i know kansas. kansas is conservative. kansas wants answers. my opponent is a liberal democrat. >> we do not live in the information age anymore. we live in the misinformation age. you heard misinformation from roberts. i will address that one at a time, if we have the opportunity, during the debate. senator roberts, you talk about supporting farmers and you vote against the farm bill. you talk about supporting veterans and you did not have the courage to go to washington to vote on the va reform bill. >> we achieved the number one priority, crop insurance. i voted against the bill because, once again, we see farmers farming for the government and not the market. i received the endorsement from the farm bureau and major organizations. they endorsed me and not my opponent. in every case, i am the champion for farmers and ranchers in kansas. >> thank you for your answer. a reminder to voters at home to send us the questions online. we may read the question on air tonight. it is back to our panel now. the next question is from brian lowry. >> the

kansas governor sam brownback, big story chronicled many places the kansas experiment. what's going on politically in kansas, story for another time. colorado governor, hickenlooper, a lot of publicity in his effort to get re-elected. a lot of people would not have predicted this would be too close to call at this hour. and paul lepage, the incumbent governor of maine, actually was helped, as chuck pointed out earlier tonight, with his stance on ebola. the one big election tonight where ebola, because of the nurse from -- who was quarantined in newark, new jersey, ebola has been an issue in the maine governor's race. it has helped so far the incumbent, though. that is too close to call. terry branstad is repeating as iowa governor. governor sandoval in nevada is repeating as governor. andrea mitchell, this brings us to you. dual question. both hard to handle. what does any of this tonight so far tell us about 2016, and what have we learned about the clinton factor in the election of 2014? >> first of all, what it tells us about this campaign, this election, is that pres

when you look at kansas you say how red is kansas not since lbj's landslide in 1964 has kansas voted for a democratic presidential candidate. not since 193282 years ago has kansas elected a democratic senator. since then every senate election in kansas has been won by republicans, so that's the kind of red state we're talking about. people will think of kansas at the start of the year it's 2014 it's a republican year it will only get redder this year and yet let's give you a tour of what's going on here. this is one you probably know the basic story. sam brownback former u.s. senator who became the governor in 2010 he wanted to sort of make kansas a tea party laboratory and some people thought he wanted to turn around and run for president in 2016 and he went back to kansas to do that. he got his tax cuts through and look what's happened there's been a significant backlash in kansas and the average of polls puts his democratic challenger paul davis three points ahead of scott brown -- excuse my, sam brownback in this race, a three-point lead for the democrat. brownback certainly can

we were in kansas, and watching the battle for kansas on two fronts, on the governor's race and the senate race. first of all. we talk about the senate race, this is one where you look at a long-term incumbent. facing off against the candidate. the democrat dropped out of the race. this is as fight as it comes, and kansas had a big turnout. pat roberts leading. 4%. that is only with a quarter of the votes out there. tight in kansas. the other big one is the race for governor. that is senator sam brown. we'll see a little of this john. be careful what you wish for, i may get it. greg ormond in the senate. running as an independent. but that meant he didn't have the infrastructure to go through his campaign, looking for the senate race. you have the governor sam brownback, who has been - certainly has been a long-term senator, popular figure and got election and did people who he promised to do - cut taxes. when he did that, however, there were repercussions that people didn't anticipate. significant loss for the state of kansas. it was cut particularly in education spending. you see here a

kelly o'donnell in kansas. i will start with you, luke. how much has this comment fuelled ernst at this point and is it going to hurt braley? >> i don't think it's going to sway a lot of voters, but where it hurts braley is it's an unforced error that the campaign has to acknowledge where they tried to do an all out assault with more pressing issues because of this being dropped last night. it happened last week. because it was dropped last night, it takes out the ability to talk about the issues. not to mention he is now in eastern iowa trying to get out the vote. who is by his side? tom harkin. he is not being separated from this at all. it's a gift according to the poll that you soed with the-point lead. >> what are the numbers looking like now? does we have the neg up? i'm impressed that you didn't work in a single taylor swift rrc reference. >> you hit it all. you knew you were trouble. >> that's what i was looking for. >> real quickly. traily is tied in the quinnipiac poll. the des moines poll is more of the gold standard. on the iss

liz: rich, i find kansas fascinating. the incumbent, the republican pat roberts, against an independent, greg orman. -pwe don't know which way he at the moment, touch or go, it looks like the independent is in the lead with kansas? >> he's in a slight lead in the polls. this isn't a race we were going to talk about the. democrat drops out, greg orman running neck-and-neck with pat roberts. roberts was down in this race. as for who he's going to caucus with. the way he's campaigning is if i'm the tiebreaker, whoever has the most seats in the senate, i'll side with them. however, republicans say look at his background, this guy is a democrat, don't be fooled. liz: absolutely. former kansas governor mike parkinson along with robert ehrlich, this is going to be so interesting. these former governors are opinionated. coming up, you have to hear what they have to say, both of them, in a fox business exclusive. i have a think about kansas, that could be a very interesting race. most interesting to us on this business network is

