the chair: the committee has directed me to report there is no resolution. the speaker pro tempore: the chair of the committee of the whole house of the state of the union that the committee has had under consideration h.r. 3043 and has come to no resolution thereon. pursuant to clause 12-a of rule washington journal continues.e

,ost: this is josh kraushaar national journals political editor to talk about the results of last night. let's start in virginia. was the most interesting thing to come out of the governor's race? guest: this pricing thing was that the democrats are within striking distance and could possibly win with the house of delegates. they were trailing badly, but they make it up to 51 seats when all of the results are counted and the scope of ralph northam's victory was better than some of the most bullish democratic operatives expected. host: contrast his victory to previous victories on the presidential level with president obama and hillary clinton during the election, last year. northam do. differently? was a sharp

educational divide in the state were college-educated voters swung more democrat and non-college-educated voters became more republican. the race exacerbated those divides even more so. northam carried college-educated whites which is a pretty significant, for a democrat to do in virginia. continued gillespie the republican trend of gaining ground with what -- blue-collar workers. northam was able to exploit the divide to the democrats advantage. are in new jersey, these people with high levels of education. they were playing on their home turf. host: talk about president trump and how much of an influence he was in these elections. guest: a big influence. the turnout and high was -- was high in virginia. every ballot turnout was through the roof. up by about 16% since the last governor's election.

clearly, democrats were enthused, they wanted to get out and show their and to the president trump -- show their antipathy to president trump. it is a combination of the democratic base being supercharged, while democrats also nominated a very moderate, pragmatic candidate in ralph northam. the republican nominee was trying to have it both ways. he was the academy of the establishment. a former committee chair, a lobbyist. he ran on a more pragmatic message in 2014. his advertising was distinctly trumpian. he talked about immigration, crime and he thought he could get the base out while also maintaining his share of the more moderate republican vote.

if you look at the suburban results, moderate republicans and democrats alike turned away from the republican ticket. host: our guest stays with us to talk about these results. if you want to ask questions, you can do so. (202)-748-8000 for democrats. (202)-748-8001 for applicants. -- republicans. (202)-748-8002. former president obama tweeting about last night and this is what he had to say. congratulations to all victors in state, legislative and county races. every office in a democracy counts. traveling to campaign for northam. what was the influence? guest: african-american turnout was pretty strong according to exit polls. obama helped get the democratic

base out. he saw a lot of these -- you saw a lot of these health -- house delegates he flipped because of that turnout. -- delegate seats flip because of that turnout. clearly obama helped get the cities. in the big host: one of the big stories you wrote about. you called northam's campaign risk-averse. what did you mean? guest: the fundamentals in virginia always favored democrats. for genia has a historical tendency to vote against the president's party. the election is always held a year after the election and with the exception of 2013, almost always the governor of the other party wins the election. when you look at trump's job approval rating and the fact that the democrats nominated a very pragmatic candidate in

rough north of. the fundamentals were in his favor. he did not want to shake that up . he did not want to excite the base too much or alienate the moderates leaning in his direction. ultimately that worked out very well. north at the -- northam had the best performance of any democratic canada in virginia since 1985 -- democratic candidate in virginia since 1985. negativity was on the airwaves. and gillespie's campaign needed to get more of the rural voters to show up. you would see ads about crime, ms 13, confederate statues. needed the base to show up and they did not do so. that sets an ominous sign for the publicans.

it is not just about this year's governor's race. republicans are a badly divided party. you have the truck weighing and the establishment wing. gillespie sought to thread the needle. as it turned out, he did not get the base energized and the establishment republicans did not show up. host: greenbelt, maryland, democrats line. your first call for our guest. caller: good morning. i applaud the entire democratic for relentlessly telling people to go out and vote. they have not been going out to vote and i was told in -- telling my friends. i told them go out and vote. if you don't vote, there is no way the democrats will win this election.

i applaud them. anytime there is no election, we should not take it as a joke. guest: turnout was key for democrats in virginia. you look at prince william county, where all of the house of delicate seats flipped -- where most of the house of delicate -- delegate seats flipped. races, when they lost special elections in very conservative states and districts. virginia is a blue state. when that based shows up in large numbers, it is hard for democrats to lose. host: years before, it was a purple state and read. is it solid blue? guest: i would not say solid blue. it is purple turning blue.

democrats swept all the statewide offices in 2009 -- last night. it is looking more and more blue. trump won bank decisively in last year's presidential elections. virginia was one of the few swing states that went the other way. host: how would you describe the ground games? guest: the democratic run game diverting resources into these house of delegates races. a sort of test run scenario for the down the -- down ballot democratic races. no one thought the house of delegates was in play. a few recounts and close races. it is very promising for democrats to take over control. races,n those delegate but the first time, a transgender woman takes the race. guest: that's correct.

in the 13th district, around manassas. ran against one of the most socially conservative state legislators in bob marshall. this is about as polarizing election as you can get. host: he scripted the bathroom bill as it was known. guest: transgender issues, abortion, one of the most conservative legislators in all of virginia. he lost by 11 points. host: this is from oakland, new york, republican line, michelle. caller: good morning. thank you for having me. i would like to comment on a comment that josh made earlier, when he said that most republicans are less educated than democrats. that makes me feel like hillary talking, putting me into her basket of deplorables. i have to disagree with you.

