JUDY WOODRUFF: The countdown
clock is winding down, with less
than two weeks until the midterm

elections.

Both parties are making their
final pushes to rally their
bases in these final days.

More and more, it appears
control of Congress
could rest on one key
segment of the population:

suburban women.

That seems to be particularly
true in New Jersey, where
Lisa Desjardins sat down this

week with a group of women
who want their voices heard
and their votes to matter.

LISA DESJARDINS: I am
here in the iconic Tick
Tock Diner in Clifton,
New Jersey, just outside

of New York City, with four
women who plan to vote in
this year's midterm elections.

Michele Rogers is a stay-at-home
mom with three sons.

She lives in
Randolph, New Jersey.

Uyen Khuong is also a
stay-at-home mom of three
in Madison, New Jersey.

Marylyn McLaughlin is a travel
agent in Morristown, New
Jersey, and a mom of four.

Karen Arakelian lives in
Montville, New Jersey,
and has two children.

She is the owner of several
furniture and design
stores around the state.

One reason we brought you all
together is because, you know,
this year, there has been

so much talk about women, and
you are seen, suburban women
in particular, as a key force

in this election.

Do you feel like
powerful people?

Do you feel like the key
force in this election?

You're shaking your head no.

What is most important to
you right now, as you try
and decide how to vote?

MARYLYN MCLAUGHLIN, New Jersey
Voter: The economy, and it's
New Jersey's economy, which,

it's unaffordable.

It's unaffordable for us.

And people would say, OK,
you're upper-middle-class.

It's unaffordable for our poor.

It's just unaffordable
on all levels.

I just -- I feel like we need
to get to the bottom of it
and find out how to alleviate

our tax issues, our tax problem.

LISA DESJARDINS: You're
a business owner.

What do you think?

KAREN ARAKELIAN, New
Jersey Voter: Yes.

I think that the Republican
tax plan that was just started
is causing a lot of good

things to happen in the
country and in the state.

I mean, we have a very mixed
population in New Jersey.

We have people who make under
$40,000, and we have people
that make over $4 million.

So the people making
over $4 million will
be paying more taxes.

People like my -- some of my
family, they're going to be
saving a lot of tax dollars this

year.

So I'm seeing the money
being saved and spent.

And I think it's good.

I think it's a good thing.

LISA DESJARDINS: Another
economic issue that we hear
about this year is health care.

Do you all have health care
concerns in your own lives,
the cost of health care?

Michele?

MICHELE ROGERS, New
Jersey Voter: I think it
definitely is an issue.

They're saying they want to
repeal Affordable Care Act.

And yet there wasn't an
adequate replacement.

LISA DESJARDINS: Karen?

KAREN ARAKELIAN: I
have a company where I
employ over 25 people.

And most of them are
on our health care.

I saw the premiums skyrocket
after Obamacare came in.

I don't really see what
Obamacare has done for
the people of this area.

I right now have to fund the
deductibles on all of my people.

My company pays the deductibles,
so that we can even afford
to have health care.

That's not a plan.

It's not a plan.

MICHELE ROGERS: Well, I think
that -- but what is the plan?

KAREN ARAKELIAN: I don't know.

(CROSSTALK)

MICHELE ROGERS: Before you
eliminate the Affordable Care
Act, maybe try to fix it?

Why throw the baby out
with the bathwater?

Make efforts to fix it.

KAREN ARAKELIAN:
I totally agree.

And the problem with that is,
the Democrats don't want to
hear anything that President

Trump wants to do.

It's...

MICHELE ROGERS: I don't
think that is true.

KAREN ARAKELIAN:
Well, but it's a fact.

I'm not -- it's
not a suggestion.

It's a fact.

They have to not be so
staunch on if President
Trump suggests it, we say no.

And they did that
with Kavanaugh.

They turned down the candidate
before he was even announced.

LISA DESJARDINS: What, if
any impact did the Brett
Kavanaugh hearings have on you?

KAREN ARAKELIAN: Scared me,
really scared me, because...

MICHELE ROGERS: In what way?

KAREN ARAKELIAN: In what way?

It could be my son.

It could be any person of
power that out of the blue an
accusation can come out and ruin

their life.

MARYLYN MCLAUGHLIN: I'm with
you because I - - with that
whole thing, too, I have -- I

have four sons.

And one of them even said to
me, you know, mom, in high
school, there are (INAUDIBLE)

moments for everybody
in high school.

And anybody in that room
that was interrogating
him probably had something
in their high school

career or time that they
weren't very happy about.

