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Kamala Harris understands that government must work in partnership with the business community.

Since the end of the Cold War in 1989, America has created about 51 million new jobs. What's the score? Democrats 50, Republicans one.

If you're middle class family or a family trying to get into the middle class, Kamala Harris is going to cut your taxes. If you're getting squeezed by prescription drug prices, Kamala Harris is going to take on Big Pharma.

You just heard from former American Express CEO, former President Bill Clinton, and of course, vice presidential nominee Tim Waltz laying out the Democratic Party's economic messaging this week at the DNC in Chicago. But is that message getting through to undecided voters concerned about the economy? Joining us now from Chicago, we've got Patrick Murphy. He's a former US Congressman and the 32nd under Secretary of the Army. Thank you so much for joining us here. So glad that we could get you on. So, talk to me about the messaging that you are hearing, particularly from your former roommate running for vice president here, and the extent to which you think that that is resonating with voters.

Listen, I think it's right now across the country, especially in the six swing states, like Pennsylvania, my home state, it's a jump ball, and it's 50/50. And so, letting the American people know that it's about growing out our middle class from the middle out, not just from the top down, which has not worked. Those failed policies haven't worked in the four years under Donald Trump. They will continue to work if we give this ticket a chance, and that is Kamala Harris and Tim Waltz. As you mentioned, you know, when you have people like President Bill Clinton walk the American people through that, the Democrats put up 50 million jobs, the Republicans only 1 million over the last 20 some years. That's a pretty compelling stat, especially when you look at how our economy, our unemployment is at a historic low right now in America. The stock market is at a historic high. There's a lot of good things happening, but a lot more work to do.

So, I think the question is, when you talk about a lot more work to do, is what is needed to win over that independent voter. We certainly have seen strong messaging. Much of that though, obviously, targeted or is really being heard, maybe it's a better way to say that, by the democratic base this week. How do you then expand that messaging in order to attract more of those independent voters?

Yeah, well, listen, part of it is having the conversation, you meet people where they are. And I thought that's what was so compelling about Tim Waltz's speech last night. You know, he's saying this is going to be inch by inch, yard by yard. You know, he's a former football coach, high school football coach that won a state championship, and they're serving for 24 years in our army. But that's what it's going to take to really convince folks who are undecided, the majority Americans that will decide this race in those six swing states, like in my home state of Pennsylvania, will be the phone calls, the door knocking, the voter by voter that we need to do to win this race in 75 days.

Congressman, I've got a little bit of a weird one here, but just stick with me. So, I know that you were Waltz's roommate back in college, and if you're anything like me and my former roommates from college, we're constantly talking about our financial concerns. Do you have any memories of the economic outlook from Waltz that you have from your time in college together that you could share with our audience?

Yeah, so we were, we were actually roommates in Congress. So, we both won in 2006 and we were going to orientation, and we were looking for the cheapest apartment in DC that was in walking distance because we didn't have a car in DC. And our family, his family is back in Minnesota, mine was back home in Pennsylvania. Of the 435 members of Congress, Tim Waltz and I, I think we're the 10 least wealthy members of Congress, right? Because he was in public service, a school teacher in the army, and I was in the army. So, we both had great credit, but we both had mortgages, and we both had debt, right? So, and I think that's what the plan moving forward is, when you look at the American people, most middle class families, their number one asset is actually their home. So, how do you allow home ownership to happen and their plan moving forward is really allow more Americans to get that stock market to make sure when we have this, you know, the the Fed is going to cut rates in September, so even mortgage rates are going to go down, thank goodness, right? So, that's a positive thing. But it's really though that focus like a bulldog on a bone of what Tim has done in Minnesota that we have to basically do across the country. He's cut taxes for middle class families in Minnesota. Minnesota's fifth in job creation, and they're lowest unemployment in the whole nation. So, modeling what has been working there to basically the federal level is something that we need to do with the Kamala Harris and Tim Waltz ticket.