{"id":565,"date":"2014-11-02T16:25:51","date_gmt":"2014-11-02T21:25:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/press.nbcnews.com\/?p=565"},"modified":"2014-11-02T16:25:51","modified_gmt":"2014-11-02T21:25:51","slug":"meet-the-press-11214-sen-rand-paul-calls-voter-id-issue-dumb-exclusive-w-kaci-hickox-new-polls-for-races-in-ga-la-ky","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nbcuniversalnewsgroup.com\/nbcnews\/2014\/11\/02\/meet-the-press-11214-sen-rand-paul-calls-voter-id-issue-dumb-exclusive-w-kaci-hickox-new-polls-for-races-in-ga-la-ky\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cMeet the Press\u201d 11\/2\/14 \u2013Sen. Rand Paul Calls Voter ID Issue \u201cDumb\u201d; Exclusive w\/ Kaci Hickox; New Polls For Races In GA, LA & KY"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Sen. Paul on 2016: \u201cI’ve always said it’s going to be spring until I make a decision anyway\u201d Kaci Hickox on Gov. Christie\u2019s decision to quarantine: \u00a0\u201cIt was really an abundance of politics.\u201d Joe Scarborough on Sen. Paul in 2016: “He’s going to do better than his father and he’s not going to win.”<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
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NOVEMBER 2, 2014 — Today\u2019s \u201cMeet the Press with Chuck Todd\u201d featured an exclusive interview with Nurse Kaci Hickox; <\/strong>an interview with Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY);<\/strong> reports with the latest in the battleground races from NBC News Congressional Correspondent Luke Russert,<\/strong>NBC News Capitol Hill Correspondent Kelly O\u2019Donnell, <\/strong>MSNBC Political Correspondent Kasie Hunt, <\/strong>Miami Herald\u2019s Political Writer Marc Caputo <\/strong>and WTMJ-TV\u2019s Charles Benson.<\/strong><\/p>\n

This morning\u2019s political panel included former White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs,<\/strong>NBC\u2019s Andrea Mitchell<\/strong>, NBC News senior political analyst and host of MSNBC\u2019s \u201cMorning Joe\u201dJoe Scarborough, <\/strong>and former Chairman of the RNC Michael Steele. Plus a panel on the new polls with the Cook Political Report\u2019s Charlie Cook & Amy Walter, <\/strong>Hart Research Associates\u2019Fred Yang <\/strong>and Public Opinion Strategies\u2019 Bill McInturff. <\/strong>Finally, a new NBC News\/WSJ<\/strong> poll on the mood of the country and new NBC News\/Marist <\/strong>polls on races in Georgia, Louisiana and Kentucky.<\/p>\n

Full analysis of the polls can be found online here:<\/p>\n

http:\/\/nbcnews.to\/1zZhSj8<\/a><\/p>\n

http:\/\/nbcnews.to\/1wUn8i8<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Below are highlights, video, and a rush transcript of today\u2019s program. All content will be available online at\u00a0http:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/meet-the-press<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

# # #<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Sen. Paul on the possibility that the GOP will take control of Senate:<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

RAND PAUL:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I think it’ll be a combination of both.\u00a0 This is going to be a repudiation of the president’s policies.\u00a0 The president is on the ballot, in a way.\u00a0 This is a referendum on the president.\u00a0 So, no question this is a big message to the president.\u00a0 But also, it’s a message that people are tired of nothing getting done.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The gridlock in Washington has largely been from the Democrats, who haven’t allowed any legislation to come forward in the Senate.\u00a0 So, I think if we win, you will see legislation passed and you will see legislation sent to the desk of the president.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

# # #<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Sen. Paul on the brand issue with Republicans:<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

RAND PAUL:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Well, I think you have to show up.\u00a0 And then you have to say something.\u00a0 So, I’ve spent the last year showing up, everywhere from Howard University to Berkeley to the Urban League to Ferguson to the NAACP.\u00a0 But showing up’s not enough.\u00a0 We have to show that we have a policy.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

And you know what I’m sensing when I do show up in the African American community and our big cities?\u00a0 I’m sensing, and they say this to me time after time, “We’re being taken for granted.\u00a0 The Democrats don’t show up.\u00a0 Haven’t seen my congressman lately.”\u00a0 So, I think there’s a huge opportunity for us.\u00a0 And while not everybody says they’re ready to become a Republican, many people say they’re glad I’m there and they want us to compete for their vote.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

# # #<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Kaci Hickox on her self-quarantine:<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

KACI HICKOX:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Yes.\u00a0 I want to clarify that a bit.\u00a0 Because I understand that the community has been through a lot in the past week and that I do, you know, apologize to them for that.\u00a0 I will not go into town, into crowded public places.\u00a0 You know, I have had a few friends come visit me in my home and that’s absolutely fantastic.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

But on the other hand, you know, my partner is currently in nursing school.\u00a0 And there is definitely zero scientific evidence that says that he shouldn’t be allowed to return to his campus on Monday.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

# # #<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Kaci Hickox on being parodied on Saturday Night Live:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

KACI HICKOX:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

You know, I haven’t seen it yet.\u00a0 My partner and I don’t have cable here.\u00a0 But I had at least, you know, five or six friends send me text messages to let me know.\u00a0 So, I will look that up today.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

# # #<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Joe Scarborough on the contested races for the GOP and issues with the base:<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

JOE SCARBOROUGH:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Just on the South really quickly, because if you had told me a year ago Republicans would be sweating it out in North Carolina, Georgia, Louisiana, and Arkansas a week out, yeah, I would say this isn’t going to be a Republican wave.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Bizarre.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

JOE SCARBOROUGH:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

So, I don’t think talking about African Americans’ voting patterns in the South is actually a legitimate question.\u00a0 I think the bigger question is why haven’t Republicans closed down North Carolina, Georgia, Louisiana, and Arkansas by now?\u00a0 So, actually, the question is not about race.\u00a0 The question is about the Republican base, still disaffected.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

# # #<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Robert Gibbs on Hillary Clinton and the run up to 2016:<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

ROBERT GIBBS:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Well, look, that’s going to be a process that takes more time than just 2014.\u00a0 I don’t think she’s had a particularly good run with the book.\u00a0 I wouldn’t have done as many interviews as she did.\u00a0 I think they hastened the process of Republican attacks, which were certainly going to come.\u00a0 But I would’ve waited.\u00a0 I will say, as a Democrat sitting here, you have to be impressed with what Rand Paul was saying.\u00a0 To have a positive talking point before the election I think is usually important.\u00a0 And I think Jeb Bush is one to watch.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

# # #<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Below is a RUSH transcript of the 10AM feed of this morning\u2019s broadcast — mandatory attribution to NBC News\u2019 \u201cMeet the Press.\u201d A final transcript of the program will be available at www.MeetThePressNBC.com<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This Sunday with just 48 hours to go until election day, it’s our midterm special.\u00a0 Are we looking at a Republican Senate wave or can the Democrats hang on?\u00a0 We’re live from key battleground states.\u00a0 And we’ve got some new polls that may tell us where this race is headed on Tuesday.\u00a0 Plus, meeting the voters.\u00a0 They had one very clear message for Washington.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

MALE VOTER (TAPE):<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We\u2019re supposed to be united.\u00a0 Stop the bickering.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

And meeting the candidates who seem to be getting that message.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

THOM TILLIS (TAPE):<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We’ve got produce results.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

My final report from a battleground road trip.\u00a0 Also, 2016 candidates, start your engines.\u00a0 All week, the likely contenders from both parties have been making themselves a presence.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHRIS CHRISTIE (TAPE):<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Sit down and shut up.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I’ll be joined by Republican presidential hopefuls Rand Paul.\u00a0 And we have Ebola in America.\u00a0 After winning her quarantine showdown. Nurse Kaci Hickox joins me exclusively.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

