>> hi everyone. this is al jazeera america. and i'm john siegenthaler in new york. >> the most important thing i can do is just get stuff done. >> a week from tomorrow i'll be elected majority leader of the senate. >> the sweeping republican vicity and the impact on the biggest issues. immigration, president obama says he will act alone. republicans call this a big mistake. more about the fight against i.s.i.l, how it could reshape the power in the world.

keystone pipeline. the brutal battle over jobs. did he keep pace last night? >> a nub order is coming to washed. the president and the likely senate majority leader vowed to work together today. >> we can and we will make progress if we do it together. and i look forward to the work ahead. >> just because you have dwighted government -- divided government doesn't mean you don't accomplish anything. >> based on recent history though it won't be easy. on tuesday rode a red wave of

expanded their majority in the house. the shift in power now sets up a potential showdown on a host of issues. we beginning with libby casey, in louisville where the senate majority leader has taken a victory lap. libby. >> that's right, john, university of louisville, a center named for him and his wife, one of kentucky's power couples. senator mcconnell is about to go down in history here, one of two senate majority leaders. for years he has watched from a position of minority in the senate, all of that is about to change. >> first thing i need to do is get the senate back to normal. that means working more. >> reporter: coming off reelection to this sixth term added a decisive win to his party. with the gop's new control of the senate democrats will be in

the minority in both chambers for the first time since 2006. but voters who delivered the gop win were clear. they are angry and not just with democrats. they're fed up with the slow economic recovery. and the partisan stalemate on capitol hill. >> i do want to thank those iowans who voted today for my opponent. i plan to workday and night to earn your trust and confidence. >> reporter: amid the promises senator mcconnell also pointed fingers about the past two years of congressional gridlock. >> well the senate was the problem. not the house. the house passed over 300 pieces of legislation many of them on a bipartisan basis and nothing was done with them in the senate. >> reporter: and promises to battle president obama on energy bill immigration reform and the big one: health care.

>> it's no secret. every one of my members thinks obamacare was a big mistake. if i had the ability i'd get rid of it. >> could be nonas an era of the veto. >> i'm not sure he's going to sign everything but we're going to function. >> reporter: mitch mcconnell's republican party has been accused in recent years of being the party of no. well, that's a mantle they may try to shift onto president obama and you can bet john we are also starting a stage for fights in 2016. john. >> all right libby thank you. the president promised to compromise with congress and also promised to stick with his own agenda. mike viqueria is at the white house. how's that going to work? >> john boehner and mitch

mcconnell have just panned an editorial in the times. languished in a democratically controlled senate, many of them have to do with energy and what republicans regard as job creating pills. keystone pipeline an area much compromise there is significant democratic support for taking this out of the administration's hands to get that pipeline built. a whole slew of energy bills, listed as a priority in the wall street journal article we're just seeing for the first time. feeling that there could be compromise, no grand bargains that's for certain but tweets around the edges, reform of the attach code, john. >> let's talk tone for just a second in the president's news conference today. i at any time see a lot of change. did you feel a lot of white house at the white house?

>> it's almost -- a lot of compromise at the white house? >> the president said the same thing in the same location in 2010 after the shellacking in his words that he got during the mid terms. but here's a hint how things are going to go. in that same wall street journal article boehner and mcconnell says they are renewing their effort to repeal obamacare. mitch mcconnell is going to have to wawg a very -- walk a very fine line between trying to compromise, he needs 60 votes to pass anything. going to say this is a mandate, we're tired of compromise, we want our agenda acted on now. the president was very conciliatory, he reached his hand out to all republicans including mitch mcconnell. >> i've said this before i want to reiterate it. if there are ideas that the

republicans have that i have confidence will make things better for ordinary americans, the fact that the republicans suggesting it as opposed to a democrat, that will be irrelevant to me. i want to just see what works. >> reporter: and the president reaching that handout, but john, the smart money is we're in for more gridlock and more battles leading into 2016 and the presidential contest. >> he said he would like to sit down with the senator and have kentucky bourbon -- >> kentucky bourbon sure. >> the complaint he hasn't invited them over to dinner, hasn't had these conversations at the white house with them. how does the white house respond to that? >> that is sort of a trope that has gained conventional wisdom. if they could get together and have a drink everything would be fine. it goes much deeper. you do remember the charm