So some of the questions
were ridiculous.

They were political.

LISA DESJARDINS: Michele, you
also are the mother of a son.

MICHELE ROGERS:
I am, three sons.

LISA DESJARDINS: Three sons.

MICHELE ROGERS: Yes.

And my perspective on it would
be -- and I actually know
someone in our group, my -- our

immediate friend group,
who was -- their son
was falsely accused.

So I see what you're saying.

But I think this is -- I'm
not -- I'm not fearful for my
sons, because I know -- I know

that the statistics are that,
when you look at the number
of sexual assault accusations

and how many are not reported
because they're afraid that
they won't be believed, and they

don't report it, the number of
false accusations is minuscule.

It's, I think, less than
1 percent, or 1 percent.

So I'm not worried
about my sons.

I'm not, because I feel that
I'm more worried about, if I
had a daughter, I would worry

about my daughter.

I would worry about her being
believed and being heard.

That would be a larger concern.

LISA DESJARDINS: When you do
have a daughter - - go ahead.

UYEN KHUONG, New Jersey Voter:
I have two sons and a daughter.

But I want to get back
to what Karen was saying.

And what I want to -- want us
to, as people, to step away is,
when a Trump Clinton or Trump

nominee comes up, I don't want
us to assume that the other
side is already against it.

I mean, there's enough
-- there's -- there's
enough open-mindedness
to take a look at,

because, for me, as -- I'm a
registered Democratic now, but,
for sure, with everything that I

look at, I'm really
wanting to solve -- because
I love this country.

For me, the way our country
is -- and it starts with
the leader at the top.

I feel that he is eroding
the pillars of our democracy.

And that's why I feel like I
have to do what I can you do
in order to take back the House

to provide checks and balances.

That's what I want.

I want checks and balances.

MICHELE ROGERS: I just wanted
to say that I really loved
what you were saying, because,

for me, like, I totally agree.

I don't -- I don't like that
you're either with me or you're
stupid, or you're with me

or you're wrong.

Because I think a lot
of what we're taking
us fact is opinions.

It is opinion.

And I think it does start at
the top, that that's my --
that's been my problem since

2016, is that I feel
like our leader -- when
we have a fractured
country, our leader has

pep rallies where he's
calling me basically an
idiot, he's calling me evil.

I think that bringing our
country together will have to
start at the grassroots, because

we're not getting
it from the top.

UYEN KHUONG: Yes.

That's where I am.

MICHELE ROGERS: And I think it
needs to start at these tables
and around the dinner tables

and in our communities,
because we're not getting
that kumbaya from the top.

We're getting the opposite.

LISA DESJARDINS: I want to ask
you to talk about the president.

MARYLYN MCLAUGHLIN: I thought
our country needed to go
in a different direction.

I thought that we were going
in an entirely crazy direction.

And it was illegal immigration,
national security, the economy.

We weren't really growing.

We were meandering along.

And I felt like a lot of
voices weren't being heard.

So I thought, OK, you talk
about hope and change.

He's not exactly the
hope and change type
personality you want, right?

He's not my type of guy.

But if we can look behind and
see where we are a couple years
later, I think we're heading

in a -- in a better direction.

I know there's a lot of
divisiveness in the country.

But I think a lot of it
stems from this crazy
anger that he actually won.

And I know he won, and I know
a lot of people don't like him.

And I know he says a
lot of offensive things.

And I wish he didn't.

And I wish sometimes he would be
a little bit more presidential.

But that's not who he is.

But I do believe he
loves the country.

LISA DESJARDINS: My last
question for you all is, if
you could each just name a few

words of what values you want
in leaders, what -- the words,
what you want them to be?

MICHELE ROGERS:
Honesty, truthfulness.

UYEN KHUONG: Moral, ethical.

MARYLYN MCLAUGHLIN: Integrity.

UYEN KHUONG: Kindness,
respect for others.

KAREN ARAKELIAN: I want
somebody smart, that
sees the big picture,
and that will work across

party lines to get things
done for the countries.

And I think that we have
that, and a lot of people
don't recognize it.

LISA DESJARDINS: You
all almost agree.

(LAUGHTER)

(CROSSTALK)

LISA DESJARDINS: Certainly
on what you're looking for.

You certainly agree, I
think, in general, on
what you're looking for.

MICHELE ROGERS: Whether
we have it or not, we
probably don't agree.

(LAUGHTER)

LISA DESJARDINS: We
can't thank you enough.

Thank you all very
much for joining us.

(CROSSTALK)

UYEN KHUONG: Thank you so much.