KACI HICKOX (TAPE):<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This battle isn’t over.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I’m Chuck Todd.\u00a0 And joining me to provide insight and analysis are former chair of the Republican Party, Michael Steele; NBC’s own Andrea Mitchell; President Obama’s first White House press secretary, Robert Gibbs; and NBC’s senior political analyst, Joe Scarborough.\u00a0 Welcome to Sunday.\u00a0 It’s Meet the Press.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

ANNOUNCER:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

From NBC News election headquarters in New York, this is Meet the Press with Chuck Todd.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

And good morning from said election headquarters, right here at 30 Rock.\u00a0 We are ready for election night on Tuesday after my road trip across key battleground states.\u00a0 We’ve got lots on that later in the show.\u00a0 But I want to get right to our latest NBC News Marist polls from three more states in three more key senate races.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

And right now, they bring some welcome news for Republicans, particularly in states where they were playing some defense.\u00a0 In Kentucky, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell has a nine-point lead.\u00a0 He’s sitting at 50%, 41% there for Alison Grimes among likely voters.\u00a0 Grimes, of course, the Democratic nominee.\u00a0 In Georgia, Republican candidate David Perdue is clinging to a four-point lead over Democrat Michelle Nunn, 48%, 44%.\u00a0 If neither candidate gets 50%, we are headed for a January runoff in Georgia.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In Louisiana, incumbent Democrat Mary Landrieu has an eight-point edge right now in the so-called jungle primary.\u00a0 She leads Republican Bill Cassidy 44% to 46%.\u00a0 Republican conservative Tea Party challenger Rob Maness sits at 15%.\u00a0 Of course, if no one gets a majority in Louisiana, that does trigger a runoff in December.\u00a0 And right there, Cassidy has the edge over Landrieu 50% to 45%.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

So, this morning, things looking good for Republican hopes of winning the Senate.\u00a0 They couldn’t afford to lose either Kentucky or George.\u00a0 But the voters I met on my road trip across the South made it very clear they’re not happy with either party right now.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

(BEGIN TAPE)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

LOUISIANA VOTER #1:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

One of the biggest problems in Washington is that there are career politicians.\u00a0 And from the day they get elected, the next day their job is to get reelected.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

LOUISIANA VOTER #2:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I would clean house on both parties.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

LOUISIANA VOTER #3:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We\u2019re supposed to be united.\u00a0 Stop the bickering.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

NORTH CAROLINA VOTER #1:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I would love for there to be an independent president that would do a really great job and take people into consideration instead of the party.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

NORTH CAROLINA VOTER #2:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Really care about the people that you’re representing.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

NORTH CAROLINA #3:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What about moderates?\u00a0 Does that exist?\u00a0 Because it has become so extreme.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

GEORGIA VOTER:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We don’t trust anybody anymore to look out for the working person.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

ARKANSAS VOTER #1:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I’m not a party line person.\u00a0 I’m a candidate person.\u00a0 And there’s a lot of folks in Arkansas that are that way.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

ARKANSAS VOTER #2:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I would like some crossing over the aisle.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

ARKANSAS VOTER #1:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A lot of these guys that are making the rules and the laws are so out of touch.\u00a0 They have no idea what they’re even making the laws over.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

(END TAPE)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Those are your undecided voters, folks.\u00a0 That’s why this election is still on a knife’s edge.\u00a0 By the way, the New York Times reports this morning, ready for this, the National Republican Senatorial Committee already has chartered a jet waiting to fly lawyers in wherever there may be a disputed election.\u00a0 Things are that close, particularly in places, perhaps, like Colorado or, who knows, Alaska.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Now, let’s check on some of the key races.\u00a0 We’ve got the bases covered with correspondents joining us from five states across the country.\u00a0 We’re going to start in Georgia where, as we just saw, Democrat Michelle Nunn is trailing slightly in her Senate battle with David Perdue.\u00a0 MSNBC’s Kasie Hunt is on the ground in Atlanta for us.\u00a0 And Kasie, this is clearly about a turnout game and right now the Democrats’ goal is to get this to a runoff.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

KASIE HUNT:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Hey, Chuck.\u00a0 Yes, at this point, it’s all about whether or not Democrats can remake the electorate.\u00a0 And so far, they seem to be doing a fairly good job.\u00a0 Early vote totals show about 33% of the electorate is African American so far.\u00a0 Both sides say that number’s going to drop.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

But that’s where they need to be if they’re going to push their candidates Jason Carter for governor and Michelle Nunn for Senate over the finish line.\u00a0 Now, both Republicans and Democrats agree that Nunn is probably the strongest candidate the Democrats have fielded on the Senate map this year, bar none.\u00a0 But whether it’s going to be enough is still a pretty open question.\u00a0 And as you said, both sides are preparing for a runoff.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Kasie Hunt in Atlanta.\u00a0 By the way, Georgia, the worst economy in the nation.\u00a0 That’s the real backdrop now.\u00a0 Now to Kansas, where things are extremely tight between the Independent candidate Greg Orman and the incumbent Republican Pat Roberts.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Our own Capitol Hill correspondent Kelly O’Donnell is making Kansas her home for the next three days.\u00a0 Shawnee Mission is where she is this morning.\u00a0 And Kelly, this has been about Republicans trying to get the base out versus Greg Orman trying to find those angry voters in the middle that I talked to.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

KELLY O’DONNELL:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

And Chuck, this battleground thing, it’s new for Kansas, right.\u00a0 Republicans here tell me they are having trust issues.\u00a0 All the anger at Washington, they say that three-term incumbent Pat Roberts, he has been part of the problem, spending too much time there, not enough time here.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

That really made that lane for Greg Orman, who is a self-made businessman.\u00a0 But voters say because he won’t say which party he would align with, told me he might even switch back and forth, they don’t know what kind of senator he would be.\u00a0 That makes it tough.\u00a0 So, all the Republicans are flooding the zone.\u00a0 Bob Dole, the Kansas icon, will be here today.\u00a0 Greg Orman looks at that and says that’s a Washington establishment clown car, all that outside help.\u00a0 Chuck.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Kelly O’Donnell, enjoy Kansas.\u00a0 That’s for sure.\u00a0 Now, let’s go to Florida.\u00a0 This is the big gubernatorial prize in the country here.\u00a0 All eyes, Democratic Charlie Crist, the incumbent Republican there.\u00a0 Rick Scott, most expensive race in the country.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Let’s check in in my hometown of Miami.\u00a0 Marc Caputo there the beat reporter there at the Miami Herald.\u00a0 And Marc, what are you watching?\u00a0 This early vote, is it really an advantage for Crist?\u00a0 Does this feel like Democrats are slightly ahead of where they were in 2010, which was a very close race?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

MARC CAPUTO:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Democrats are ahead of where they were in 2010.\u00a0 They’re way behind where they were in 2012.\u00a0 Right now, Republicans probably have about a 130,000 vote margin, maybe a little less, over Democrats in early and absentee ballots cast.\u00a0 That could become significant.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The polls are showing right now that it depends on the poll who’s winning.\u00a0 Quinnipiac University has Crist up three percentage points.\u00a0 That’s inside the error margin.\u00a0 And SEA Polling and Design has Rick Scott up three percentage points.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

That’s also inside the error margin.\u00a0 It’s essentially a tie race.\u00a0 The dumbest and smartest thing said in politics is that it’s all about turnout.\u00a0 And it’s gonna be all about turnout.\u00a0 This election will actually probably be won or lost on election day.\u00a0 The question is, by whom?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