offensive that the president put on. he invited republican senators out to dinner at fancy restaurants, he's golfed with john boehner, he took other senators out for a golf outing. bob quirker, the incoming chairman of senate foreign relations committee. the entire leadership, republican and democrat, here at the white house, talking about several other things. next week congress comes into session in their lame duck. mitch mcconnell will be elevated and january 3rd the new congress is seated johnson. >> maybe he has to do it more than ones or twice. mike viqueria, mike thank you very much. immigration is shaping up to be a big point of contention in washington. mitch mcconnell said it would be amistake for the president to change immigration policy on his own. >> it's like waving a red flag in front of a bull to say if you guys don't do what i want i'm going to do it on my own and the president's done that on

obamacare. he's done it on immigration and threatening to do it again. >> i feel obliged to do everything i can lawfully with my executive authority. to make sure that we don't keep on making the system worse. >> now, over the summer president obama promised to change immigration policy. but reform legislation stalled on capitol hill. delayed are reform until after the mid terms. heidi zhou-castro has the story. >> new lives and new jobs. state and local governments have been overwhelmed in the immigration corridor of brooks county four sheriffs deputies patrol more than 900 square miles. inaction puts both parties in a tough spot with latino voters. they are angry with president obama for delaying actions until

after mid terms and keeping immigration reform at bay. voters feel there have been broken promises by all and as they look ahead to the 2016 campaign they want politicians to know that they expect action before they agree to vote for either side. since democrats depend more on latino voters in battle ground states, the new makeup of congress leaves the president facing a dilemma. either fulfill his promise to the immigrant community by taking executive action if congress fails to act and in doing so rift more republican opposition or if not do nothing and risk evenly more visibility with latino voters. heidi zhou-castro, al jazeera, austin, texas. hispanics made up about 8% of voters.

our science and technology editor jacob ward explains why. >> winning the latino vote only strengthens the party's grip on support they already have. this may explain why the republican house majority simply doesn't seem interested in attracting latino voters. and works for instance to keep immigration reform from becoming law. but here is the problem. republicans are starving themselves now of votes they're going to need down the line. that's going to be true in 2016. without enough of them republicans really will lose. the number of hispanic voters is increasing every election so republicans need to gain support from latino voters in several states including florida, nevada to be competitive in 2016. at some point john republicans may find they need the very votes that they've ignored all this time. >> jake, thank you. wendy corillo is latino

strategist and head of knowledge is power. wendy, welcome. the president said executive orders would go away if congress passed immigration reform. this sounds like the last time. >> it does, doesn't it? i think it sets up a really good conversation to see if republicans can really work amongst themselves first of all and with democrats to see if they can actually pass a comprehensive immigration reform bill. >> but as the senate majority leader to be said it's like waving a red flag in front of a bull. is it the right approach when the president just got whupped? >> it was a bad day with democrats with the mid terms so now he is saying this is what we can do with executive orders or choose to work amongst yourself and actually present a bill that he can sign. >> what sort of bill would -- and obviously the latino community is not unified on all

of this. but what sort of bill would work? >> yeah, well first of all we have to think that immigration is not solely a latino issue but it is a huge issue for community. so we're talking about a bill that would help the 11 million undocumented people currently living in the u.s. as well as people currently waiting to become citizens. >> help them? >> help them win a pathway to citizenship so we're talking about immigrants who maybe are undocumented but whose spouses are citizens. we're talking about undocumented immigrants who have children who are u.s. born. we are talking about undocumented people who have children who are also undocumented and we are also talking about agricultural workers, how does the bill impact them? >> you know that some republicans call that amnesty. >> right but amnesty is not the correct word. we're not talking about a one bill that's just going to work for everybody. we're talking about a pathway to

citizenship which includes different steppings along the way, whether temporary worker, permanent citizenship or a different way. >> what comes now? >> they could work amongst themselves, and if they're smart use it as a way to court the latino vote in 2016. >> doesn't this in some way just embolden conservative members of the republican party, who say by golly the republican voters say we're in charge and we're not going to do this? >> well, the majority of americans actually want a comprehensive reform bill and i think most conservative or moderate republicans actually want the same thing. >> i think we saw 58% last night in the polling right? >> i think something like that. how do they do this work and how do they appeal to the largest growing demographic in the

