geoff: good evening. i'm geoff bennett. tonight on “pbs news weekend,” our focus on the midterms continues with a look at the senate and governor races in the battleground state of nevada. then, calling elections -- how media outlets make accurate race calls on eleion night, and why it matters now more than ever. and, a look at how an historic nashville hotel played a key role in the fight to give women the right to vote. carole: but at the end of the day, in 1920, men in this hotel, in the general assembly were taking votes about women's rights. they were making the decisions for women and about women. geoff: those stories and the day's headlines on tonight's

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this progr was made possible by the corporation for public broadcastingnd by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. geoff: good evening. it's good to be with you. with just two days before the midterm elections, the parties' most powerful voices kept up their campaigning, with both democrats and republicans citing threats to the country should the other side win. in latrobe, pennsylvania on turday night, former president trump said the country's future was at stake. mr. trump: there is only one choice to end this madness. and it is indeed madness. if you support the decline fall of america, then you must vote for the radical left democrats. if you want to stop the destruction of our country and save the american dream then this tuesday, you must vote republican in a giant red wave.

geoff: president biden was also in pennsylvania last night, delivering closing arguments to voters in philadelphia. he was joined by former president obama, who said american democracy is on the line in tuesday's vote. mr. obama: if you ignore the fearmongering, if you ignore the cynicism, if you vote, then we will keep this country moving forward. the only way to make our democracy stronger is if we fight for it. you can't take it for granted. and that starts with electing people who know you, who see you, who care about you. geoff: as of yesterday, the number of ballots submitted in this election surpassed 39 million, the number cast in 2018, according to the u.s. elections project. we'll have much more on tuesday's vote later in the program. in the day's other headlines, delegates gathered in sharm-el-sheikh, egypt today for the opening of the cop7 climate summit. the two-week-long united nations conference will grapple, for the

first time, with the controversial topic of whether rich nations should compensate poor couries, which are most vulnerable to climate change. it comes as the u.n. released data showing the past eight years are on track to be the eighth warmest on record. houston is preparing for aorld series victory parade tomorrow, with the houston astros clinching their second world series last night in a 4-1 win overhe philadelphia phillies. the game six win was fueled by a three-run homer from yordan alvarez. astros rookie shortstop jeremy pena was named the mvp. and, there's still time to win the powerball lottery. with no winner just yet, the jackpot has grown to $1.9 billion, the largest jackpot in history. the next chance to win is monday night at 11:00 p.m. eastern. still to come on "pbs news weekend," political violence on e rise. we speak to a pennsylvania legislature candidate who was attacked earlier this week.

and, inside the historic hotel where the fight for women's suffrage was waged. >> this is "pbs news weekend," from weta studios in washington, home of the "pbs newshour," weeknights on pbs. geoff: time now for our final weekend briefing before election day. not focus is on nevada where two decratic incumbents are trying to fight off republican challengers. in the senate race, democratic incumbent catherine cortez masto faces former nevada attorney general adam laxalt. endemic a governor steve sisolak is up against sheriff joe lombardo. there is nobody to talk about this with than joe ralston, the founder and ceo of nevada independent. this is the first election in the vet it with a new voting law in place that sends each registered voter a ballot by mail.

you have been keeping tabs on turnout. how is it looking? joe: t turnout is not that heavy and you expect that in a midterm. but it is very close between the democrats and the republicans. the democrats have about an 8000 ballot lead out of about 650,000 ballots cast. so it's very, very close in terms of the ballots. geoff: let's talk about the senate race. you nevada senate race is one of the closest in the country. they have been a number of polls that show them in a dead heat, which is not what democrats expected given that this seat is the one that was long held by the late democratic titan harry reid. help us understand the demographic shifts and the issues that are seemingly propelling republicans in this race. jon: we are a purple state and we have been for some time. and the atmospherics in a midterm when the president is a democrat, especially when the president's numbers are not

good, are going to favor the republicans. and that is what is happening here. adam laxalt, the former attorney general, cannot mention catherine cortez masto's name without mentioning joe biden's name in close proximity. of course they are trying to tie her to all the things that have made joe biden's numbers plummet. inflation, gas prices, etc. and so the race is close. i think almost anybody with an r after his or her name would have made this a close race in this atmosphere. but adam laxalt has a lot of backing from national republicans. the rare candidate who has the endorsement of both donaldrump and mitch mcconnell. geoff: in the governor's race, i know you moderated a debate last month between governor steve sisolak and republican challenger joe lombardo. what's their message on the economy? nevada is in many ways a working-class state. did the high cost of living,