That’s for sure.\u00a0 And the wild card, that third candidate, how high is his number and who does he poll from?\u00a0 Marc Caputo, great work this year covering that race.\u00a0 Thank you, sir.\u00a0 The other big governor’s race that’s on the national race is, of course, in Wisconsin.\u00a0 Democrat Mary Burke is hoping to unseat Republican Governor Scott Walker in his third campaign for governor in four years.\u00a0 Charles Benson from our affiliate at WTMJ in Milwaukee for us.\u00a0 And Charles, the Walker people saw that last poll from Marquette University, they were up seven.\u00a0 It shocked a lot of people.\u00a0 Does anybody believe that somehow, Walker has expanded his lead like that?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHARLES BENSON:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I don’t think either side believes the margin is that big.\u00a0 But as you point out, the poll had Walker up by seven where, just two weeks ago, it was dead even.\u00a0 Chuck, you know this state is pretty interesting.\u00a0 It’s not a red state or a blue state.\u00a0 Democrats have won the last seven straight presidential races.\u00a0 But Republican governors have won six out of the last eight in that timeframe.\u00a0 And, as you point out, Governor Walker now in his third election in four years.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Go back to 2012, when he wins the recall election, become the first governor in history to win a recall.\u00a0 He wins with 2.5 million voters going out to the polls.\u00a0 Five months later, President Obama wins this state by about the same margin.\u00a0 So, both sides indicate it’s all about getting out the vote.\u00a0 And they’ll see how that works out on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Thank you, Charles.\u00a0 And as you told me, that 2.5 million figure a key figure.\u00a0 If the turnout is higher than that, that’s probably good news for Mary Burke.\u00a0 Charles, thanks very much.\u00a0 And finally, to Iowa, where Democrat Bruce Braley and Republican Joni Ernst are purportedly in a neck-and-neck race for the open Senate seat there.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I say purportedly because there’s a brand-new Des Moines Register poll out this morning that indicates Ernst has a seven-point lead.\u00a0 Our own congressional correspondent Luke Russert is standing by in Des Moines.\u00a0 And Luke, that had to be a stomach punch to Democrats last night when the final Des Moines Register poll came out with that margin.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

LUKE RUSSERT:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Yes.\u00a0 You’re completely right, Chuck.\u00a0 This poll is considered the gold standard, especially ahead of elections here in Iowa.\u00a0 Some real worrisome news for Bruce Braley. \u00a0Two things that stood out to me in that poll.\u00a0 Number one, he’s losing his own congressional district by three points.\u00a0 He’s going to have to go campaign there over the next two days to try and turn out the vote there if he has any chance.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The other thing within that poll, Chuck, Joni Ernst, who he’s campaigning against, the Republican, actually polling better on the issue of, “Who cares more about people like me?”\u00a0 That is something that Democrats ordinarily do better on than Republicans.\u00a0 In this case, Ernst is really doing a good job on it.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

And she also adds this sort of novelty of her candidacy.\u00a0 She’s a combat veteran.\u00a0 She would be the first woman sent to Washington from Iowa if she were to win.\u00a0 And she’s really been able to, through the powerful personality narrative, sort of make Braley very Washington and very unlikable.\u00a0 Something to keep an eye on if she is to win also, Chuck, looking ahead to 2016, she would be the number-one surrogate that any of those Republican presidential candidates would want.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Yes.\u00a0 That’s for sure.\u00a0 She could become a quick star.\u00a0 Anyway, Luke Russert in Iowa.\u00a0 Thank you, sir.\u00a0 This is such a surprisingly unpredictable election when you see the numbers we have nationally.\u00a0 So, we needed two panels to sort it all out.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Joining me now are some of the smartest minds in political analysis.\u00a0 Charlie Cook, editor and publisher of the Cook Political Report; Amy Walter, national editor of the Cook Political Report; and two of our NBC News Wall Street Journal pollsters, Fred Yang, the Democratic pollster from Hart Research Associates; and Bill MacInturff, a Republican pollster with Public Opinion Strategies.\u00a0 And Fred and Bill, you’ve just given us some brand-new data.\u00a0 I appreciate that.\u00a0 Here’s our generic congressional ballot.\u00a0 Nationwide likely voters say they prefer a Republican congress, but it’s by the slimmest of margins, 46%, 45%.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Here’s another surprising finding.\u00a0 In the ten Senate battleground states, which largely had leaned Republican, so we all thought, the margin is the same, just one point, 47%, 46%.\u00a0 Bill MacInturff, your part thinks it has the wind at its back.\u00a0 I feel like Republicans are trying to will a wave coming on.\u00a0 One piece of good news, then there’s a step back.\u00a0 This is a tight election.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

BILL MCINTURFF:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It is a tight election.\u00a0 But guess what.\u00a0 These Senate seats are in the South.\u00a0 President Obama’s job approval is 23%.\u00a0 The negative on the Democratic Party is 64%.\u00a0 That’s a death star number.\u00a0 The Democrats happen to control the Senate in the South.\u00a0 I think it’s too far a stretch.\u00a0 I think political gravity kicks in.\u00a0 I think the Senate goes Republican.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Fred, you look at these numbers, did it make you feel better this morning?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

FRED YANG:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Made me feel like the things we need to have happen on election day and in a lot of these close states is maybe coming to fruition.\u00a0 For a while now, there’s been a voter interest enthusiasm gap between Republicans and Democrats.\u00a0 Now Democrats are catching up.\u00a0 And the one number from the generic is that with registered voters, which is a broader electorate than likely voters, the Democrats still have a four-point edge, which means, as the reporter from Miami said, it’s about turnout.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It is.\u00a0 It’s clich\u00e9.\u00a0 It’s about turnout.\u00a0 Charlie and Amy, I’m going to put up here our graphic.\u00a0 This is all our polls, basically the best poll we think, most recent best poll in all the Senate battlegrounds.\u00a0 You’ve seen the Kentucky, that’s ours.\u00a0 Iowa, Des Moines Register plus seven.\u00a0 Frankly, neither side believes that number, for what it’s worth.\u00a0 But the Des Moines Register, they have a great reputation.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Louisiana, you saw Georgia, four-point lead there.\u00a0 Arkansas, we had it at two.\u00a0 Others have it a little bit bigger there for the Republicans.\u00a0 Colorado, one point.\u00a0 New Hampshire, two points in the Democrats’ favor.\u00a0 North Carolina, two points in the Democrats’ favor.\u00a0 Kansas, one point.\u00a0 Charlie, you look at this, toss-up races.\u00a0 Do you think they all move in one direction?\u00a0 Is this an ’06?\u00a0 Or do you think Democrats have done such a good job that maybe they can split this decision?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHARLIE COOK:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Well, Jennifer Duffy, our Senate editor, has figured out that if you looked at the last what was it? Like, eight elections that the toss-ups have tended to break by over 2\/3, like 68%, one way or the other.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I think Republicans are going to win the lion’s share or the really close ones.\u00a0 But keep in mind, these are home games for Republicans.\u00a0 I mean, the first six seats that Romney won by 14 points or more.\u00a0 And those are probably the first Democratic seats to go over the side.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Amy, is this an anti-Democrat year, an anti-Obama year, or an anti-incumbent year and an anti-Washington year?\u00a0 What is it?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

AMY WALTER:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It’s an anti-establishment year.\u00a0 And right now, the establishment is the Democratic Party.\u00a0 The president is a Democrat.\u00a0 People are frustrated with the direction that he’s taken the country.\u00a0 And Democrats are the incumbent party in most of these Senate seats.\u00a0 So, if you’re frustrated, and these guys in their polls found that that’s the second-most important issues for voters is breaking the gridlock in Washington.\u00a0 Yes, Republicans get some of the blame.\u00a0 But, again, when you’re the party in charge, you get most of that blame.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Bill, I have to ask you this.\u00a0 If the Republicans come up short, how are they going to second guess themselves?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

BILL MCINTURFF:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Well, first, I don’t think the Republicans come up short.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I understand that.\u00a0 But what’s the one thing bothering you about this?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

BILL MCINTURFF:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The one thing that’s bothering me is big money, data analytics, and the Obama turnaround operation in the states of North Carolina, Iowa, New Hampshire, and the other places where they’re used to running for president.\u00a0 And that’s what we don’t know.\u00a0 We’ll see how political gravity, Republicans, versus that new technology, which wins on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Fred, what’s going to be the second guessing among Democrats if they lose this Senate?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