country? >> if republicans can't get on board with immigration reform what does it mean in 2016? >> they don't have a chance in 2016. >> latinos will turn out. that's been the problem, you and i talked about it. >> yes we have. i think latinos need to feel -- this is what i've heard. regardless who passes the comprehensive immigration bill what the latinos want is something to happen, whether it's democrats, whether the republicans. a lot of them feel the democratic party hasn't done much, talking a lot but doing not much. other than dacca -- >> is there anger out there? >> anger and resentment to the current administration. does that mean latinos will become republicans? not necessarily. but it could be a really good direction for the republican party to start strategizing how to outreach to those latino voters. >> wendy, thank you very much. thank you. >> while democrats were voted

out yesterday, some were voted in, ballot measures reaching from gun control to marijuana. jonathan betz is here. jonathan. >> minimum wage was raised everywhere it appeared on the ballot and marijuana supporters today are enjoying several big victories. >> oregon won a great victory. >> three out of four for groups pushing for legal marijuana. >> more revenue for our state. better prioritization of law enforcement resources. most importantly more freedom and more equality. >> oregon, alaska and washington, d.c. have now joined colorado and washington state in legalizing small amounts of pot. the exception: florida, which narrowly said no to medical marijuana. >> this amendment was an absolute train wreck. it had five loopholes to create de facto legalization of marijuana. >> heavy campaigning wasn't

enough. although even before election day supporters promised to keep fighting. >> but if i don't win this battle i damn sure will win the war. >> reporter: on minimum wage, an issue that was pushed by president obama. >> nobody who works full time in america should be below the poverty line. >> bumped up arkansas minimum wage, nebraska raised its, and south dakota raise i raised itsm wage by more than a dollar and alaska. on more controversial measures both colorado and north dakota rejected efforts that would have made it easy tore limit abortions. and washington state approved stronger background checks on firearms closing the dpun show loophole.

berkeley, california became the first city in america to pass a tax on sugary drinks. measured outlawed trapping bears. maine will remain all state in the country had a allows all three practices. now, legalizing marijuana, new states like california and massachusetts in 2016. hoping to keep them going after a night of big wins. >> all right jonathan. still ahead, taxes and the minimum wage, the looming controversy over jobs and the economy. and they weren't the most high profile mid term races but they sure were interesting.

>> there were a lot of answers last night but a few answers are still up in the air. louisiana's senate race is headed for a runoff on december 6th.

no candidate received more than 50% of the vote. in virginia state officials say the race for senate is too close to call. fewer than 17,000 votes separate mark warner and ed gillespie. gillespie wants a recount. in alaska republican dan sullivan leads democrat mark begich in their senate race. it could take several days to finish counting all of those ballots. the economy was the number one issue or the those voters and they are waiting to see what the senate and new majority leader plan to do about it. a hint at the conflict ahead. >> our businesses aren't creating the our economy is outpacing most of the world. but we just got to keep at it. >> bureaucratic strangulation of our economy is a real, is a ohuge factor in the slow growth that we have experienced after the derecession of 2008. >> so let's go to our reporters

in the field for a lk he at the economic battles ahead for next year. >> reporter: i'm randall pinkston. louisiana, drilling offshore an in the gulf of mexico. the state's refining capacity is second only to texas. it means jobs and money. energy bills that have been bottled up in the senate after having been passed by the house will now be at the top of the republican agenda when they take control in january. early wednesday the gop made clear that approval of the keystone pipeline project will be at the top of their list with a handful of democratic supporters republicans have a filibuster proof majority. >> i'm diane eastabrook. one issue dear to the hearts of democrats, a higher minimum wage. nonbinding referendum to like the state's minimum wage to $10.

eebl even bruce browner supported the plan. nebraska and north dakota who lead heavily republican also said yes to a higher minimum wage. it would seem to give traction to president obama's push to raise the federal minimum wage but while some republicans newly elected to congress favor the idea most in the gop still don't. so a higher minimum wage is not likely to be a priority any time soon. >> i'm melissa chan in san francisco. it's no surprise that younger voters did not turn out for these mid term elections. legislators did not failed because of republican opposition. now, with the gop in control, some worry its tendency to budget cut would impact federal student loan programs.