this is what it looked like when obama ran against romney in kansas. this is what a national democrat in kansas normally looks like on a county map. 105 counties and 103 of them are republican red. that was obama/romney in '12. republicans say we're going to try to nationalize this race. here's what the county map looked like last night in kansas. 102 republican red counties in only three for orman. basically, the exact same map. that's what the republicans achieved in kansas last night. >> let's look at new hampshire. that was another race where you had scott brown, higher profile, former senator from massachusetts. did he shake the carpet bagger thing? was that an issue? or just jeanne shaheen ran a better campaign? >> yeah, jeanne shaheen ran a good campaign. and this is one of those, it stands out now, the polling before this election said shaheen would probably win by about this margin. in a way, it's not a surprise. but when you see the wave that carried all these other republican candidates, like a tom tillis in north carolina. it suggested some

is hinging on kansas, that roberts is going to push it across the line. do you buy that? >> i do. if you talked to republicans three weeks ago, they would have stayed we're in a world of trouble here, this greg orman, he gives a good speech. you talk to the same republicans now, and they will say, we're within, we're within a point or two, it's close, and we think that the fact that kansas is as red, you know, mitt romney winning by nearly two dozen percentage points, the fact that kansas is as red as it is, and the fact that orman has no ground game, he doesn't have the democratic party doing the same get out the vote, they think could put them over the top tomorrow. >> you have roberts highlights donation to or almond from the soros family, from hollywood, from the aclu frying to really pin them down. >> i don't think it's working, i mean it's interesting, i'm listening to receive, he has a better source than among the republicans, from what i have heard, the feeling is that orman has had the lead here and is pushing it. don't forget that governor brown

state of kansas. >> you guys have carte blanche right now. say your biggest, boldest, baddest prediction for tonight. make it cute and clever. >> boldest prediction, joni ernst, next united states senator. >> i predict we're going to have record turnout to match the record spending. and that is going to give democrats a narrow path to victory. >> you're a crazy lady. >> no. >> that's my prediction. >> i have faith in democrats going out right now, go out and vote. if you have any problems, we'll help you get to the polls. go and vote. it's about your future. >> i'm with you all the way. i'm as pious about voting as you are. but pew research poll says 50% of people care. >> do you need some help voting? >> darling -- >> i've got my glasses. >> look what's going on over here. thank you, ladies. >> thank you. >> cnn's going to have all your election night coverage starting at 5:00 p.m. eastern time. we're getting that whole jump on everything. by the way, if you look up "bitter" in the dictionary you might see a picture of the senate race betwee

we're live in kansas. the vice president is shying away and doing things that others are not willing to do. this is a significant statement to say that greg orman will caucus with the democrats. what are you hearing? >> reporter: that's a surprise to greg orman. he's not saying which side he's going to caucus with. he's not saying he's going to align with democrats or the republicans. that's what is driving some people to come out here and vote. there is an energy behind the senatorial race. people here in 2010 swung to the tea party. after legging a republican governor, he's enacted some tax cuts, there have been dubudget short falls. it's laid the ground work of pat roberts versus the independent greg orman. he's not saying. people are a little suspicious. i did speak to a voter who said she's not sure if she's going to vote for this guy because she doesn't know which way he's going to go. but he says he's going to vote according to kansas. he's going to caucus for kansas period. >> wow, how fascinating

>> what are you sighing in kansas? hoping for big drama. >> you will see plenty of drama? kansas. orman is ahead.>y](w >>> prediction. a bumpy night. let's play "hardball." >>> good evening, i'm chris matthews up in new york. let me start tonight with the election tomorrow night. i'm going to say something a bit more important at the end of our show tonight. but right now, i want to advertise what you're going to see tomorrow night. let's put it this way. it's going to be an edgy, uneven, nasty, and unpredictable evening here on msnbc. rachel maddow and i will be giving you the results as quickly as anyone gets them. they'll be challenging, difficult, and the night will be longer than most nights because we're simply not going to know the winners of the close races that will decide who controls the u.s. senate. here's my prediction about the drama. to quote the great betty davis. fasten your seat belts, it's going to be a bumpy night. and this is especially the case for the democrats defending off a republican takeover. they need to beat scott brown in new hampshire for sure. kay