FRED YANG:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I think the second guessing will be bad luck to have a lot of road gains.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It’s a bad map?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

FRED YANG:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Yes.\u00a0 You know, the six-year itch is important.\u00a0 The president’s numbers are lower.\u00a0 But, look, I think in terms of the broader perspective, we’re going to probably see a record-low turnout.\u00a0 So, on your piece, the discussion about anti-establishment, I think voters are already voting.\u00a0 And they’re already voting by not voting.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Yes, that is, and none of the above.\u00a0 Very quickly to both of you, best and worst campaigns of the cycle.\u00a0 Let’s give the awards, regardless of what happens on Tuesday night.\u00a0 Amy, I’ll start with you.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

AMY WALTER:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I’m going to say Cory Gardner in Colorado and Kay Hagan in North Carolina.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

That’s two.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

AMY WALTER:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Those are the two best races.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

And who ran the worst?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

AMY WALTER:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I mean, you have to give it to Pat Roberts.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

That’s right, Republican state.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

AMY WALTER:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I mean, come on.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

To be where you are.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

AMY WALTER:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

And where he is is remarkable.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Fair enough.\u00a0 Charlie?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHARLIE COOK:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I’d say on the Senate side, Mitch McConnell.\u00a0 I mean, the thing is, there were people that did not want to vote for someone that was one of the most powerful members of Congress.\u00a0 I think he ran a flawless campaign and is pulling away.\u00a0 And on the other side, I think Governor Rick Scott is an extremely polarizing figure, but I think they had an awesome campaign.\u00a0 And is it enough?\u00a0 I’m not sure it’s enough.\u00a0 But sometimes, the great campaigns still lose.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Worst campaign?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHARLIE COOK:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I think I’m with you.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It’s all Pat Roberts.\u00a0 I have to say.\u00a0 I have to give the award for best to Al Franken.\u00a0 Because guess who we’re not talking about today.\u00a0 Closest Senate election six years ago, Al Franken.\u00a0 Recount, all of those things.\u00a0 How did this guy survive?\u00a0 Six years of a well-run campaign.\u00a0 You have to give that to him.\u00a0 I’m going to have to leave it there.\u00a0 Bill and Fred, I’ll see you a lot.\u00a0 Charlie and Amy, we’re going to see you a lot, Charlie, on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Coming up, besides meeting voters, I met some candidates.\u00a0 Democrats fighting to win in four Southern states.\u00a0 President Obama lost, in some cases, big in 2012.\u00a0 And later, my exclusive interview with Kaci Hickox, the nurse from Maine who fought and won her fight over being quarantined.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

***Commercial Break**<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We’ve got some interesting campaign data for you from Facebook on the states that I visited.\u00a0 It turns out the more times an incumbent gets mentioned within his or her state on Facebook, the worse it might be for them.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 Because it’s a sign, perhaps, that the race is not becoming a choice anymore but a referendum on that said incumbent, just what a sitting member does not want.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

For instance, in Louisiana, Mary Landrieu was getting 82% of in-state mentions on Facebook.\u00a0 That’s not good.\u00a0 Same thing in Kansas, where Pat Roberts is coming in at 72%.\u00a0 Guess what.\u00a0 Both are struggling.\u00a0 Of the incumbents we tracked, only the North Carolina Senate candidates are close to parity.\u00a0 And guess what.\u00a0 The Democratic incumbent Kay Hagan is the one that’s in the best shape.\u00a0 When we come back, what we heard from the candidates while I was on the road meeting the voters.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

***Commercial Break**<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

And welcome back.\u00a0 President Obama has been a big presence on the midterm campaign trail with many Democrats actively distancing themselves from the White House.\u00a0 Boy, but it’s really striking that in the South, he hasn’t made a single appearance in this fall campaign.\u00a0 For the lack of my meet-the-voters road trip, I swung through the Southern battleground states for the Senate and met with the candidates that are all fighting for their own political future.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

(Begin Tape)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD (V\/O):<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Our road trip to meet the candidates stretched 3,100 miles to states that will decide control of the Senate.\u00a0 And it ended in the South, where Democratic dynasties are battling to survive in places the president is deeply unpopular.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

SEN. MARY LANDRIEU (D-LA):<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In this polarized environment, there are no more Get Out of Jail Free cards, okay.\u00a0 They have gone.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD (V\/O):<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

From North Carolina to Georgia, Arkansas to Louisiana, while Republicans run against the president, Democrats are running away from him.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD (V\/O):<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What should President Obama learn from this election seat?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

MARK PRYOR:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Well, of course, I wish he was more in touch with rural America.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

You think he doesn’t understand rural America?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

SEN. MARK PRYOR (D-AR):<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Well, just how the whole country works, not just parts of it.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD (V\/O):<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Senator Mark Pryor is now the last Arkansas Democrat left in Congress.\u00a0 And he’s in an uphill battle against Republican Congressman Tom Cotton.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

SEN. MARK PRYOR (D-AR):<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

People here, they’re as frustrated with Washington as anybody in the country.\u00a0 They are.\u00a0 But they’re not frustrated with me.\u00a0 Because they know I’ve tried.\u00a0 I’ve tried to bring people together.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD (V\/O):<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In Georgia, the highest unemployment rate in the nation, 7.9%, is the backdrop for a tight battle between Michelle Nunn, daughter of longtime Senator Sam Nunn; and former businessman David Perdue.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

MICHELLE NUNN (D-GA):<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

David Perdue, my opponent is against closing tax loopholes that actually incent businesses to take jobs overseas.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

DAVID PERDUE (R-GA):<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A lot of people are critical about this outsourcing idea.\u00a0 But the issue is at Dollar General, for example, we created almost 20,000 jobs in a very short period of time.\u00a0 And we outsourced all of the products and services that we sold in the stores.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD (V\/O):<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In North Carolina, Democratic Senator Kay Hagan has localized her race, trying to make the debate about statewide education cuts by the Republican legislature, a charge her opponent, State Speaker Thom Tillis, has tried to deflect.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

STATE REP. THOM TILLIS(R-NC):<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

So, I think if you look at my record, you would be hard pressed to say that we’ve really gone down a partisan path, before we had the super majorities or even afterwards.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

You’re saying you didn’t.\u00a0 But the public thinks you did.\u00a0 The Democrats in Washington aren’t popular here.\u00a0 The Republicans in Raleigh aren’t popular here.\u00a0 What is the lesson you would take to Washington, the lesson that you take away from the partisanship?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

THOM TILLIS:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We’ve got to produce results.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD (V\/O):<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

If Democrats hold on in Southern states that Mitt Romney won by double digits, it will be because they win a numbers game, which relies on African-American turnout.\u00a0 In Louisiana, Senator Mary Landrieu is unpopular because of his energy policies, but then she added this.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

SEN. MARY LANDRIEU (D-LA):<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I’m going to be very, very honest with you.\u00a0 And the South has not always been the friendliest place for African Americans.\u00a0 It’s been a difficult time for the president to present himself in a very positive light as a leader.\u00a0 It’s not always been a good place for women to be able to present ourselves.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD (V\/O):<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In the campaign’s final days, racially charged messages like these have circulated.\u00a0 The Georgia Democratic Party put these flyers out.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

If you don’t vote, we could have another Ferguson here. Appropriate?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

MICHELLE NUNN:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

You know, I keep talking about Ferguson from the lens of a mom.\u00a0 Because I think we all relate to it as parents in thinking about the tragic loss of a young man.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD :<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Would the Nunn for Senate campaign have put out that flyer?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

MICHELLE NUNN:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It is not something that we have done.\u00a0 And yet, I think it is something that merits a conversation by Georgia voters.\u00a0 I really do.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

