majority elected two years ago was supported by americans for prosperity which is the conservative activist group funded by the koch brothers. as of tonight's election results in wake county, north carolina, that work has been overturned by the voters of wake county. a small sounding election tonight. with really, really important consequences. we will be back live at midnight eastern with the latest election results. msnbc's coverage of this election night continues now with "the last word with lawrence o'donnell." let he who is without sin cast the first stone. that's your cue, herman cain. >> tonight, the herman cain offensive. >> tell us what really happened. this is your chance. >> i wanted to make sure that i didn't miss any points. i have never acted inappropriately with anyone. period.

>> woman accuses cain of groping. >> a story that is so inherently improbable on its face. >> if he denies that this happened, then he's calling her a liar. >> they simply didn't happen. i don't even know who this woman is. >> that had better be true. >> calling her a troubled woman. >> the democrat machine in america has brought forth a troubled woman. >> he's accusing the democratic machine. >> the democratic machine. >> he doesn't have any facts to back that up. >> some people don't want to see herman cain get the republican nomination. >> most professionals in the democratic party i know would love for herman cain to be the nominee. >> republican field is still in so much turmoil. >> you saw today that mitt romney came out. >> these are serious allegations. >> herman cain has to answer the charges. >> very troubling. >> we've seen a lot of surprises. >> top ten signs now this is

taking its toll on herman cain. >> can't going to happen. >> rambling, drunken speech. i'm sorry, that was rick perry. and -- at a five flag press conference, herman cain called every one of his accusers a liar tonight. >> i have never acted inappropriately with anyone, period. >> he said that at a press conference where he was introduced by a criminal lawyer. he is the only presidential candidate to be introduced in a press conference this year by his criminal lawyer. it turns out cain didn't need a lawyer with the largely ineffectual press corps that did not ask him what it -- he said he did not remember sharon bialek, whether it was possible, they didn't ask him whether it was possible though he didn't remember her, that he might have once had dinner alone with her.

they didn't ask him whether it was possible that she was once alone with him in his car. whether it was customary for happily married herman cain to have one-on-one dinners with women when he was a washington lobbyist. he was not asked whether this man is a liar. >> i was the pollster at the national restaurant association when herman cain was the head of it. i'll tell you, i was actually around a couple of times when this happened and it just -- anyone who was involved with the restaurant association at the time knew that this was going to come up. at the time she was a very lower level staffer. i think she was maybe two years out of college. and this all occurred at a restaurant in crystal city. everybody was very aware of it. and so it is -- it was only a matter of time because so many people were aware of what took place. so many people were aware of her situation and the fact that she left after this. if she does go on the air and talk about it, i think it will be the end of this campaign.

>> herman cain was not asked whether he was fired from the national restaurant association. as a result of multiple sexual harassment complaints against him. and the multiple witnesses thereof as just described by republican consultant chris wilson. he was asked the juvenile question of whether he would take a lie detector test to which he gave the juvenile answer of, yes and no. >> i absolutely would, but i'm not going to do that unless i have a good reason to do that. >> after last week blaming the rick perry campaign for getting this whole controversy started, tonight, herman cain fingered a new villain. >> these anonymous allegations are false and now the democrat machine in america has brought forth a troubled woman to make false accusations. >> joining me now, the lawyer who brought that woman forth,

gloria allred, we're also joined by msnbc and time.com contributor and author of "who's afraid," teray. you were all over the press conference, not specifically by name, but herman cain's lawyer went right at you at the outset. >> do i look like a democratic machine? i'm only 5'2" and a lawyer. in my older years. i don't have that kind of power. i don't know what a democratic machine is. i have attacked democrats who have committed injustices against women. perhaps he didn't remember a month or two ago when i was in new york and did a news conference with my client against congressman anthony weaner, democrat, because he sent her sexual texts and my client said he should resign and i supported her and he did resign the next day. so this is just nonsense to try to say that. actually, let me put it more strongly. it's a bold-faced lie that the democratic machine is behind that. nobody tells me what to do.