inflation, resonating there in ways it is not across the country? jon: i think that is true. economy here is driven by the service economy and the gaming industry. a femiles on las vegas boulevard south everyone knows as the las vegas strip is the engine for the state. steve sisolak shut it down for a couple months during covid. and the covid hangover to some extent persists and joe lombardo the sheriff of clark county, ich is where las vegas is, has used that. steve sisolak has pointed out all the indicators that the economy is coming back, that jobs have returned. but it is still not all the way there, and lombardo has exploited that. geoff: how have republicans seized on this nationwide trend among some hispanic voters who have shifted away from democrats? how is that showing up in nevada? jon: i have covered politics here about 3.5 decades and i

have never seen the investment by republicans, and especially outside groups and hispanic, spanish-language media, as there has been in this time, putting out the same messages to the hispanic community essentially in spanish that they are putting out in english. that the democrats are responsible for the high gas prices, and ours are some of the highest in the nation. when you are getting h in the pocketbook, they are telling hispanics that is the democrat'' fault. hispanics have been 15% to 20% of the electorate in every election for the last 15 years and they have been reliably democratic. we are going to see if with the first latina ever elected to the u.s. senate at the top of the ticket, if that can hold here. if it cannot hold here, that is a big problem for democrats. geoff: let's look beyond the midterms to the 2024 primary calendar. nevada has tried to supplant iowa and new hampshire in the democratic primary. they want that first in the

nation primary. as best i understand it, the dmc has put that decision on ice for now. do you think this will end up happening, where nevada goes first? jon: i am hoping so, for purely selfish reasons. i likely spotlight to be on my beloved state. but listen, they put it off because of election considerations and the senator in new hampshire who may have been in trouble. but nevada has a very good case to make. we are much more demographically deserves than either iowa or new hampshire. we are a purple state. and if harry reid were still alive, he passed away at the end of last year, i would have no doubt that nevada would get it now. i think it is up in the air. geoff: jon ralston, thanks again for your time and for your insights. jon: thank you.

geoff: heading into election day, officials are on alert about election-related threats and violence. in recent weeks, law enforcement and extremism watchdogs have warned of an increase of threats and violent rhetoric in far-right circles, in particular. this past week, a democrat running for a state house seat in pennsylvania says he was attacked at his home, and that he believes he's a target of election-related harassment. i spoke with the candidate, richard ringer, about the incident. i appreciate you being with us. richard: thank you. geoff: and so before the attack earlier this past week, as i understand it, someone spray painted your garage door last month. tell us about that. richard: i took my car out of the garage, put the garage door down and there was spray painted and it was like, your race, meaning my campaign, is dead. and some other scribbling messages and essentially it said like, watch out for yourself, be careful because you're next. geoff: and then what happened on

monday? richard: i got up and i heard somebody trying to tug on my garage door, which is right below my home office. and i looked out the window and there was a flashlight going across the yard. so i just got dressed and went out through the front door, walked down the driveway, and there was somebody standing in front of my garage door. and i bear hugged him, tackled him, fell to the ground. and he was -- this iividual was taller than i, stockier than i. and he had a hold on me and he started hitting me in the head and face, i would say at least 10 times. and knocked meut. i when i came to, i came into my house and called 911. geoff: how are you doing now? richard: the bruises on the head and on the cheek were ok. tylenol and ice bags work well. still a little sore in the

shoulder and in the knee. but, you know, i'm able to get around. it hasn't stopped me from campaigning. geoff: i imagine that the attack on you has a lot of people talking in your community. what are they saying? richard: they're concerned, like well-wishers. you know, they stop by and ask how i'm doing, making sure i'm ok. a number of them are republicans and they're saying, like, you know, this is crazy. this is really nuts. and you've got our support. geoff: this hasn't changed your mind about seeking this office? richard: absolutely not. i am not easily intimidated. what scares me is that other individuals in the future might look at this and say, like, why would i run if this is going to happen to me? and, you know, i'm worried about what's going to happen on tuesday with poll watchers and people going to the polls to vote. geoff: well, richard ringer, we certainly appreciate your time and wish you all the best. richard: thank you. i appreciate it.