(END TAPE)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Our all-star panel is here.\u00a0 Michael Steele, Andrea Mitchell, Robert Gibbs, Joe Scarborough.\u00a0 Joe, just looking at the South, we know the South is a numbers game.\u00a0 It’s a more polarized environment.\u00a0 There aren’t any swing voters.\u00a0 This really is about Democrats getting out African Americans, Republicans running against President Obama.\u00a0 How much does this race play a role?\u00a0 You were a Southern politician.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

JOE SCARBOROUGH:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I mean, I guess it does every couple years.\u00a0 In this case, you know, Barack Obama’s done well in North Carolina.\u00a0 He’s done pretty well in Georgia, without, as David Axelrod said, even campaigning there.\u00a0 Yes, that was pretty shocking that Mary Landrieu would say that on the air to you.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

But Robert, Democrats have been talking about this privately for years.\u00a0 What say you on this issue, President Obama’s race a factor in his unpopularity in the South?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

ROBERT GIBBS:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Well, look, I think we can’t walk away from the history of the South.\u00a0 I mean, it’s obvious.\u00a0 I think race is still the predominant factor in Southern races.\u00a0 You see, trying to get out the black vote is what is going to either be the thing that sends Mary Landrieu and Michelle Nunn to the Senate or not.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

And I think primarily, what you see campaigns working on right now are those drop-off voters, the people that voted in 2008 and 2012 in these presidential elections stayed home in 2010.\u00a0 The data and analytics are trying to search most for those voters and get them out.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Michael Steele, one thing we’re not talking about is Republicans targeting African-American voters.\u00a0 Once again, it’s not happening.\u00a0 They’re leaving the playing field to the Democrats.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

MICHAEL STEELE:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

They are leaving the playing field to the Democrats, although there have been some efforts by Orlando Watkins at the R.N.C. and others who have put some efforts on the ground in certain communities.\u00a0 But broadly speaking, no, it’s not been there.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

And I think they seeded a lot of that ground to the Democrats.\u00a0 And it’s interesting.\u00a0 Because there is not an energy in the black community for Democratic candidates this year.\u00a0 We’re seeing it in Maryland, where the African-American candidate for governor is struggling against the Republican.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

But Andrea, you know, let’s talk about this a little bigger picture here.\u00a0 Does this just feel like the same time of midterm election you’ve covered before, that we’re headed to a mini wave in the Republicans’ direction?\u00a0 Or is there something different about this now?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

ANDREA MITCHELL:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I think what’s different is also a negative for Democrats.\u00a0 What’s different is ISIS\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 or ISIL, Ebola, a feeling of insecurity, and the economic data, the fact that people are not seeing the progress in wages, in their own income that they’re seeing in terms of the overall numbers.\u00a0 So, you can say that the GDP plus 3.5%.\u00a0 But they’re not seeing it in their own lives in their earning power.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

JOE SCARBOROUGH:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Just on the South really quickly, because if you had told me a year ago Republicans would be sweating it out in North Carolina, Georgia, Louisiana, and Arkansas a week out, yeah, I would say this isn’t going to be a Republican wave.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Bizarre.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

JOE SCARBOROUGH:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

So, I don’t think talking about African Americans’ voting patterns in the South is actually a legitimate question.\u00a0 I think the bigger question is why haven’t Republicans closed down North Carolina, Georgia, Louisiana, and Arkansas by now?\u00a0 So, actually, the question is not about race.\u00a0 The question is about the Republican base, still disaffected.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

And what it is, is what I found out, it’s the economy, Robert.\u00a0 Nobody’s touching this.\u00a0 Rural America, the economy still stinks.\u00a0 Democrats didn’t talk to it very well.\u00a0 Republicans haven’t talked.\u00a0 They just say, “Anti-Obama.”\u00a0 And Democrats are, like, trying other issues, even wedge issues.\u00a0 They’re not talking about what’s staring rural America in the face.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

ROBERT GIBBS:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

And you asked the previous panel what will be the second guessing after this race.\u00a0 I think it is the fact that neither side, but I think Democrats needed to spend more time talking about what to do on the economy.\u00a0 As Andrea rightly said, the numbers may look different than they did in 2008.\u00a0 But it’s how people feel it in their lives every day.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Exactly.\u00a0 The numbers don’t look different.\u00a0 Alright, I’m going to pause it here.\u00a0 You guys are going to come back.\u00a0 Because this whole why conversation, sort of why haven’t the Republicans closed the deal, what should the Democrats have done?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We’re going to keep that conversation going.\u00a0 But I’m going to take a quick break.\u00a0 Because I have Rand Paul coming up.\u00a0 Is the Republican Party ready for Rand?\u00a0 And what will Republicans do if they win control of the Senate?\u00a0 Do they have an agenda before the 2016 race begins?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

**Commercial Break**<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Welcome back.\u00a0 As we’ve been discussing, Republicans expect to gain seats in the House.\u00a0 They’re optimistic about taking the Senate for the first time since 2006.\u00a0 So, what would the party do with control with both branches of the legislature?\u00a0 I’m joined now by Rand Paul of Kentucky.\u00a0 Senator, sometime Libertarian, and likely presidential candidate.\u00a0 Senator Paul, welcome back to Meet the Press.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

RAND PAUL:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Good morning, Chuck.\u00a0 Glad to be here.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

So, on Tuesday, if you guys, the Republican Party gets control of the Senate.\u00a0 Have the voters said they’re voting for the Republican Party?\u00a0 Or have the voters simply said they’re voting against President Obama and it’s not a mandate for the GOP?\u00a0 How should the GOP interpret winning control of the Senate, if that does happen?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

RAND PAUL:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I think it’ll be a combination of both.\u00a0 This is going to be a repudiation of the president’s policies.\u00a0 The president is on the ballot, in a way.\u00a0 This is a referendum on the president.\u00a0 So, no question this is a big message to the president.\u00a0 But also, it’s a message that people are tired of nothing getting done.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The gridlock in Washington has largely been from the Democrats, who haven’t allowed any legislation to come forward in the Senate.\u00a0 So, I think if we win, you will see legislation passed and you will see legislation sent to the desk of the president.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

You know, a lot of Democrats would say House Republicans, you know, and Ted Cruz, and some other people were responsible for the government shutdown.\u00a0 So, both parties say the blame here.\u00a0 But I want to ask you something about something you said the other day in Michigan.\u00a0\u00a0 You said, “Remember Domino’s Pizza?”\u00a0 This was about the Republican brand.\u00a0 “They admitted, ‘Hey, our pizza crust sucks.’\u00a0 The Republican Party brand sucks,” you said, “and, so, people don’t want to be a Republican.\u00a0 And for 80 years, African Americans have had nothing to do with Republicans.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 Because of perception.\u00a0 The problem is the perception is that no one in the Republican Party cares.”\u00a0 So, you’re admitting you have a brand problem.\u00a0 How do you fix the brand problem before 2016, if that’s the case?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

RAND PAUL:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Well, I think you have to show up.\u00a0 And then you have to say something.\u00a0 So, I’ve spent the last year showing up, everywhere from Howard University to Berkeley to the Urban League to Ferguson to the NAACP.\u00a0 But showing up’s not enough.\u00a0 We have to show that we have a policy.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

And you know what I’m sensing when I do show up in the African American community and our big cities?\u00a0 I’m sensing, and they say this to me time after time, “We’re being taken for granted.\u00a0 The Democrats don’t show up.\u00a0 Haven’t seen my congressman lately.”\u00a0 So, I think there’s a huge opportunity for us.\u00a0 And while not everybody says they’re ready to become a Republican, many people say they’re glad I’m there and they want us to compete for their vote.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

But this distrust of the Republican Party and the African American community in some ways gets enhanced when Republicans go for voter ID laws, which a lot of people say is a solution to a problem that doesn’t exist.\u00a0 You’ve been on both sides of this.\u00a0 You said at one point the voter ID drive was sort of overdone by Republicans.\u00a0 And then, you walked it back.\u00a0 Which is it?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