anybody who knows that realizes that. >> it's a good thing you weren't at that press conference today. the reporters i think did mostly a terrible job. there were a couple of good questions. "the new york times" had a good question. they didn't go in for the precision we need at this point. what did you hear there today you would like to contest? >> well, i mean, he just was all over the place. you know, forget the lie detector for this one. >> there ain't going to be a lie detector. >> you know what i think, i think that the united states or could be the house of representatives should explore whether the laws against sexual harassment need to be strengthened and in their pursuit of examining what kind of legislation might be needed, they should subpoena witnesses like herman cain before the committee, let him testify under oath, under penalty of perjury, let him be asked specific questions that you, lawrence o'donnell, very rightly said he should be asked and more. i want to know every allegation that was ever made against him

in his employment history that involved sexual harassment. i want to know specifically what the allegations were, what his response was, what every investigation of every employer showed and what the result was and how much money was paid. and then let's see what his answers are. i'd be willing to have my client go, she'd be willing to testify under oath. and my guess, although i haven't talked to the other women, is that they'd be willing to do that as well. >> i don't want to live in a country where the united states senate subpoenas presidential candidates to testify under oath about anything, but it would be nice to find out more about this. do you have another step planned at this stage? >> well, we don't. >> joint press conference with other complaintants? >> we're open to that. >> have you had contact with the other lawyers? >> on another network, an hour or two ago, the lawyer for one of the alleges victims, joe bennett, that's what he would like to do or his client would

like to do. i said i'd definitely recommend it to my client, not having a chance to talk to her yet about it. i see no reason why she wouldn't want to do it. she's wanted to help to inspire and empower other women to come forward if that was their choice to do so. >> there's no legal action for her to take, the statute of limitations is gone? >> she has no intention of filing a claim or lawsuit. she could have sold her story instead of holding a news conference and basically telling anyone, without receiving any monetary reimbursement for that or compensation. and, but she decided that she wanted to let everybody know that she was there to tell the truth. and, yes, you know, he's got financial challenges, like millions of americans do in this economy. but, no, she wasn't going to sell her story. because she wanted people to know that she was there to be a voice for women. >> tera whery, we're down to wh schultz called earlier this evening a he said/they said

which puts us in a credibility contest. how do you think the credibility contest is going so far? >> this is not a settled issue for anyone, really not for me. i hate to say where there's smoke there's fire. there's a lot of smoke here. the thing that leapt out at me, if you try to inhabit herman cain's mind -- >> don't. don't even try. >> he's in the middle of the biggest mission of his life and he's succeeding at a certain level right now. and yet these women, multiple women and this man are coming in saying, you sexually harassed people which is a horrible thing to be accused of if you are a man who doesn't do that, who has respect for women. as he says he does. this is a horribly embarrassing, horrifying thing that you would never want anybody to say about you. so where's the indignation? right? he doesn't seem angry that this false charge is being hurled at him. he seems kind of cavalier about it. right? i mean, a very light tone to it rather than the anger, right, i would expect from somebody. how dare you say this about me?

that we are succeeding in this incredibly important mission and you're saying what? so that leads me to say, i wonder if you really believe in your heart of hearts that you didn't do anything. >> we're also joined now by goldie taylor from atlanta, herman cain's hometown. she's a contributor for the grio.com which is part of nbc news. >> thanks for having me, lawrence. >> what did you make of it? it comes down to he said/they said. i'm not sure what more guidance we're going to get on sorting our way through this. >> i think it's more than just a he said/she said. it's a he said and she said back then. these aren't brand new issues. these women filed claims. some of them did. some of them received settlementses back then. these women did not come forward on their own but dragged kicking and screaming out of anonymity to come forward with decade-old charges. the woman who came out with gloria allred in her press conference, sure, she might have