but young people don't seem to just blame republicans. other feel neither party has delivered when it comes to helping college students. david schuster shows us. >> john we start in lefned congressional district michael grim is under a 20 count federal indictment. he threatened to break a reporter in half after throwing him off a balcony. >> back to you. >> (bleep). >> it's out of the question. >> in a swing district it should have been an easy race against grim right? the problem, michael recchia

from staten island, grimm beat him by 13 points, indictment and all. democratic candidate bill enyart, melt down mike after proudly shooting a neighbor's dog a few years ago and then repeatedly blowing a gasket as a state lawmaker. >> released from egypt let my people go! >> despite the accusation that boss could make washington worse he still won by 11 points. in michigan's district, foreclosure mill, trout was hit in the campaign with this. >> dave trout has made millions foreclosing on michigan's families. people like 101-year-old

mrs. hollis thrown out of her house of 50 years and onto the street. he's asked to represent us in congress. >> most everyone agreed that was the most brutal ad of the campaign and yet trout still won by 16 points. amazing. in minnesota's 8th congressional district, stewart mills against rick nolan. they took off on his hair. >> lucky for stewart mills iii he inherited millions and a job with six figures. he is running for congress to give millionaires like himself another big tax break. >> nolan beat the republican mills by a whisker. vance mcallister got in trouble earlier this year when

he was caught on surveillance vird yovideo kissing a campaignr not his wife. greg abbott was left off the ballot. in his place the ballot listed republican lieutenant governor david dewhurst. we will forever remember this primary race because a dewhurst staffer put together a video, mocking, a person for changing his name to patrick. >> now danny patrick whatever you want to call him he still beat dewhurst to win the primary and last night patrick was targeted in that ad he won election as the texas lieutenant

governor. will take office in january. that is tonight's power politics. john. >> david schuster, thank you. joie chen is standing by to tell us what is coming up on "america tonight" at the top of the hour. joie. >> good evening john. democrats licking their wounds, one in kansas where republican governor sam brownback had a scare even loyal members of his party turned against him and the state's teachers led a fierce campaign to drive him from office. the aftermath of the battle for kansas, campaigners on both sides. >> we're kind of on pins and needles. a couple of votes can mean total difference in administration and in this case a complete difference in philosophy. >> just a couple of votes indeed. our close up look at the battle

for kansas and what we might learn in the battle for voters across the nation. top of the hour, join us then. >> joy thank you. the future of u.s. foreign policy from i.s.i.l. to iran and putin. how a new congress could change the president's approach. and climate change, what this could mean for the environment. all that still ahead don't go away.

>> welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm john siegenthaler. and coming up: the world stage, how the new congress could reshape america's approach to iran and israeli. shifting climate change with republicans in control. and the sad reality of voter turnout, why so few americans actually vote. is. >> from i.s.i.l. to ebola, president obama and the next congress face big challenges on the foreign policy front. america's allies are watching to see if the white house and capitol hill can work together on those issues. dana lewis has more from london. >> john, clearly there's consensus today that president obama appears weaker. he looked uncomfortable but he perked up a little bit when he started talking about foreign

policy issues because in the end european leaders understand it is the commander in chief the president of the united states that really steers foreign policy issues and not much has changed in that respect. and president obama intends to use it also as an example of how he can get along with the new republican dominated two houses. suggesting today that there will on ebola first of all, the leaders of the republican and democrats will come to the white house on friday they will discuss ebola and they will discuss an injection of more than $6 billion in new funding to fight the ebola disease and then also, he spoke about syria and new military action. let's listen in to what the president had to say earlier on taking new action with congress in syria. >> i'm going to begin engaging congress over a new authorization to use military force against i.s.i.l. the world needs to know we are united behind this effort and the men and women of our military deserve our clear and unified support.

>> next week by the way the president will travel abroad. he will be in the far east and there is even a chance that president putin will see the president in a bilateral meeting. that has not been confirmed but it's possible because they will be at the apeec summit. if he sees a weakened president obama take a different stand on the ukraine. in fact it will be a misescalation, the republicans want a tougher stand against russia. republicans say the three phases of sanctions that were taken against riz for invading ukraine. should in fact be set in law and if that happens it is very hard to repeal those economic sanctions. they may remain in place for years to come john. >> dana lewis, thank you. another test, iran's

sanction he. secretary of state john kerry would not say whether the mid terms would affect negotiations but he says he's still pushing for an agreement before a deadline later this month. >> we are gearing up and targeting november 24th. we're not talking about or thinking about going beyond that date. that's a critical date. and we believe it is imperative for a lot of different reasons to get this done. >> p.jp.j. crowley joins us from washington. p.j. welcome. how does a republican senate affect the negotiations with iran? >> well i think the president was going to have a tough time getting 60 votes on any kind of agreement either under -- with the existing senate, that becomes much more difficult. there's a lot of skepticism bipartisan skepticism regarding iran but as the president said

