controversial republican on the ballot. it seems like republicans have a

better shot at holding that seat. host: baldwin, maryland. democratic caller. caller: hi. my comment is about the fundraising first of all. if someone's raising money from a corporation, there is only one reason that a corporation is giving them money, that is because they want influence so that they can get favors later. if someone's raising money from the actual voters themselves and small donors, then they are working for the people. then there are so many other issues it's like the gerrymandering going on, the voter suppression, and it's really -- voters feel just like they are actually not being represented. there are just too few people that are running that just don't take corporate money. guest: it's interesting that you pact t up the corporate trib shun. one thing we