financial challenges. i assert the 40% of women who are sexually harassed in the restaurant industry every year that they, too, might have financial charges. that doesn't mean that they are not, you know, sexually harassed. it doesn't speak to their credibility in any way. so i think that today's press conference was an answbsolute farce. standing in front of the american flag or four or five of them as it were, to trump at how patriotic you are, is absolutely unpatriotic it run a campaign like this and distract the american people from the issues that are most important to us. unemployment, health care, foreign policy issues. we have troops abroad. and, you know, we're off of that conversation because we're dealing with herman cain and his mess. >> goldie, do you think it would be appropriate in tomorrow night's debate on cnbc for herman cain to be asked about this? or is this -- should that be left as a policy discussion and herman cain dealt with in effect one-on-one by the media? >> i think this is a policy discussion. if he's president of the united states, then he is commander in chief of one of the largest

workforces we have in this country. a workforce in which women live, work and play inside that white house and inside of other government agencies. so it's up to him to set that kind of standard. so i think it's a very real issue. it speaks to the policies he's going to have about equality in the workforce, equality in the home, equality at the ballot box and everywhere else around this country. i think it's a relevant issue. this press conference he held today, should have had it two weeks ago when the first charges came out and taken them absolutely seriously at the time. we've gone to an absolute tragedy. it's a tragedy when we can't talk about the issues that really confront this country because we are stuck on talking about the proclivities of a guy from a decade ago who's sucking up air time to sell more books. >> gloria allred, before we go, if you could get one question to maria bartiromo to ask herman cain tomorrow, what would that be? >> when will you answer all of

the specific questions about how many times you have made sexual advances to women and why you think they think they are improper. >> gloria allred, thanks for your time tonight. goldie and toure, stand by. we're going to be back with more of this. later, herman cain's rivals in the presidential primary are commenting on the sexual harassment controversy. richard wolffe joins me to discuss their reactions. it was election day around the country today and all eyes are on ohio and mississippi. where big voter issues, controversial measures on the ballot are being decided. each could have a big impact in our politics. in ohio, voters there turned back governor kasich's plan to limit collective bargaining rights for unionized public employees by a significant ma h marg margin. debbie wasserman-schultz will join me.

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i cannot say that it is a conspiracy. we do not have definitive, factual proof. we can only look at some co-incidences to subject it that maybe someone is deliberately behind this. when we step back and look at the fact that there's no facts, no factual evidence to back these up, we can only infer that someone is trying to basically wreck my character. >> that was herman cain tonight

on who might be behind all those sexual harassment revelations. one of the woman who settled a sexual harassment complaint against herman cain with the national restaurant association agreed to be interviewed by "the new york times." karen kraushaar, a registered republican and spokeswoman at the united states department of treasury told "the new york times," "these allegations can be considered together as a body of evidence" and cain responded to that "new york times" report tonight. >> to the best of my recollection, since you mentioned that particular name, that is the one that i recall that filed a complaint, but it was found to be baseless. i can only recall one thing that i was aware of that was called sexual harassment. one day in my office at the national restaurant association, i was standing next to miss

kraushaar and i gestured standing near her like this, you're the same height as my wife. other things that might have been in the accusations i'm not even aware of, i don't remember. >> after cain spoke, kraushaar's attorney spoke with msnbc's al sharpton. >> the incidents happened and my client stands by the written complaint that she filed. my client is planning on coming forward. we plan to contact the other women and try to have a joint press conference where the women will air their specific complaints. >> the attorney joel bennett specifically contradicted what herman cain had just said in his press conference. >> he said that there was not a settlement but an agreement. you're saying it was, in fact, a settlement which meant that her leaving and the payment was based on the accusation that was