the road to the senate runs through kansas, and kansas will deliver. >> or maybe not at this time. roberts is in the fight of his political life of this man. awn is a businessman. >> the american public expects washington to work and solve problems. unfortunately when we send the same people back, we don't send that message. >> greg ormond turned the senate race in kansas into a toss up. support grew. in september the democrat candidate dropped out of the race to give greg ormond a better shot at beating roberts. panicked at the prospect of losing kansas and a dream of controlling the senate, roberts party poured money into his nagging campaign and rolled out big-name endorsers. >> it is essential to re-elect pat roberts again. roberts says greg ormond is a democrat and an ally of president obama, whom he bitterly denounces as reckless and flawed. back at oso watta my many feels that roberts has grown out of touch. >> mr roberts has been in washington too long hanging on to a pay check and life-long pension. he has lost contact with the voters. >> i'd like to see the independent, a

kansas's long-term. >> the road to the majority runs through kansas. kansas will deliver. >> reporter: or maybe not this time. roberts is in the fight of his political life against this man. he's a successful businessman who is not aligned with either party. the american public expects washington to work. they expected them to solve problems. when we send the same people back. greg ormond turned the senate race into a toss up. >> support for greg ormond grew and in september the democratic candidate dropped out of the race in order to give greg ormond a better shot at beating roberts. panic at the prospect of losing roberts. they partied, after pouring money into the campaign. >> it is essential that we elected pat roberts to the u.s. senate. roberts says greg ormond is really a democrat, and an ally of president obama, who he denounces as a reckless and flawed president who will stop at nothing. >> back at the cafe, many feel roberts is out of touch. >> mr roberts has been in washington too long, hanging on to his paycheck and life-long pension. he ha

businesses are starting to come to kansas from missouri and other places. if davis wins we'll be discouraged for a day but we never give up. this is a life or death issue. we never give up. i cast my vote. and i haven't ever seen a second row of parking even when i come to vote and they said this is actually light compared to how interesting. i don't know if that's good or bad. i really don't know. >> as she leaves for a brownback watch party she's worried about the polls showing davis with an edge. >> paula ackerman. the. >> if davis wins i will tell my republican friends toll told you so, you should have joined me, things are going to be better just watch out we'll prove it to you. my gut says: we're going to have a new governor in the morning. >> by the time mary kay arrives only a quarter of the precincts have reported and brownback is still trailing. >> what about sam? >> still down. but the big first is coming in slow, the big first will carry us. >> i hope so. >> we're going to hold even on the third but the big first will hold for us. >> it's amazin

the battle for kansas. republicans fight a tough battle to keep control of one of the reddest states. >> an al jazeera special report, america votes, 2014. >> the state of kansas is about as red as a state can get. four years ago president obama lost there by more than 20 points. conservative governor sam brownback won in a landslide but now brownback is in the fight for his political life. "america tonight's" joie chen explains why. >> good morning everyone! and welcome to the kansas state fair in hutchinson in what could very well be a pivotal year in kansas politics. glt race for governor of kansas, challenger ralph johnson is running neck in neck with sam brownback. >> i'm sam davis, an independent thinker. the governor's process just isn't working, we are trailing the rest of the country in virtually every economic indicator there is, it has plunged their state deep into debt. >> sam brownback ran in 2010, he won a sweeping victory here. the brownback promise was something along the lines that we would

go to kansas. >> come out to kansas senate race. pat robertson has begun to open up a lead. at 36%. just want to watch see if this trend continues. this is greg orman's base out here. he the small county down here in, southeastern kansas. this out here. they're tiny counties when you look at them. not a lot of votes out here. 100%. pat roberts. 795 votes. so you think that's not much. when you add here, here, you keep adding it up. this is the strength. small town republican counties out here. bob dole crossing the state. every republican they could get. and at one point called it the clown car. people from washington, perm nenlt republicans coming in to campaign. appears we have a way to go. it helped. republican loyalty kicked in in small towns in the western part of the state. we will watch it. pat roberts at the moment looks more comfortable. this one here to me, looking at the results. 67%, state of colorado. just look right here. this is going to be red. and the tea party candidate lost to michael bennett in 2010, in a big year, it was wednesday morning when bennett declared v

we'll to go kansas. a fascinating race in kansas. i talk to greg orman. you had vice president biden saying he would caucus with democrats if he is in fact elected to the senate. orman's campaign, a very quick response to that. >> you're right. quick to respond, quick, anderson, to dismiss it saying in a statement to cnn, greg has never spoken to the vice president before. and then returning to a consistent message from the orman campaign saying that he is not going to washington to represent democrats or republicans. but the people of kansas. and that message, frankly, has had some resonance with voter in kansas, like many americans, showing 6 in 10 americans dissatisfied. on the other side, senator pat roberts, being fed by the other number, 6 in 10 americans dissatisfied or raining with president obama and senator pat roberts' argument that greg orman is a closet democrat. those comments from vice president biden not helping. being in kansas, this is normally a redder than red state. you have a remarkable race here. an independent taking this 34-year c