RAND PAUL:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Well, it’s kind of funny the way you describe it.\u00a0 Because my position is pretty clear.\u00a0 I don’t think there’s a problem with showing your ID.\u00a0 But I do think there’s a problem with Republicans saying, “Hey, our big issue for the campaign is going to be voter ID.”\u00a0 Because what it creates is in a lot of African Americans, understandably, remember the ’40s and ’50s in the South.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

And they remember suppression of the vote.\u00a0 And they equate that.\u00a0 So, what I try to do is I say the opposite.\u00a0 I say, “I want more people to vote.\u00a0 I’m for enhancing vote.\u00a0 And I actually sponsor a bill with Harry Reid that would restore voting rights to people who had youthful, nonviolent crimes, that served their time.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In my state, there are 250,000 people who can’t vote because of an old conviction.\u00a0 I have a friend whose brother had a conviction 30 years ago and can’t vote.\u00a0 So, I want to restore votes.\u00a0 It doesn’t mean that I think it’s unreasonable.\u00a0 I just think it’s a dumb idea for Republicans to emphasize this and say, “Oh, this is how we’re going to win the election.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Early voting should be out there for everybody.\u00a0 I’m for early voting.\u00a0 I’m for more voting.\u00a0 But I’m saying let’s go to the black community and compete for the vote.\u00a0 Let’s talk about criminal justice and school choice and economic opportunity.\u00a0 There are ways we can get African-American vote to come to the Republican Party.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Let’s talk about a Republican agenda if you get control.\u00a0 Are Republicans going to send a repeal of health care, a repeal of the Affordable Care Act, to the president’s desk or not?\u00a0 Mitch McConnell has said that was a priority, and then he has said, “Well, we don’t have 60 votes.\u00a0 So, it’s not going to happen.”\u00a0 Then he had said, “Well, maybe with 51 ones votes we can do it.”\u00a0 Are you lying to your base when you say you’re going to try to repeal health care?\u00a0 Or, I mean, is it a serious effort?\u00a0 Or is it just something to gen-up base turnout?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

RAND PAUL:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

No.\u00a0 I think we should repeal Obamacare.\u00a0 And I think what’s made people most unhappy about it is they’ve lost their freedom of choice.\u00a0 It isn’t about the wonky health care policy.\u00a0 It’s about whether every American can choose their doctor or choose their insurance policy.\u00a0 When they have made it illegal through Obamacare for you to choose an inexpensive insurance policy, that should be overturned.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

So, it’s a priority?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

RAND PAUL:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We will definitely have a priority.\u00a0 And we will introduce it and try to pass it.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Very quickly, in 2016, do you delay the start of your presidential campaign because you think Republicans should try to have an agenda in the Senate for, say, six months?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

RAND PAUL:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Well, I’ve always said it’s going to be spring until I make a decision anyway.\u00a0 My number-one priority for January will be there’s $2 trillion of American profit overseas.\u00a0 I’m going to try to pass a bill to bring that home at a reduced rate, put the money into roads and bridges and say, “Look, we’ve got some problems here at home.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“Let’s rebuild America.\u00a0 Let’s do some nation building of America first.”\u00a0 And I think we can pass that.\u00a0 There’s bipartisan support for it.\u00a0 Barbara supports it on the Left.\u00a0 I support it on the Right.\u00a0 The president, once upon a time, supported it.\u00a0 My number-one priority will be to lower this tax to bring American profit and jobs home in January.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Rand Paul, Republican, the junior senator from Kentucky, but in many ways has played kingmaker on the campaign trail, I’ve noticed this year.\u00a0 Senator Paul, we’ll be watching you on Tuesday.\u00a0 Thanks very much.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

RAND PAUL:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Thanks, Chuck.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Let’s get a quick reaction from the panel.\u00a0 Joe, I saw you.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

JOE SCARBOROUGH:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We were saying during the break.\u00a0 I said Republicans are going to have to have a positive agenda.\u00a0 Republicans that are out there in red states talking about cutting education, cutting infrastructure, cutting R&D are losing, even losing among Republicans.\u00a0 And remember?\u00a0 I said it five minutes ago.\u00a0 They’re going to have to start talking about more than just cutting.\u00a0 He just did.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Rand Paul has figured this out.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

ANDREA MITCHELL:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He’s figured it out.\u00a0 That is smart.\u00a0 Except for the repeal of Obamacare, which is a waste of time.\u00a0 It contributes to the gridlock.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I was just going to say.\u00a0 And it’s going to set the wrong tone.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

ANDREA MITCHELL:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It’s so retro.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Like, how do they do it?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

ANDREA MITCHELL:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Exactly.\u00a0 But everything else that he said and talking about reaching out, being there, showing up, going to the African-American community, I think he’s parsing it on voter ID.\u00a0 I don’t think he’s got the facts right about it.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He’s trying to please the base.\u00a0 Because the base has sort of a fetish, I think.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

ROBERT GIBBS:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It’s not a fetish.\u00a0 There are some of us that actually believe.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Is voter fraud?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

JOE SCARBOROUGH:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

By the way, I got 50% among the African-American voters in my district.\u00a0 And I campaigned in predominantly black districts.\u00a0 I don’t think most Americans are freaked out when you say you should show a picture ID when you go vote.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I think the issue is sort of how many forms.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

JOE SCARBOROUGH:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He is right.\u00a0 Republicans shouldn’t lead with that.\u00a0 It’s not a big–<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

ANDREA MITCHELL:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It’s disproportionately disadvantaging people who don’t have ID.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

ROBERT GIBBS:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Let’s be clear.\u00a0 The problem in voter ID and in restricting early vote is so more people won’t vote.\u00a0 The news on that answer was he wants to expand early vote.\u00a0 Let’s expand early vote.\u00a0 Let’s have 30 days of people voting so that working people don’t have to leave work to go vote.\u00a0 Let’s do that.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

(OVERTALK)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

ROBERT GIBBS:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Provide the ID and not ask a bunch of —<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

(OVERTALK)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

MICHAEL STEELE:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Rand Paul has done this the smart way.\u00a0 He’s actually gone out and he’s listened to what people have to say.\u00a0 So, his conversation in the black community is a legitimate conversation he’s been having now for over a year.\u00a0 And I’ve said for that same period of time, watch him.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Number two, perception matters more than anything else.\u00a0 So, if I perceive that your policies are racist or impinge upon my access to the franchise, that’s a problem.\u00a0 And he’s beginning to address that in a legitimate way.\u00a0 So, all the talk about what’s real and what isn’t doesn’t matter if I feel that you\u2019re suppressing my opportunity.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

ANDREA MITCHELL:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He’s the only Republican who is.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

MICHAEL STEELE:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

And he\u2019s the only one talking about it.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Got to do the pause button.\u00a0 I’m going to take a brief break here from politics.\u00a0 We’re going to turn to Ebola in America.\u00a0 My exclusive conversation with nurse Kaci Hickox who fought and won her battle over the quarantine issue.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

**Commercial Break**<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The death toll from Ebola in West Africa is approaching 5,000.\u00a0 The situation there remains dire.\u00a0 Here, there’s been an intense debate over the quarantining of health workers returning from West Africa, with some of the country’s most prominent governors, including Chris Christie and Andrew Cuomo, the need to be isolated.\u00a0 At least that’s what they’ve been fighting for all week long.\u00a0 Nurse Kaci Hickox of Maine has been fighting a very public and ultimately successful battle against her state’s efforts to quarantine her.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

On Friday, a judge ruled in Hickok’s favor, saying she did not need to be isolated as long as she is monitored for symptoms and lets health officials know where she is going.\u00a0 Kaci Hickox joins me now via Skype from her home in Maine.\u00a0 And her lawyer, Norman Siegel, is also here in the studio.\u00a0 Norman, thanks for being here.\u00a0 Kaci, let me start with your court victory.\u00a0 What was the goal in winning this court battle for you?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