i went to college and i learned critical thinking and i have republicans,st for but for whom i feel is the best candidate for the job and this divisiveness in our country, republicans versus democrats, that is why our house is so divided. guest: i apologize if i offended the color. pointmaking an academic and that there is a big educational divide in the inntry with our politics that educated white voters are going in a different direction and trending democratic and non-college-educated voters are becoming more republican. that is the reality of politics and the reality of why our country is so polarized. we saw those trends in virginia and new jersey where even though the democratic governor elect won by a double-digit margin, the republican challenger did ok

in some of the working counties and working-class towns. there is a educational divide. if there was a way i can look at a voter and say who are you going to vote for, it would be if they had a four-year degree. chris christie had a 19% job approval rating according to exit polls. the lowest i believe of any governor in the country. jersey is always going to be a democratic state, but when you have your outgoing governor with a 19% job approval rating and the lieutenant governor is the candidate on the ballot, it is going to be difficult to win. host: katie is in woodbridge, virginia. i just want to say i normally vote straight republican that i voted for ralph northam specifically because at gillespie aligned himself so much with trump and those ms-13 ads just turned me off so much.

guest: exit polls in virginia, of democratsnt voted for northam and 95 plus percent of republicans voted for gillespie. there were many who identified themselves as republicans 10 years ago who may have a divide themselves as independents or voted for northam. host: glenn, independent line. caller: i would like to know why do the uneducated vote for trump? host: what do you mean? expand on that. educated regarding for the democrats. what is in the thinking of someone who is uneducated that makes them vote for trump? guest: cultural issues as we saw

in the virginia election are driving forces. education is kind of a stand-in on some of these cultural issues, whether it is immigration, confederate statues. there are plenty of educated people voted for gillespie and vice versa. the educational divide is something of a stand-in for this cultural polarization. at gillespie started his campaign by running about -- running on tax cuts for small businesses and ended his campaign talking about ms-13. host: a viewer asked a question on twitter, saying how much does government employee -- employment correlate with partisan support in virginia? guest: the fact that you have a growing number of federal employees in virginia is

certainly fueling the trend of virginia being a swing state and becoming a much more democratic friendly state. that said, the environment in the suburbs across the country, a lot of republicans are worried about suburban will educated affluent districts across the map, even in areas that don't have a lot of government employees. that helps democrats in virginia, the fact that northern virginia is growing. guest: new jersey and virginia voters, you call (202)-748-8003. andcrats, (202)-748-8001 republicans, -- report -- democrats, (202)-748-8000, republicans, (202)-748-8001. >> today, virginia has spoken. today, we will not condone

hatred and bigotry, and to end the politics that have torn this country apart. i want to let you know that in virginia, it is going to take a ,octor to heal our differences to bring unity to our people, and i am here to let you know that the dr. is in. host: give us a snapshot of ralph northam. guest: he is a pediatric neurologist. the washington post did a great line where he ran as a emotional moderate. he is liberal on a bunch of issues but he sounds very comforting and soothing. that was a very conciliatory message, last night, talking about unifying. that is the type of message that wins in a swing state.

republicans did polling and some of these culturally diverse -- divisive issues work in their favor but post from, people wanted to hear a more conciliatory message. former obama ambassador. and very wealthy banker who was able to win the governor's race in a blue state. murphy is going to have some challenges. host: he promised a lot. guest: a lot of price tags to his proposals. he does have a democratic legislature. opportunity toe reverse some of christie's accomplishments and add to jersey's spending level. in 2009 ran strongly against -- strongly for cutting property taxes.

i imagine taxes might go up if he wants to pay for some of these ambitious proposals. host: kentucky, republican line. caller: i am really offended at what this man has said. he has insulted a whole group of people. my family voted for president trump. we are strong supporters of president trump. only one member of our family who is uneducated voted for hillary. she is a sister-in-law. my children are all college-educated. i have a masters degree, a bachelors degree and nine hours on a doctorate and we voted for trump. shame on you. host: he clarified the statement. guest: the divide, the biggest country, divide in the is whether someone has a four-year college education or whether someone does not. clearly there are people who

have college degrees that vote republican. that is clearly the case and vice versa. it is just that this trend. it is a pretty recent development. in the age of trump, you are seeing a much more polarized electorate along the lines of education. host: we had john garamendi on, previously and we talked about the announcement of several resignations. what does it look like in 2018? retirements are a big concern for republicans. we are seeing more house retirements from republicans since 2004. usually, the retirements take place after the off year election. a lot of republicans representing affluent suburban districts that are worried about their political standing. --virginia, arbor comstock barbara comstock. room -- northam won her

district by 13 points. there are going to be some people in those types of districts that are going to try to tough it out. host: we saw -- announce his retirement. guest: someone who represented a swing district in south jersey. never had much of a challenge for reelection. a good relationship with unions in that southern jersey area. democrats feel like they have a good chance of winning that seat. host: would you see -- would you say there is a sign of wave elections coming? inst: the house of delegates virginia is the biggest sign that this is shaping up to be a big wave election in 2018. we have a year to go, but the odds of democratic -- of democrats taking the house probably higher than they have been in this cycle. host: independent line. caller: speaking to the partisan