and kansas will deliver. [ cheering and applause ] >> reporter: or maybe not this time. roberts, who has been in congress since 1991 is in the fight of his political life against this man, independent greg ormond, a successful businessman not aligned with either party. >> the american public expects washington to work. they expect them to solve problems. unfortunately, when we send the same people back, we do not send that message. >> ormond turned the senate race into a toss up. support for ormond grew, and in september, the democratic candidate dropped out of the race in order to give ormond a better shot at beating roberts. panicked at the prospect of losing kansas and their dream of controlling the senate, roberts party poured money into his campaign. >> roberts says ormond is a democrat and an ally of president obama, who he denounces as a... >> reckless and flawed president. >> many feel roberts is out of touch. >> mr roberts has been in washington too long, hanging on to his pay check, and his life-long pension. he has lost contact with the kansas voters. >> i'd l

is that what he has in kansas and georgia candidates who lose races they should win. we'll see. next tomorrow's news today, our reporters get you ahead of the big political news to come, including why republicans might regret the owe bama era coming an end. an unprecedented program arting busithat partners businesses with universities across the state. for better access to talent, cutting edge research, and state of the art facilities. and you pay no taxes for ten years. from biotech in brooklyn, to next gen energy in binghamton, to manufacturing in buffalo... startup-ny has new businesses popping up across the state. see how startup-ny can help your business grow at startup.ny.gov >>> let's go around the "inside politics" table and ask our reporters to share a final nuggets from their notebooks. >> on tuesday a lot of eyes will be on texas. wendy davis has virtually no chance of winning in that race in texas, running for governor but democrats poured roughly $10 million into that campaign hoping to change the makeup of the electorate. if that electorate isn't changed very much

>> i think kansas -- obviously, we know about the weather in kansas. as the saying goes, if you don't like the weather, just wait. it's frosty, but it's going to warm up. we are going to have a great parade. we are in great shape in the race. i'm confident. i think everybody in kansas knows, if you vote for pat roberts, you are voting for a majority. that's what it boils down to. >> do you get a sense other people are joining? even the tea party challenger is now supporting you and your candidate saying it's a seminole event. do you agree? >> i'm pleased and welcome for his endorsement. i think the key thing is, we have had everybody from jeb bush to sarah palin to mitt romney to ted cruz. it's the full spectrum of the republican party. they are here because they trust me. they know me. they are also here because they know and i know that this race is a lot more about me, it's about the republicans taking over the majority in the senate and ending the obama agenda. the president said himself this whole election was a referendum on his policies. if that

here in conservative kansas. pat roberts has become the country's most vulnerable republican senator. accused of losing touch with his home state. by businessman greg orman, running as an independent on a wave of voters' anger. >> this campaign is really a tremendous opportunity, i think, for the voters of kansas, to send a message to politicians on both sides in washington that you've got to end the gridlock. >> reporter: and what made greg orman so fascinating in the season is he will not say which party he would work with. when we're talking to voters, they're saying what they want is to be heard. too often, brian, they say they've been disappointed. >> kelly o'donnell starting us off from kansas tonight. we'll check back with you during the evening. a total of 36 senate seats will be decided in this election. there are ten big close states we're watching, but the results of two of those races in particular especially for folks in the eastern time zone could give us an early indication about which way these po

and in kansas, incumbent spoke to roberts supporters in onerland park, kansas. cheers and applause] >> thank you. thank you very much. i just spoke with my opponent greg orman. i told him he ran a good campaign. i told him he ran an honorable campaign. he should be proud. i wish him and his wife the very best. now, having said that -- [laughter] >> we love you! cheers and applause] it was a good conversation, folks. i didn't mean it that way. well, we did it, kansas. cheers and applause] you did it. we said for months it's the road to a republican majority and the united states led through kansas and we did it! [cheers and applause] i done think there's any question that the eyes of if nation -- the nation are on kansas. the country was counting on us to help deliver a republican majority to the senate and we delivered. [cheers and applause] i thank you for your vote. i thank you for your work. i thank you for your support and your friendship and your kindness. you're all family. and i would like to now -- i would like to now introduce my very special family. th