KACI HICKOX:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Well, you know, definitely the goal was to make sure that we are, again, talking about science not politics. I just read an op-ed by Bill Fahey today.\u00a0 And he said, you know, when Governor Christie stated that it was an abundance of caution, which is his reasoning for putting health care workers in sort of quarantine for three weeks, it was really an abundance of politics.\u00a0 And I think all of the scientific and medical and public health community agrees with me on that statement.\u00a0 And I’m really glad that the judge also agrees, looking at the law.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Well, your home state there, Republican Governor Paul LePage, said a couple of things after this order on Friday.\u00a0 Number one, he said, talking about you, “She’s violated every promise she’s made so far, so I can’t trust her.”\u00a0 But he said he’s going to abide by the judge’s position.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He also said this about Ebola, and I want you to respond to this.\u00a0 “We don’t know what we don’t know about Ebola.\u00a0 Therefore, I’m a little disappointed.\u00a0 But the monkey’s on the judge’s back, not mine.\u00a0 He made the decision. \u00a0We will abide by the ruling.”\u00a0 When you hear Governor LePage say, “We don’t know what we don’t know about Ebola,” what do you say to that?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

KACI HICKOX:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Well, I think that’s a very true statement.\u00a0 We don’t know what we don’t know about everything in the world.\u00a0 But we know a lot about Ebola.\u00a0 We have been researching this disease for 38 years, since its first appearance in Africa.\u00a0 And we know how the infection is transmitted from person to person.\u00a0 And we know that it’s not transmitted from someone who is asymptomatic, as I am and many other aid workers will be when they return.\u00a0 So, I hope that upon reflection, maybe he’ll change his tune as well.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Now, this morning in an interview you did with the Maine Sunday Telegram, you said because the community is concerned, that you and your boyfriend were going to essentially stay clear and sort of self-quarantine.\u00a0 Can you explain how you’re going to do that?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

KACI HICKOX:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Yes.\u00a0 I want to clarify that a bit.\u00a0 Because I understand that the community has been through a lot in the past week and that I do, you know, apologize to them for that.\u00a0 I will not go into town, into crowded public places.\u00a0 You know, I have had a few friends come visit me in my home and that’s absolutely fantastic.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

But on the other hand, you know, my partner is currently in nursing school.\u00a0 And there is definitely zero scientific evidence that says that he shouldn’t be allowed to return to his campus on Monday.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Do you think there should be different rules based on population centers?\u00a0 That maybe I New York City, there should be more precautions and different quarantine rules than, say, in the part of Maine that you live in?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

KACI HICKOX:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I absolutely don’t.\u00a0 Again, I think when we look at the man from Liberia who, unfortunately, died from Ebola, no one else in his family has become ill yet.\u00a0 So, again, when we’re looking at the science of how this disease is transmitted, it’s not like influenza. And we don’t quarantine entire families when one person is positive for the flu.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Very quickly, Norman, are all healthcare workers going to need lawyers?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

NORMAN SIEGEL:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Hopefully not.\u00a0 Hopefully this is a terrific win for Kaci and for health workers.\u00a0 Her voice and their voice need to be heard in directing this debate.\u00a0 It should not be the politicians.\u00a0 It should be the medical people directing this debate.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Kaci, how do you feel about being parodied on Saturday Night Live?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

KACI HICKOX:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

You know, I haven’t seen it yet.\u00a0 My partner and I don’t have cable here.\u00a0 But I had at least, you know, five or six friends send me text messages to let me know.\u00a0 So, I will look that up today.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Thank you Kaci Hickox, Thank you Norman Siegel.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In just a few seconds, it\u2019s back to politics. The midterms aren\u2019t even over and the jockeying for 2016 has already begun.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

**Commercial Break**<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

And welcome back.\u00a0 We may be 48 hours from the midterms.\u00a0 But let’s be honest.\u00a0 An even bigger election is going to get underway in 72 hours.\u00a0 And that’s already begun.\u00a0 The key contenders for the White House in 2016 have been making their presence felt all week long on the trail.\u00a0 NBC’s Kelly O’Donnell has been tracking that progress.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

KELLY O’DONNELL:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Campaign 2014’s frequent fliers.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

MALE VOICE:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Governor Chris Christie of the great State of New Jersey.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

ANTHONY BROWN:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Charlotte’s grandmother, my friend and yours, Hillary Rodham Clinton.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

KELLY O’DONNELL:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

After months insisting they are not the main attraction.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

GOV. JEB BUSH:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I’m not one of the candidates running.\u00a0 I’m kind of the interlude.\u00a0 I’m the halftime.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

KELLY O’DONNELL:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Hillary Clinton’s 2014 tour covered 16 states.\u00a0 Jeb Bush made stops in ten.\u00a0 And Chris Christie traveled 70 days, hitting 37 states.\u00a0 They are among the most watched members of the 2016 contemplators’ club.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

HILLARY CLINTON:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Well, it is true.\u00a0 I am thinking about it.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHRIS CHRISTIE:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I’m not being coy about it.\u00a0 I’m obviously thinking about it.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

KELLY O’DONNELL:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

But then, George P. Bush did his thinking out loud, claiming his father, Jeb, is more than likely to jump in.\u00a0 The former Florida governor said, “Hold on.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

GOV. JEB BUSH:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

You love them to death.\u00a0 And they have their own opinions.\u00a0 But I’ll make up my mind just as I said at the end of the year.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

KELLY O’DONNELL:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Hillary Clinton did the talking that raised eyebrows when she veered left.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

HILLARY CLINTON:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Don’t let anybody tell you that, you know, it’s corporations and businesses that create jobs.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

KELLY O’DONNELL:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

And when a heckler got in Chris Christie’s face.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHRIS CHRISTIE:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

You want to have the conversation later, I’m happy to have it, buddy.\u00a0 But until that time, sit down and shut up.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

KELLY O’DONNELL:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Christie’s leadership style bellowed far beyond New Jersey.\u00a0 But there was no apology tour.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHRIS CHRISTIE:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It’s advice that I got from my mother a long time ago.\u00a0 She said to me, “Christopher, just be yourself.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

KELLY O’DONNELL:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

But thinking-about-it class of 2016 is on this message.\u00a0 They’re not in any hurry.\u00a0 For Meet the Press, Kelly O’Donnell, NBC News.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

All right.\u00a0 Panel is still here.\u00a0 We’re going to go back and we’re going to project the Senate.\u00a0 You guys are going to collectively project the Senate.\u00a0 But let’s go 2016 very quickly.\u00a0 Who’s had a better 2014, in your opinion, Robert?\u00a0 Has Hillary Clinton had a good enough 2014 to change the party from being the party of Obama to back to being the party of the Clintons?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

ROBERT GIBBS:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Well, look, that’s going to be a process that takes more time than just 2014.\u00a0 I don’t think she’s had a particularly good run with the book.\u00a0 I wouldn’t have done as many interviews as she did.\u00a0 I think they hastened the process of Republican attacks, which were certainly going to come.\u00a0 But I would’ve waited.\u00a0 I will say, as a Democrat sitting here, you have to be impressed with what Rand Paul was saying.\u00a0 To have a positive talking point before the election I think is usually important.\u00a0 And I think Jeb Bush is one to watch.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

You know, Andrea, it’s interesting.\u00a0 On the Clintons here, I can tell you this.\u00a0 In the South, Democrats are desperate for the party to become the party of Bill Clinton again.\u00a0 I don’t know if they’re all in on Hillary, but they definitely wish that Bill Clinton could be running.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

ANDREA MITCHELL:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

And Bill Clinton has been the most popular Democratic surrogate.\u00a0 I don’t know how you lose a book tour.\u00a0 That’s a hard thing to lose.\u00a0 But, you know, she’s not plenty of time to regroup.\u00a0 I think standing next to Elizabeth Warren and changing her position, you know, she is from Wall Street.\u00a0 She has taken the money.\u00a0 She was a senator from New York.\u00a0 You don’t have to apologize.\u00a0 She has to be authentic.\u00a0 But she still has time on that.\u00a0 And she has enormous advantages.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Who’s the Republican front runner, Michael Steele?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