geoff: on tuesday night as votes across the country are being counted, media outlets will project winners in most states before all the tallies are final. but how do news organizations project which candidates won before all the ballots are counted, and what does the growing election did nihilism on the right mean for the projection process moving forward? chri with -- was the fox news editoe, fired following a conservative backlash when they correctly called arizona for joe biden. he is now political editor for news nation. thank you for being with us. help us understand, how does a news outlet project a particular

candidate before all the votes are counted? what level of confidence is required? chris: what we are really talking about is matching up what is happening in a microsecond by microsecond count of the vote, the most up-to-date possible count of the vote, testing it against expectations. what did we think was going to happen? what did polls think were going to happen? and are these votematching up with t expectations from the polls? so at a certain point you get past the ability of polling to be observances and then you're just counting and counting and then you get to the work that is phone and i like to do. well, this county act this way, and here is where the votes are out and here's where they are coming in. that is the kind of old-fashioned, sometimes back of the envelope tabulation that is required at the end. but early in the evening, you are waiting to see whether the real vote matches up with the expected vote, and was the

polling predictive. now, it won't be, but the question is how much is it off and in what direction, and that sex expectations. geoff: when you talk about the back of the tableting, take us back to years ago. the fox news desk was the first to call arizona for joe biden. it would be days before other news networks followed suit. how did you get it right? chris: i wish i could take credit for having done it all, when it was at my direction. but that was a consensus decision. and i have to tell you, it was not a particularly hard call to make. we had a very good poll that lined up very well with what s happening in arizona. we were hitting it right on the screws and we had high confidence. i can promise you that by the time republicans started freaking out about that call, we were already down the path thinking about if we can call north carolina, georgia.

we were thinking about other things because that was just a call. geoff: what did you make of that reaction? i remember it reporting at the time the ways trump right house officials were pressuring frock news -- fox news to retract the call. they were obviously very angry about it. chris: i did not realize what was going on in 2020, as extraordinary as it was be, right away. i did not think there would be as many people who would be deeply cynical as necessary to try and exploit the confusion around the coronavirus-disrupted vote to try to help donald trump steal a second term. so i underestimated, frankly, how enraged ople would be. but the bigger error was i failed to see how many people who knew better would play along with what was a really rotten game to try to placate trump, or help him commit what would have been the crime of the century. geoff: given all that, the

cynicism, the exploitation, should news organizations rethink the projection process? is more transparency needed? chris: i think given the extraordinary amount of anxiety that exists in both of these parties about the condition of our democracy and the conduct of our elections, that we are obliged as journalists to take extra measures this cycle. i think we have to -- transparency is good, accountability is better than transparency. if you get something wrong you have to own it and explain how you got it wrong. that is really important. but the other thing is ke viewers along with the. here is how this happened, here is how this decision was made, and that is what i'm looking forward to doing this year. we are looking -- we're are working with decision desk hq. they are supercharged and really good and it is exciting to work with them. part of my job is to be the

liaison between the viewer and the turbocharged nerd tank that will be working outside of our chicago studios. and i want to play the role of the explainer who can help people follow along with what is going on. geoff: thank you as always for your insights and for your time. appreciate it. chris: you bet. geoff: nashville, tennessee is known as americ's music city where country hits are recorded and fans flock to hear their favorite singers. less known is the city's connection to the 19 amendment which legally granted women the right to vote in 1920. special correspondent cat wise visited a historic hotel in nashville where a hard-fought battle for that right was waged. cat: nashville's hermitage

hotel, completed in 1910, just steps from the state capitol, has been a favorite gathering spot over the years for locals, politicians, and celebrities, including amelia earhartnd elvis presley. but the hotel is cemented in history because of a group of won who helped change civil rights in america more than 100 years ago. what would we have seen here in the lobby in the summer of 1920? carole: there would have seen women in white dresses. it was summer time and summer time in tennessee is hot. cat: local historian, carole bucy, says in 1920 it became clear tennessee was going to be the final state needed to ratify the 19th amendment. that summer, local and national suffrage leaders, as well as anti-suffragists, converged on nashville. carole: the lobby of the hermitage hotel in some ways is a character in the story. because it gets prominence. this is where all the deals were