kansas. we have genuine debate taking over. we have politics there and other policies. over the past decade or two, the most conservative candidates have come from kansas. kansas voting patterns trend republican. in truth they lean republican. i was a victim of that myself. people forget that in 1978, a democratic speaker of the house defeated a republican and combatant. -- incumbent. bob dolelk about the race. no matter what happens in november, whichever party wins these races, i am hopeful that this can be positive. senator dall is one of the founders here. a legend of american politics. he told me that elections are therapeutic. i think he was referring to his closely run race in 1974. senator dole won by 1%. the closest political race and country. they each spent about $1 million total in that senate race. today, i don't know if $1 million would have bought him 3 days of advertising. senator dole never gave up on his values. he did embody a more inclusive approach to the kansas elections

kansas. larry. >> you know what, kansas i think is going to stay the independent column. i think that the independent jumps in there. i forget his name, but he look just like the actor who plays the hulk in the avengers, doesn't sne. >> greg orman? that was a bit of a surprise coming from you because you didn't take the republican. >> i'm with larry with this one. >> number four, will georgia or louisiana go to a runoff and who will win? simon. >> i think louisiana will go to a runoff and i hope they don't find a trunk full of votes in a pinto. i think it's been a lackluster candidate, and republicans will take it without a runoff. >> all right. very interesting. number five. how many house seats will republicans or democrats pick up? larry. >> republicans at eight seats to their majority. >> he is going with eight. simon. >> i have six. republicans pick up six. >> wow. okay. i want to get your opinion on something. wron if you heard that vice president biden apparently called in to a radio station and said with the kansas race that orman was going to caucus with his team

that's the story in kansas. the other big surprise, mark warner ends up a surprise, but this was shockingly close. because mark warner we know is a guy who is a very popular governor in virginia and when he first ran for for the seat in 2008 got 65% of the vote. when you actually look at this number in virginia and you think back to 2012, the obama/romney race, it's not that different. obama won virginia, mark warner won it by a point last night. if you take a look at the county map in virginia, this is the red/blue scheme. big democratic county is up here, we get a lot of the vote from, the richmond area and a few scattered areas that are blue, otherwise a big sea of red. 2012, obama/romney in virginia. the exact same thing. mark warner before the last six years or so, before the obama era, where this polarization has accelerated, he would run and win in south virginia. you look at the counties last night ed gillespie is performing exactly the same as mitt romney did. this is something for democrats to be think

kansas. >> reporter: a place with 5,000 people, 20s churches, one cafe, and a proud history dating back before the civil war. it's a conservative place. >> most people in kansas are republican. iblt they vote republican but people here like many americans aren't happy with politics and politicians. >> people are very tired of the politics but they are tired of the general direction that the country is going in. >> washington is not doing anything. it's like really it's like it's broken. we need to get a fix. >> that feeling is bad news for this man, kansas's long-time republican senator pat roberts. >> ladies and gentlemen, the road to a republican majority now runs right straight through kansas. kansas will deliver. or maybe nots this time. robert is in the fight of his political life against this man, independent greg orman, a successful businessman who isn't aligned with either party. >> the american public expects washington to work. they expect them to solve problems. and unfortunately,

to kansas tomorrow. because that's where i want to be when the votes are counted tomorrow night. what is the state of the race right now? are there any final controversies as they cross the finish line that might affect the outcome or turnout tomorrow? >> that's a really good choice, lawrence. come over, we'll buy you some barbecue. >> that's why i'm coming. >> good, we're glad to have you. this race is a tossup going right down to the wire. the candidates right now are really urging everyone to get out to vote. both were out shaking a lot of hands, going door to door today. they're trading some potshots. arguing over who respects former kansas senator bob dole the most. it is a tossup. the one thing that came up this weekend was pat roberts used kansas state football coach bill snyder in an ad and coach snyder said you didn't have my permission and they asked him to take down the ad, and he didn't take down the ad. and football's big out here. >> what about the new voter i.d. law there. >> this is anoth

you look at kansas. you look at that race. fascinating people here. could kansas decide it all? >> i feel like i should click may heels at that question. could it? yes. here's where we start, 55/45 control of the senate. here's what's at stake tomorrow. let me go through this. most he have one assumes this will happen. now we're looking at ten states left on the board. what if the democrats can hold the blues? that's what i call them kofl, iowa, new hampshire. republicans say they won't but for the happy athletic cal, plus, north carolina. if that played out, then you're at 49-45. six states left. let stay republicans take alaska. that's what they expect. democrats say we maybe counting for a couple days but let's stay democrats hole on and mitch mcconne mcconnell continues. let's give them this for this scenario. we're at 49-48. i have left kansas right here. let's assume greg orman wins. let's give them win. it doesn't change the math because we don't know how he'll vote. we could go into the two runoffs. let say for the sake of argument the republican wins in louisiana. that'