today and reiterated today, he's not going to present any kind of a bad deal to congress. >> will the gop try to avert a november 24th deadline for a deal? >> no, i don't think so, john. and as the president said it's unclear what kind of arrangement will be reached in november, later this month. obviously, iran itself has its own set of political calculations here. there are a lot of hard liners on both sides who are very skeptical about whether an agreement can be reached. >> all right, stand by p.j. for one second, i want to talk to you by i.s.i.l. one goal about the u.s. led air strikes against i.s.i.l. in iraq to help the iraqi forces take the upper hand. that in r ram di ramadhi.

>> coalition air strikes have hit targets in the border areas of the city and now it's time to retake the streets. the main fighting force is a counterreform unit nicknamed the golden squad . this is a unit with a mixed reputation among sunnies who have accused them of human rights violations. accusations the head of the unit here dismisses. >> translator: the golden squat is not biased to anyone. it is for the iraqi people, it includes the sunnis, shias, yazidis and yazabians, it is to protect every sect. i want to say that to everyone. >> here booby traps and surprise i.s.i.l. attacks are common. >> translator: we're now in

one of the neighborhoods the i.s.i.l. has claims to have taken. we are still fighting them and there are signs they are still all around us. >> the fight is key as they are strategically viable. inviting easy access into the town. with the right number of fighters you can take over the center of that city. that not only gives you a base but the entire city of ramahdi falls. a propaganda victory that they will be keen the trumpet to show the weakness of the iraqi forces. >> pockets of i.s.i.l. forces still mount attacks and iraqi fighters are fighting back. it is not a stalemate but neither side has the upper hand. imran khaimran khan, baghdad.

>> let's bring back p.j, can we expect increasing attack? >> the tone will increase. 2016 presidential campaign, republicans on the hill will be critical of the obama administration and try to pin some of that responsibility on hillary clinton. but as the president suggested today, it would appear that congress would be poised to codify the president's expansion of military operations into iraq, and also syria. it's important for congress to remain relative o relevant on os stances, and highly critical of the obama strategy and perhaps use that to build advantage as it moves towards 2016 and the race for obama's successor.

>> in many ways the republicans may not be able to actually affect policy but they can use their position as a bully pulpit to get tough with the issues and senator comaib is one of the most -- senator mccain is one of the most croakal critics. >> perhaps you can see some increase more support for the iraqi government, the iraqi security forces. i think he'll probably continues to promote the idea of a no-fly zone or a security zone between syria and turkey. but i don't know that congress is going to want to become co-owner of this strategy. i think they see the potential for some advantage, foreign policy plays a much more significant role in presidential elections than in mid terms, and they'll try to increase their

criticism, they'll sharpen their tone and try to create a potential advantage for republicans in the next couple of years. >> and p.j. of course another big policy is israel. after israel's relationship with gaza this summer, street violence has been bubbling up in jerusalem. an attack today for instance. is this a win for prime minister netanyahu, a strong gop supporter? >> israel has very good relations with members of congress on both sides of the aisle. the irony here john is that the strategic relationship between the united states and israel has never been stronger. obviously there is tension in the political relationship between netanyahu and obama. but for netanyahu to change that dynamic, he's going to have to wait a couple of years.

>> right, but the prime minister described the outcome of this election before republicans won, he said the outcome of this election could help determine the future of israel. what does he mean by that? >> well, obviously, congress will bend over backwards to increase its support for israel. but the reality is that i'm not sure the administration's necessarily going to get tougher on israel because right now there really is not a dynamic between obama and netanyahu. nor is there a dynamic between netanyahu and abu massin that gives you confidence that the obama administration is going to take one more run at middle east peace. i think all of that gets pushed into 2017. >> lots of major issues to deal with in the coming two years. p.j. always good to see you thank you. >> okay john thank you. >> another area ever coffin

flict betweeconflictbetween repd democrats. the alaskan pipeline. >> we haven't had an energy bill in seven years. >> so our energy sector is booming. and i'm happy to engage republicans with additional ideas for how we can enhance that. >> but it's not just energy. both sides are promising action on a range of controversial issues from climate change to marijuana. for more on those let's go to our reporters in the field. >> i'm jennifer london in languages. the world is on a fast track for irreversible climate change. scientists in california say the state's historic drought is linked to it. still a majority of republicans don't see it that way. house republicans had already voted to regulate greenhouse emissions. the gop is also likely to take

