good evening. i m cynthia mcfadden. we begin tonight with politics. in what s shaping up to be a watershed election. it s ironic that perhaps the dominant figure on the campaign trail this year is not even running for office. at least not yet. sarah palin has endorsed 50 candidates in the midterms. if many of them win, it will add to palin s reputation as a kingmaker and fuel speculation that she will pursue the biggest prize of all, the presidency. so, will she run or won t she? my co-anchor bill weir has our report. reporter: it is election season in west virginia. there s ted nugent with the anthem. and a hopeful senator on stage. but there is no disputing the star attraction. sarah palin! reporter: a name that is nowhere on the ballot but everywhere in this crowd. i m pro-life and i think we should have our guns and i love my gun and i m going to vote with someone who agrees with that. i like the fact that she stands for god, country, patriotism and keeping th