there's only a tiny fraction compared to the higher income neighborhoods in kansas city. so i think commission crews shared what is a good insight about being careful when it's the telecom companies or google saying they want us to help close this digital divide. i'm grateful to the members of this lafco committee, i think they are committed to bringing more into our neighborhoods and it's a pleasure to serve with them on this body. >> commissioner lindo >> follow-up on commissioner mar, i think he has some great points. i'd like if possible for you to take a look and let us know if this is even within the realm of the scope -- to identify what limitations the city can put on this underground space. you said it's not necessarily the city who would be doing this but it would be perhaps pg&e and if there is any legislation, if there's perhaps around the country that limits how and what is used underground and what i'm getting to is, one of the issues here is there's a $300 activation here or there's a $75 a month fee for high speed inder net that many of these low income co

starting in kansas. right now republican senator pat roberts is locked in a virtual tie with independent challenger greg orman. chris christie and bob dole joined roberts on the campaign trail in recent days and georgia. georgia republican businessmen david purdue enjoys a razor-thin edge over michelle nunn and georgia, of course, if no one gets 50% of the vote on tuesday, top two candidate will head to a runoff and that won't be held until january 6, 2015. both places democrats are trying to pick off seats currently held by republicans. then the third seat, the third race we're going to take you to in just a minute. iowa. democrats are hoping to hold on to a seat that has been held by democrat tom harkin for 30 years. as we mentioned earlier, a new poll out from the des moines register. a gold standard poll that shows bruce braley trailing joni ernst by seven points. joining us to discuss the three nail biters on the ground casey hunt live in atlanta, nbc news capitol hill luke russert in des moines and

he's going to represent the people of kansas. to be fair, that has been his consistent position throughout generally translated as being that he will caucus with whoever is in the majority after all those votes are counted after today's race. the other interesting thing in this race, jake, here you have a race where an independent is not in the position to steal from the republican and democrat candidate but to steal the very seat building off this frustration that you have among american voters along with dysfunction in washington. i managed to catch up with the candidate today as he cast his ballot. here's what he had to say. >> why do you think you can make a difference if you win today? >> well, it's really the voters of kansas who are going to make a difference. you can't hide behind your party label. >> jake, when you get to the election math, no matter what happens tonight, it increases that magic number that the republicans from 6 to 7 if orman beats roberts, no matter which party he chooses to caucus with, it brings up t

if you're in kansas, this works, if you're in kansas and your brand is republican, you may deviate from that brand one time. i don't know that you deviate from it twice. i actually think voting against brownback could help roberts at the end of the day. >> if orman wins, think about it also, the talk about an independent running for president, perhaps one on this set here, it grows, largely because you see the path if it can happen in kansas -- >> wrong. >> halperin, you're running for president? >> one final thing. >> for all of you pundits and pollsters out there that's saying greg orman is an independent and we really don't know if he's a democrat or a republican, i'm taking bets right now. all right. on whether if he wins he's going to caucus with the republican party or the democratic party. i'll give you 5-1 odds that he caucuses with the democratic party. you know he's not going to caucus with the republicans. so just quit. >> do a little game on -- >> joe, your family you should -- >> we still are. >> forever. always has been. always will be. >> we're going to end the block this

iowa, kansas, and north carolina. all of them are states where disapproval of the president is high. we' thank you both for joining us. before we go to the polls, i want to show you video that happened moments ago of president only actually boarding marine one to fly up to -- we don't have the video yet. >> okay. >> all right. talk to me. anyway, let's move on. the president is going to detroit so he can campaign there. he's still on the campaign trail. his numbers are already low. how will this impact him in the key states that we're going to be talking about here? >> he's not going to the key states that we're talking about when we're talking about kansas and north carolina, we're talking about iowa. but i don't want to sound overly confident. conservatives need to get out to vote. these are polls. people are going to make their decision on election day. so two factors here. whoever you get out to vote and whoever gets the independent vote. >> chris? >> well, it's very close. you're talking about, you know, multiple

wisconsin, michigan, ohio, kansas, texas, and the list goes on. and a number of democrats who are reelected will face divide legislatures because republicans have taken parts of the legislature or legislatures in colorado and minnesota. the last point about governors is to talk about governor ed gillespie. he, of course, did lose his senate race but many people have noted that he is well setup to run again. i think he would have been had he lost by five points or seven points. running a good race, i think people felt he was one of the more policy oriented substantive candidates on the stump. but also, ed gillespie also a student of norm warrenstein and part of a fraternity which might run turned pan banner of the political spawn of norm. it includes terry mcauliffe and ed gillespie. with that, i will turn it to back -- >> jon, one or two other questions. john is the country's leading expert on early and absentee and mail voting. can you say just a little bit about what happened with mail voting in colorado? maybe something in general about the tur