aim at the obama administration's new rules that curb carbon emissions from coal fired power plants all in the face of science that disagree with the new political majority. >> i'm ash-har quraishi in iowa. corn ethanol fuel mix, has been fighting that renewable fuel standard, but fighting just as hard to see less ethanol in the mix. it was a major source of contention in the iowa race, johnnjoni ernst pledged. >> oregonians vote to legalize

recreational marijuana. residents in washington, d.c. vote to decriminalize possession and cultivation of marijuana giving the city council the authority to draw up rules for retail sales. but congress has to review new laws within the district of columbia within the 60 days and a republican dominated house and senate could overturn that vote or just let it slide. and don't expect any congressional determination of redefining marijuana at a federal level. the federal government lists it as a schedule 1 narcotic like heroin and lsd. >> a few weeks ago we introduced you to an unlikely challenger who said he could do it better and faster, once again here's jennifer london. >> can you build the trailer police 155407, already did

you're the man. >> down a long dark hallway to a back room brandon finnegan works the late shift dispatching big rigs all over the state of california. this time of year he's busier than ever. not because the trucking business is booming, finnegan has become an unlikely challenger to the associated press, predicting winners on election night. >> a lot of the media has fallen back here is our nice little map there we go we're done. >> finnegan a college dropout who studied studio art decided he could do better. in 2012 he launched ace of spades decision desk, a blog that has posted outcomes before some of the wire services. remember the surprise unseating of eric cantor. >> when the first county came in chesterfield i was blown away,

first i thought there was an error because eric cantor was losing by 20 points. then another county came in, it's done. >> finnegan called the congressional race for david bratt. >> now brandon finnegan joins us from los angeles. brandon welcome good to to see you congratulations. first of all you were able to call the gop senate takeover earlier than the major news organizations. how did you do it? >> well, thanks for having me back on. john. and we did it basically with again our volunteers in the field, crowd-sourcing returns which freed me up to look at the numbers as they were coming in. and just using simple math to see where each candidate's base counties were, what was left in them and figuring out whether the trailing candidate actually had a shot. and when we decided that wasn't possible we could call the race. we called quite a few senate seats in succession.

right around 9:30 to 10:00 p.m. and the final two were iowa and north carolina and we called that with the senate at 10:27 p.m. >> the virginia race of course has not officially been called yet but you called senator warner as the winner, the democrat, the win are yesterday at 7:26 p.m. eastern time. why do you think you were rite? >> well, we feel we were confident in the call. when we saw the first few counties that came in, gillespie did perform pretty good. nobody gave the guy a shot, he was down in the polls 20 points. but there's a level that you have to hit in your red counties but he wasn't hitting to actually win the state. one of the fields was chesterfield. when that came in with a few others we knew that northern virginia would help warner overtake gillespie.

>> let's talk how you beatle the organizations like associated press. you called jeanne shaheen the winner 40 minutes before associated press. >> we had a group on the ground in manchester. there is a few other bellwether towns, and once we started getting these numbers in and we saw precincts from the northern areas of the state and the more red areas towards massachusetts we didn't see anyplace for brown to make up votes that shaheen did, so we made the call. >> did any of your races prove you were wrong? >> no races that we called last night. >> how many follow you on twitter? >> we're around 9,000. it surged last night, it's election night so everyone wants to turn in. we have about 9,000 followers on

twitter. i'm proud of what we do. >> you've got two years ago to the presidential race, you can do it again, you want to change jobs from being a dispatcher? >> my boss may be paying attention. let's not talk about nap we have very, very big plans for 2016 and even 2015. >> all right i have a feeling we're going to talk again. brandon finnegan, good luck to a great election night. >> thank you john good to be on. the mid terms brought a number of good things to women, roxana saberi has the story. >> it was a big night for female candidates across the country. >> people ask me all the time what my favorite part of the campaign has been. well, i think tonight! >> reporter: republican joni ernst will now be the first woman of congress from iowa and the first combat veteran in the

senate. utah's mia love will be the first black woman. and at age 30 new york's ali-se stefanick will be the first woman member of congress. after all the ballots are counted that number could reach 106. >> i am hoping that the presence of women and their greater ability to negotiate and listen, are and not be quite so anxious to fight, might help us overcome some of the gridlock in the congress over the last couple of years. >> most are in the house and most are democrats. jeanette rankin became the first woman in congress before women even had the right to vote. still women make up only 20% of congress. an institute for women's