divide in the country and with so many moderate republicans announcing the retirements in the house, i was calling to ask your opinion on whether or not a moderate can actually still win a statewide or national election. guest: i think ralph northam showed powerfully that it is possible to win as a democrat and the of moderate governor in a swing state. that is the key for the democratic party. the democratic party has its own divisions between the progressive left and the more pragmatic elements of the party. ralph northam faced a very progressive adversary in the bymary, who was endorsed bernie sanders and elizabeth warren senior members of the obama administration. a won pretty handily in democratic primary, was able to unite the party and get the base supporting him, even though his message was a lot more pragmatic than what the left would have appreciated. host: democrats line, sterling,

illinois. hello. caller: i agree with what you are saying. it seems as though the republicans never seem to favor making higher education possible for those of us who are working for a living. proof of that, i think, is the takeaway of the deduction for college tuition. what you say, for the most part, is true. the buddies that i work with, lesser education, i totally respect them, they voted for trump. in a primary i voted for kasich. -- in the primary i voted for kasich. i'm not at all offended by what you are saying, just stating a simple truth, in my life i avoid the big two. that's my comment, thanks for c-span.

you do see a lot of these moderate republicans, and i trump republicans starting to become free agents. especially in that affluent part of the state. you saw some republicans who didn't like trump, who agitated against trump. the former "weekly standard" editor in chief was outspoken for his northam support. host: if i'm looking at these elections and i'm a member of the current house of representatives, in the middle of tax reform, immigration, how do those efforts go forward knowing what we know from last night? guest: i was somewhat the ability of republicans to pass an ambitious tax reform package through congress and last night's results make it more difficult. one reason why, republicans who

are wary about tax reform are the ones in blue states where the state taxes are awfully high end the reduction is that would be removed as a result of these proposals would hurt these affluent constituencies specifically. new jersey is a big state where you have several republican congressman in swing districts who could see their constituent taxes going up as a result of the republican proposal. lance, seventh district, new jersey. democrats won those districts pretty solidly last night and there has got to be political pressure on these folks after last night's results. host: houston, texas, republican line. lynn, good morning. aller: i just wanted to make couple of comments about the elections last night in virginia and new jersey. first of all, what on -- donald trump talks about, draining the swamp. part of the swamp in virginia is

alexandria and all of the surrounding washington, d.c. area. if he really wants to start cutting back on the expense of running the government and the national debt, one thing would be is before we even talk about tax cuts, we simply need to start talking about reducing the amount of taxes that are going to the federal government. that would be that we just simply cut the government. every single agency in the government gets cut 25% before we even start talking about taxes. i think that would help along the way to draining the swamp. a lot of these people are simply career bureaucrats and they are always going to vote for the democrat. if republicans are so marred -- are smart, they have to start guest: cutting. -- start cutting. guest: loudoun county, which

gillespie one in the 2013 senate race, he lost by 20 points. that's a huge landslide margin. the economy may be played a small role in that, but i think it was his message on immigration. these are wealthy, center-right areas, but they believe in diversity and inclusivity. a lot of the ads on television mobilized the democratic race and turned out republicans in the suburbs. about about and county by 20 points. this is usually a republican stronghold or at least recently has been an area that should favor republicans. talk about the role of president trump in these future elections and how these candidates running for office embrace him. guest: republicans are in a tough situation when you look at the broader map. republicans need to trump race to show up. jeff flake learned the tough way

that if you write a book that attacks the president of your own party, you lose political altitude pretty fast. the problem is, the more you associate with the trump base, the harder it is to windows key arerban swing voters who the bellwether. republicans are caught in a catch-22. aty can't survive primaries, the least, if they distance themselves from trump. if they don't, they will have a tough time winning general elections. host: josh kraushaar >> the house in recess until bout 4:30. the federal energy regulatory commission for hydropower projects. when the house is back in session, we will have live coverage here on c spanning. >> 50 years ago the united states was at war and this

veterans' day weekend looks back with 48 hours of coverage starting saturday at 8:00 a.m. eastern, live from the national archives among the back drop of three vietnam helicopters and from 11:30 to 1:00 a.m., we are taking phone calls and tweets about the war in 1967. at 1:00 p.m. from vietnam veterans' memorial, remarks from former secretary chuck hagel. on "real america" a cbs viet nam news special report. >> whether it is due to the enemy's clever tactics, the weather or the terrain, it seems the american military offensive has bogged down like the marines in the mud. >> then at 6:00, we'll tour the

national archives exhibit "remembering vietnam." at 8:00, on the presidency, president lyndon johnson press conference. >> made our statement to the world of what we would do if we had communist aggression in that part of the world in 1954. we said we would stand with those people in the face of common danger and the time came when we had to put up or shut up. >> watch the vietnam war 50 years later, this weekend on american history tv on c-span 3. president trump addressed the south korean national assembly. his remarks are about 35 minutes.