"sunday night football" coming up from kansas city. we'll take a peek at that game when we come back to santa clara. the volkswagen golf was just named motor trend's 2015 car of the year. so was the 100% electric e-golf, and the 45 highway mpg tdi clean diesel. and last but not least, the high performance gti. looks like we're gonna need a bigger podium. the volkswagen golf family. motor trend's 2015 "cars" of the year. ♪ ah, ♪h it. ♪ push it. ♪ p...push it real good! ♪ ♪ ow! ♪ oooh baby baby...baby baby. if you're salt-n-pepa, you tell people to push it. ♪ push it real good. it's what you do. ♪ ah. push it. if you want to save fifteen percent or more on car insurance, you switch to geico. it's what you do. ♪ ah. push it. i'm pushing. i'm pushing it real good! >>> welcome back to "the volkswagen postgame report." here, now, al michaels and cris collinsworth. >> back in silicon valley. to the victors go the spoils. that's the way richard walked off with tonight's lombardi proty. or facsimile there of. kansas city, bi

here in conservative kansas. pat roberts has become the country's most vulnerable republican senator. accused of losing touch with his home state. by businessman greg orman, running as an independent on a wave of voters' anger. >> this campaign is really a tremendous opportunity, i think, for the voters of kansas, to send a message to politicians on both sides in washington that you've got to end the gridlock. >> reporter: and part of what has made greg orman one of the most fascinating figures this election season, he won't say which party he would work with if he gets to washington. as we've been talking to voters, not only are they angry and fed up, but, brian, they also tell us they're just disappointed. >> kelly o'donnell, observerland park, kansas where she'll be posted all evening long. there's a chance a number of races will go into overtime tonight which means control of the senate could still be undecided by the time folks wake up tomorrow. for that matter by one scenario, it's january before we could k

"sunday night football" coming up from kansas city. we'll take a peek at that game when we come back to santa clara. the volkswagen golf was just named motor trend's 2015 car of the year. so was the 100% electric e-golf, and the 45 highway mpg tdi clean diesel. and last but not least, the high performance gti. looks like we're gonna need a bigger podium. the volkswagen golf family. motor trend's 2015 "cars" of the year. ♪ ah, ♪h it. ♪ push it. ♪ p...push it real good! ♪ ♪ ow! ♪ oooh baby baby...baby baby. if you're salt-n-pepa, you tell people to push it. ♪ push it real good. it's what you do. ♪ ah. push it. if you want to save fifteen percent or more on car insurance, you switch to geico. it's what you do. ♪ ah. push it. i'm pushing. i'm pushing it real good! >>> welcome back to "the volkswagen postgame report." here, now, al michaels and cris collinsworth. >> back in silicon valley. to the victors go the spoils. that's the way richard walked off with tonight's lombardi proty. or facsimile there of. kansas city, bi

orman needs to win in kansas. they need two more wins in colorado, iowa, alaska and georgia, perhaps somewhere else. it's not going to be easy. more like an icebreaker jamming its way over the north pole. but it is possible and the polls show it's possible. we have reporters covering some of the tightest races. we begin in overland park, kansas. kelly, it is so fascinating that it comes down to 49-50, and this one guy who nobody heard of a few months ago, orman, nobody knows what party he feels at home in, and he could decide the whole shebang sometime after tomorrow night. >> and he's enjoying that moment. i was with him today as he was visiting potential voters in topeka, kansas. and what he is saying, he's giving us clues, but not answers. when i asked him about which party he would align with. he's running independent. but in the senate, you have to sit on one side or the other. get your assignments from a leader. you have to work with a structure, the organization of the senate. and basically his answer is, h

the fact that we're coming to you from kansas says so much. because it's a reliably republican state and yet it's in play tonight. what do voters want? we've been talking to people and the set-up feeling is all across the country. >> reporter: finally today, voters get their say. from iowa -- >> there's too much gridlock. i do want compromise. >> reporter: to lines at neighborhood polling stations in georgia. >> i feel good, my voice is being counted, is being heard. >> reporter: to kansas, and wearing those "i voted" stickers. >> what message do you want to send? >> let's get together, guys, and work things out. >> reporter: the stakes are enormous. 11 incumbents are in trouble. nationally there's a bruising fight to control the senate. republicans need to gain six seats overall. three look easy. republicans need to win another three out of seven states where democrats are in office. in hot battlegrounds, frustrations directed at president obama and his policies, have been used like a hammer on democrats. including new hampshire incumbent jea

a son of kansas a kansas icon. and to say anything interpreted as disrespectful to bob dole is questionable in kansas. that's one of the little kind of skirmishes on the campaign trail. there's also been a battle over another beloved figure, and that's the coach at kansas state. the roberts campaign is running an ad that includes bill snyder endorsing pat roberts. organman and others are saying what's going on with that? because the university says they're not supposed to be making endorsements. that's bubbled up. the biggest issue, two other guys in this race. the president of the united states and the senate majority leader. roberts says if voters want more of those policies vote for greg orman because he would be more likely to align with them. greg orman is saying washington is broken, don't send the same person back after three terms. so it's an interesting race to watch because it's got all of the fault lines of where voters are in terms of their frustrations, but also in terms of who will control the senate?