politics predicts they won't hilt 50% for another century. it will take more like sarah blair of west virginia to go into politics. >> i'm trying to do this for a greater purpose and to help all young people in the state of west virginia. >> at age 18 she just became the youngest state lawmaker in the nation. >> it is significant if young women are getting on the electoral ladder at a young age, that means that the pool of women sort of groomed for leadership, whether it be in the senate or the presidency, the pool just gets bigger. >> another interesting first this year for a man. republican scott brown became the first man to lose to two women in senate history. he lost in massachusetts two years ago and in new hampshire this year. john. >> roxana saberi, roxana, thank you. up next why so few americans went to the polls and the surprising effect on the

results. results.

>> good evening, i'm meteorologist kevin corriveau. this evening i'm going to take you to the southern hemisphere, argentina, dealing with their summer right now. a frontal boundary pushed through, i want to show you what this front did. in just five days we saw five inches of rain. that is more rain than they would normally see in the whole month of november. 2 deaths, 150 schools cloached and they'rclosed andthey're stih floodwaters across the city. few more showers just over the next couple of days. i want to take you towards california. not a lot to talk about in terms of rain or clouds but we are going to be dealing with red flag warnings, that means very gusty winds, as well as very dry conditions over the next couple of days. temperatures are now coming down this evening. los angeles you are at 78°.

but look at the relative huments, we are talking about-t humidities. we are talking about tomorrow, los angeles, single digit relative humidities, that means red flag warnings all across participants of southern california. wildfires could be started, temperatures are well above average for this time of year. los angeles we expect 85°, 8 above average. that is a look at your national weather, more news is right after this.

>> tonight republican leaders are looking for messages from the voters and so the white house. >> i think what the voters were saying yesterday was a couple of things. number 1 they're obviously not satisfied with the direction of the administration. >> so to everyone who voted i want you to know that i hear you. to the two-thirds of voters who chose not to participate in the process yesterday: i hear you, too. >> according to exit polls fewer than half of all eligible voters cast ballots on tuesday. compare that to the nearly 60% of voters who cast a ballot in the 2012 presidential election. here's our science and technology editor jacob ward. >> let's look at what effect that has on the country. first of all, turnout in the united states is always awful. there are 239 million people eligible to vote. roughly 145 million chose not to during 2010's mid term elections. that means that more than 58% of

eligible voters simply didn't vote. so who did vote? well, in 2010, only 90,600,000 voters showed up to be heard. barbear with me it's a little weird. when only 90 million show up, a country has formed one-third as large as the united states, i'm not just talking about size here. in this smaller country the politics are different, when i say another country i'm serious, it really is like another country. for one thing it is a whiter country, made up of richer older people and they decide the fate of a poorer more diverse group who did not vote. groups like the pew research center have studied this. they have found out for one thing, the democratic party would enjoy much more support. more than half of all nonvoters who identify lean towards

democrats. compared to those who lean republican, just 27% of nonvoters. that's why democrats have so much more to gain by getting nonvoters to the poll. compare, only 21 million who don't vote to the 40 million or more nonvoting americans nearly twice as much who lean democrat. there are simply far more potential democrats in the united states than there are potential republicans. if all eligible voters did vote the make or break political issues also could be vastly different. let's consider income for a moment. 32% of americans make less than $30,000 a year. and that group makes up more than half of people who do not vote. that's more than 35 million people hovering just above the poverty line and not being heard tonight. now, imagine john, the impact if they did vote. as it is, issues that most directly affect the poor, minimum wage, equal pay, social security, health care, those things are being decided by

those who are far less affected by these issues. >> all right, jacob ward, thank you. and this is our picture of the day our freeze frame. it's an image of democracy under construction. there you have it changes underway inside the capitol and out. repairs being made to the structure's iconic cast iron dome to fix corrosion and defects and leaks. it's old. "america tonight" is next. we'll see you at 11:00 eastern.

>> on "america tonight": the day after. stunned democrats face the harsh reality of a mid term blowout. what's behind the big losses? who didn't show up to vote? and how to explain the disconnect between what voters believe in and who they chose to vote for. >> the disbelief that there are so many uninformed voters out there. >> were you informed, did you check the facts? >> our follow-up to america votes 2014, the battles for kansas and the nation and whether this will bring a