vote, but that s not how we elect presidents. those blue wall numbers you just saw do signal some serious weakness. the question is, who will democrats nominate and will they be able to successfully appeal to those voters who are disenfranchised, disillusioned, rather, with the president s job. in gallup polling, you have 69% of americans who suspected next year they ll be better off than they were this year. so you can look at it half glass empty, but if you look at the economy that are still low in those states, it definitely indicates a weakness heading into the campaign. i just want to show a tweet from kristin anderson. today is my last day in the 18-34 crosstab. happy birthday. thank you. come in, the water is fine.
at the ronald reagan presidential library. the main event with the 11 candidates begins at 8:00 eastern. before that, 6:00 p.m., the four other candidates face off. do not miss a single second of it. kate? and even before that, we have so much more at this hour to discuss her. john s in california. i m here in new york for you today. the new x factor in this debate, that s one topic of discussion. the only woman in the republican race joining the main stage. so, how does that change the dynamic this time around? i m going to talk to a lawmaker about her experience coming up against men in a crowded political field. plus, donald trump speaking about national security tonight on board a battleship, of course, after a contentious interview on the same topic. is this his biggest weakness heading into the debate? this is cnn special live coverage. stay with us. did you know that good nutrition
battling senator rand paul and it s getting nasty. in fact, really nasty. governor perry firing the first shot accusing senator paul blind threat poses to the united states. now senator rand paul firing back. governor perry dead wrong in mischaracterizing him. joining us our political panel. rick klein. the washington post rick lowery and the hill s justin cink. rick, it doesn t get more interesting than this. this battle. this is the most basic level of political warfare. it s a stand in for the larger debates going on inside the republican party right now. you have rand paul who is talking maybe to a larger swath of americans. including some republicans but a lot of independents maybe democrats talking about noninterventionism what critics would call isolationism. wait, the man tell of ronald reagan i represented that more. i am telling you now we can t be soft on national defense. we will see this play out. rand paul will be jousting owith almost everyone. that may be his bigges