the incumbent governor of kansas reelected. not by much, a closer fight than he thought oregon governor, the projected winner, the incumbent. there on to idaho. where governor otter is -- butch otter is the incumbent. in idaho, we have a bunch of too close to call. in colorado, hickenlooper has been hanging on, back and forth. right now, trending against him. but still officially too close. connecticut, this will be something if the incumbent, democratic incumbent dan malloy, former mayor of the city of stanford loses to the republican tom foley. but it would be keeping with what we've seen tonight. 6,000 votes separating the two of those. and alaska, and some of these are just going to be too late, even on west coast time. the newly re-elected governor of the state of kansas sam brownback is with us tonight. and, governor, you're a famous guy in the pages of rolling stone among other journals this week. they talk about the tea party experiment. >> thank you. >> yeah, i knew you'd take that as a badge of honor. they talk about

think the race thn most interesting for me is kansas. that was a race 6, 7 months ago nobody thought would be competitive. democrats never win in kansas. martha: a couple groups you will be watching. african-american voters. the president happens tried hard to get them out. it will ben'ting to see how republicans do with them. >> one of the things that is so interesting, the polls show a republican advantage. but if the african-americans and hispanics and younger members vote in higher numbers the democrats could have an advantage. martha: there was a follow that shows millennials are 51% republican. >> you couple as a millennial, the iraq war, the bush presidency defined your attitudes. does that stamp you forever or do you change over time? i think there is a sense what happened the last six years could be turning the attitude and preferences of the millennials. martha: some people listen to polls, it's too hard to know what's going on. you have got people on cell phones and people on land lines. how good do you think the polls are? >>

"sunday night football" coming up from kansas city. we'll take a peek at that game when we come back to santa clara. the volkswagen golf was just named motor trend's 2015 car of the year. so was the 100% electric e-golf, and the 45 highway mpg tdi clean diesel. and last but not least, the high performance gti. looks like we're gonna need a bigger podium. the volkswagen golf family. motor trend's 2015 "cars" of the year. ♪ ah, ♪h it. ♪ push it. ♪ p...push it real good! ♪ ♪ ow! ♪ oooh baby baby...baby baby. if you're salt-n-pepa, you tell people to push it. ♪ push it real good. it's what you do. ♪ ah. push it. if you want to save fifteen percent or more on car insurance, you switch to geico. it's what you do. ♪ ah. push it. i'm pushing. i'm pushing it real good! >>> welcome back to "the volkswagen postgame report." here, now, al michaels and cris collinsworth. >> back in silicon valley. to the victors go the spoils. that's the way richard walked off with tonight's lombardi proty. or facsimile there of. kansas city, bi

k.g., someone mentioned kansas, dana, kansas, senate, roberts versus orman, orman is running as an independent, any question that this guy would caucus with the democrats? >> i don't know him. okay? so it seems like the people of kansas don't know him, but they really talk about a protest, though. it is amazing that you would talk about kansas as a tossup. but it really is a jump ball, right, bob? this one we don't know. >> the one advantage of having the white house is that you can give a lot of goodies out to people. so democrats will be very, very strong and let's keep in mind, the next two years from now the democrats have a very favorable -- they might not like the current guy they have, but between the two, i think that roberts probably wins by just a hair. >> we have a little bit more news today, cory gardner and mark udall in colorado, you come from colorado, corrie gardner -- >> you've been characterized as having the best campaign, he's happy, he's optimistic, he left a really safe seat, he could have won re-election in congress quite easily, but he decided to take this on, hopefully

kansas, georgia. give the democrats some credit. i do not think it is quite a hurricane, but it has the potential to be a pretty strong storm. step back on all 3 -- house, senate, and governor campaigns. clearly, democrats on the defensive. governorship is very mixed, but democrats may be slightly on the offense there. all., not much going on at why the difference between one party on the offense at the statehouse level and the other party on offense in congress? >> that is a great question. i wish i had an answer i was totally confident of. first of all, i think there is a difference between the federal races and the state races. in terms of the contest between the house and senate, look at the partisan division, barack obama, capitol hill -- the regrets are defensive in the u.s. house and the u.s. senate. in the house, republicans are kind of hitting up on their fielding, so they do not have the potential. the governors races, the the problems of the parties of incumbent governors, has to do with the angst and the frustration. rep