made. this was the scene of the action. cat: it became known as the war of the roses. from a suite on the 3rd floor, suffragists like carrie chapman catt, advocated for the right to vote, wearing yellow roses. and on the 8th floor, those who opposed suffrage, including tennessee native josephine pearson, wore red roses. >> lobby was a swarm of people debating. cat: this documentary from highlights the tension in the hotel that summer. >> we go up and down on the elevator and best friends wouldn't speak to each other. it was such a heated campaign. >> the hermitage hotel, as i told you, was the scene of many fist fights. cat: bucy says the work done by so many men to earn the right to vote, from the seneca falls convention to the fight at the hermitage hotel, has often been overlooked or forgotten in history.

carole: there was no awareness whatsoever of any of the things that related to women's suffrage. in fact, until the 1960's, there was really no such subject as women's history offered in colleges, undergraduate or graduate level. cat: the hermitage hotel's history was also lost, for a time. during the 1960's and 1970's, the building fell into disrepair and was closed. local preservationists saved it and the hotel underwent major restorations in the early 1980's and 2000's. in 2020, the hotel was named a national historic landmark and another major remodel began. today, the luxury hotel commemorates its suffrage history in both subtle and obvious ways. what happened here? depatel manages the hotel, the first woman to do so. dee: the 8th floor was the floor in which the anti-suffragists would bring up legislators to sway their votes because they noticed that they were wearing the yellow rose.

or perhaps if they weren't wearing the yellow rose, would bring them up to the 8th floor and get them drunk off of ck daniel's whiskey. cat: today, room 812, the infamous jack daniels suite, looks quite a bit different than in 1920, but there remain glimpses of its past. dee: anne dallas dudley is depicted here. and you see the roses that are a nod to the history. and so throughout the guestrooms and throughout this particular suite, you will notice artifacts and ways in which we've been able to celebrate and cherish and respect history. cat: like this piece of art, paper cut to resemble the bottom of a whiskey glass. and a bird breaking through a paper bag in carrie chapman catt's former room overlooking the capitol building. the hotel also honors its past through tea. a suffrage-themed tea service is offered several times a week. patel and i shared a cup on the mezzanine.

dee: afternoon tea was enjoyed often as women gathered, and it was those gathering moments in which the organization of the suffrage movement began in seneca falls. cat: but in the end, it was men who determined the fate of the 19th amendment on august 18, 1920. tom: here we have a picture of harry t. burn, who was the youngest legislator at the time, and he cast the deciding vote. cat: tom vickstrom, the hermitage's historian, explained burn's role in the historic vote. tom: he had received a letter from his mother that very morning encouraging him to do the right thing. he had had a red rose in his lapel, meaning he was going to vote against it. it was deadlocked with a 48-48 tie, and he changed his vote to a yes. cat: t final vote tally was 50-46 in favor of ratification. carole: there was pure pandemonium. the suffragists are crying and hugging each other.

rose petals were everywhere. cat: despite the victory that day, many women, especially black women, continued to face discriminatory voting laws for decades. carole: at the end of the day, in 1920, men in this hotel, in the general assembly, were taking votes about women's rights. they were making the decisions for women and about women. and we are still in the throes of that very same debate today. cat: for "pbs news weekend," i'm cat wise in nashville, tennessee. geoff: and that's our program for tonight. i am geoff bennett. for all of us at "pbs news weekend," thanks for spending part of your sunday with us. have a great week. >> major funding for "pbs news

weekend" has been provided by. and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy.] >> you're watching pbs.

part two of my conversation with tyler perry. - one thing my father gave to me is the man had the most stupid work ethic i've ever seen in my life. rain, sleet, snow, hurricanes, lightning, he was going. even though we don't speak, he gets a check every month. i bought him a house in saint carol because he... i'm giving him exactly what he gave me. - right. - financially, we were never hungry and the lights were never off, right? so i give him that. coming from that place, watching his work ethic, i definitely have that 'cause i don't know what kind of man i would have been had i seen a man that didn't work. - [mike] more with tyler perry coming up right now. - love and respect with killer mike is made possible by: cadillac. monster energy. ledger. and by, the ressler gertz family foundation. together we are proud to bring more love and respect into our collective conversation.