MICHAEL STEELE:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Rand Paul.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Right there?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

MICHAEL STEELE:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Right there.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Done?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

MICHAEL STEELE:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

You’ve got the organization on the ground right now.\u00a0 He’s in all 50 states.\u00a0 He’s got young folks gravitating towards him.\u00a0 He’s got African Americans taking a pause and looking at him.\u00a0 As it was just acknowledged, Democrats are saying, “Okay.\u00a0 Let’s see.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

ANDREA MITCHELL:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

But the party establishment is against him.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

MICHAEL STEELE:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

That’s a separate piece.\u00a0 I think in terms of ’14, he has done the best.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Joe, do you agree with that?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

JOE SCARBOROUGH:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

No.\u00a0 Rand Paul is going to run a great race.\u00a0 He’s going to do better than his father.\u00a0 And he’s not going to win.\u00a0 Because Main Street Republicans win.\u00a0 And you’ve got two choices that we talked about here, Jeb or Chris Christie.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

You think that’s it?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

JOE SCARBOROUGH:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

No.\u00a0 Who had the best 2014?\u00a0 Without a doubt, Mitt Romney.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

ANDREA MITCHELL:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Romney.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

JOE SCARBOROUGH:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mitt was right on Russia.\u00a0 Mitt was right on Iraq.\u00a0 Mitt was right in the debates.\u00a0 It’s really unbelievable.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Okay.\u00a0 Let me just say this.\u00a0 I would argue, though, in 2014, the other candidate we’re leaving out here, John Kasich.\u00a0 Not in a tough race.\u00a0 He could be the governor, some governor.\u00a0 He could overtake Christie.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

ROBERT GIBBS:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

That’s a great point.\u00a0 He won with 49% of votes.\u00a0 We’re not even talking.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This time, he’s going to win with 60%.\u00a0 All right, quickly, I’ve got a toy here.\u00a0 We can start picking the Senate.\u00a0 And the final ten are here.\u00a0 I don’t know any Democrats that think Arkansas is, you know, right now.\u00a0 Let’s assume the polls are right in Arkansas.\u00a0 And let’s assume the polls are right now with Kentucky.\u00a0 So, that gets Republicans at 47%.\u00a0 They need four more.\u00a0 Where do you go?\u00a0 How are we feeling collectively here about Georgia?\u00a0 Runoff?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

PANELISTS:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Runoff.\u00a0 Runoff.\u00a0 Runoff.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It’s a runoff.\u00a0 So, we’ll leave that in there.\u00a0 Iowa?\u00a0 Does everybody think it’s going to go Republican or not?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

PANELISTS:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It’s Republican.\u00a0 Republican.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Wow.\u00a0 I don’t buy it.\u00a0 But I’ll put it over here for you guys very quickly.\u00a0 Colorado?\u00a0 Anybody here?\u00a0 Or are you nervous about it?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

JOE SCARBOROUGH:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I\u2019m not. Only because Republicans have 100,000 votes in the bank.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

ROBERT GIBBS:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I’m not, It\u2019s close and the governor\u2019s race is trending in the Democratic way.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

All right.\u00a0 If you give them that, and we’ll stay here.\u00a0 We’ve got to runoffs.\u00a0 New Hampshire, do you give to Shaheen for now?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

PANELISTS:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Yes.\u00a0 Yes.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

ROBERT GIBBS:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

And give us North Carolina.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Give you North Carolina, Hagan.\u00a0 So, now we’re sitting at Republicans have to find two and they can’t afford to lose Kansas or Georgia.\u00a0 Let’s keep Kansas in here.\u00a0 So, let’s say Alaska goes to form.\u00a0 They sit at 50%.\u00a0 This is how the night could end up, two runoffs and Greg Orman sitting in the middle.\u00a0 What do you think of that, Joe?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

JOE SCARBOROUGH:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I think even though I’ve been predicting for two years that Mary Landrieu’s going to win by 6.5 votes.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Six and a half votes?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

JOE SCARBOROUGH:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

She always wins by 6.5 votes.\u00a0 I don’t see Louisiana in a runoff going Democratic in 2014.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

If it’s for the Senate.\u00a0 But I tell you, this is why this is on a razor edge.\u00a0 Michael Steele?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

MICHAEL STEELE:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

That’s absolutely why.\u00a0 And I agree with Joe.\u00a0 I think Louisiana, at the end of the day, is going to fall for Republicans in a runoff.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Andrea?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

ANDREA MITCHELL:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

And I think Shaheen is in real trouble.\u00a0 She should have a lot of built-in–<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

New Hampshire to me, it’s the wave test.\u00a0 If Scott Brown on the East Coast, right, if that’s where it’s happening and Brown’s winning–<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

JOE SCARBOROUGH:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I keep hearing from Democrats.\u00a0 And I keep thinking that Shaheen is going to win New Hampshire.\u00a0 I keep hearing from Democrats that she’s in big trouble.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

There it is.\u00a0 Last word.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

ROBERT GIBBS:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The biggest thing is geography, right.\u00a0 New Hampshire’s a purple state.\u00a0 She won with 52% six years ago at a high water mark.\u00a0 A bunch of these races, even somebody like Kay Hagan, who’s done a brilliant campaign.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Remember in ’02 in a midterm year, she lost a race for a Senate seat, Jeanne Shaheen did.\u00a0 All right.\u00a0 Before we go, I’m told I should share some lighter moments from our battleground<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

road trip, where I interviewed 43 voters, ten candidates, seven states.\u00a0 By the way, here’s my advice for surviving a 3,153-mile road trip.\u00a0 It’s all about roadside coffee.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

(BEGIN TAPE OF MEET THE VOTER TOUR HIGHLIGHTS)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

(In RV) I like dry cereal. Always have. I mean, I like regular, but. (Outside truck stop) Bratwurst.\u00a0 NBC won\u2019t let me drink beer right now.\u00a0 I’m on the clock. (In parking lot) Good roadside coffee in the North is Dunkin Donuts.\u00a0 Good roadside coffee in the South is Waffle House. That’s why we’re here tonight. (Pumping gas, then in a store) This is my go-to snack (holding bag). There’s nothing better than gas station coffee. (Cut to farm, to goat) Who do you got? Burke or Walker? Undecided? (Laughs)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

(END TAPE)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Phew.\u00a0 Two hours of show in one.\u00a0 That’s all for today.\u00a0 Please remember to join Brian Williams and myself and many of these folks here at the table for election night.\u00a0 We’ll have complete coverage.\u00a0 We’ll be back next week to try to figure out this agenda at this point.\u00a0 Because if it’s Sunday, it’s Meet the Press.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

* * *END OF TRANSCRIPT* * *<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sen. Paul on 2016: \u201cI’ve always said it’s going to be spring until I make a decision anyway\u201d Kaci Hickox on Gov. Christie\u2019s decision to quarantine: \u00a0\u201cIt was really an abundance of politics.\u201d Joe Scarborough on Sen. Paul in 2016: “He’s going to do better than his father and he’s not going to win.” NOVEMBER […]<\/p>\n

Read More… from \u201cMeet the Press\u201d 11\/2\/14 \u2013Sen. Rand Paul Calls Voter ID Issue \u201cDumb\u201d; Exclusive w\/ Kaci Hickox; New Polls For Races In GA, LA & KY<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":425,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-565","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-meet-the-press"],"yoast_head":"\n\u201cMeet the Press\u201d 11\/2\/14 \u2013Sen. 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Christie\u2019s decision to quarantine: \u00a0\u201cIt was really an abundance of politics.\u201d Joe Scarborough on Sen. Paul in 2016: “He’s going to do better than his father and he’s not going to win.” NOVEMBER [...]Read More... from \u201cMeet the Press\u201d 11\/2\/14 \u2013Sen. 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