you and your client's understanding. it was not based on just some employment agreement. >> that is correct. >> then what you're saying is totally the opposite of what was represented by mr. cain at his press conference? >> that is correct. >> we're back with goldie taylor who's a contributor for part of nbc news and also msnbc and time.com corrector and author of "who's afraid of post blackness," toure. there's nothing like watching al sharpton work as a prosecutor. he did a better job of clarifying what was going on here than what happened in that press conference today. what about where we go from here, goldie? can you imagine that herman cain's going to be able to continue to keep moving forward in the republican campaign without addressing this more? >> you know, i think first things first. i said weeks ago there was not a chance, you could bet it on my life, that herman cain was not

going to be the republican nominee. that could not be more true now than even then it was then. that's the first thing. the second thing is, his supporters are going to contribute to send him $5, $10, $50, whatever it takes to keep him in the race. herman cain is not a guy who will back down from a fight no matter how much the odds are stacked against him. he'll stay in the race. as i said on twitter, this is an absolute train wreck. he ought to step aside now so we can get focused on the more important issues we have facing our country today. unfortunately it doesn't sound like he's going to do that. i have a message for herman cain tonight. if you're looking to be president, it ain't going to happen. >> toure, the republicans have to start giving him this message eventually. eventually this makes the republican field look like more of a circus than they looked like so far. >> as opposed to when? it's looked like a circus consistently for several years now, but, i mean, i can't go any further without pointing out

that it's yet another blond white woman who's accusing him of doing and saying things that are inappropriate. the instinctual fear in america of black men being sexually inappropriate or aggressive or dominate with white women a very, very deep. when is this going to start to come out? people start to feel this on a deep level. this is wrong. he keeps going after our women. we don't like this. that is going to definitely have a problem. look, the gop knows if this had happened earlier, maybe it sinks him right away, bullt this is t last stop before romneyville. after we get off the cain train, we're stuck with mitt romney, we're marrying him, we're going all the way to the nomination with him. so there are so many gopers who don't want to go the distance. don't want to get married to mitt romney. so they're going to stick it out with herman cain as long as they humanly can. >> goldie, do you think it makes any difference, the race of the

complainants involved in this? >> actually i don't. i think it's a factor that people will consider, but at the end of the day, it doesn't matter if these women were white, black, green or purple, if hay had blond hair, brown hair or green hair. it doesn't matter. inappropriate behavior is inappropriate behavior on behalf of any person in a public square, in a corporate square like that. i think it's just unfortunate that anybody would purportedly conduct themselves this way and then turn around and say i don't remember them or they were people who didn't do their jobs, they did bad jobs so that's why they were separated from the company. i think that's probably the most unfortunate part of this is how they come out and lambasted these women. i saw an e-mail today from the cain campaign, oh yesterday from the cain campaign, lambasting, you know, accuser number 4. you know, it's just really, really unfortunate how the right wing has turned on these women rather than to listen to, you

know, their charges, their allegations and then judge them really on their face. i don't think the facts have come out on this. i think at some point they really will. people like rush limbaugh have to lay off of the children of these accusers. they're not fair game. never have been, never will be. >> limbaugh's gone all the way to talking about their children. it is beyond what i could even predicted he would have done. goldie taylor and toure, thank you very much, both of you, for joining me tonight. >> thank you. >> thanks for having us. coming up, mitt romney gave his opinion about the herman cain allegations earlier today. richard wolffe will jane me to update us on how many times romney has changed his mind since then. and michele bachmann has gotten the family research council back in tonight's "rewrite."

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coming up, mitt romney ventures in opinion about the allegations against herman cain. so does newt gingrich. michele bachmann refuses to go there. and rick perry, of course, has no idea what to think. and in mississippi tonight, they're counting the votes on whether a fertilized egg should be considered a person, with about half of the votes counted so far, 59% of voters are rejecting that measure. dnc chairperson representative debbie wasserman-schultz joins me. what's going on here? hey, whats up guys?

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by the "associated press." at this hour in mississippi. and now, on the eve of tomorrow's cnbc republican presidential debate in michigan, all of the republican presidential candidates have commented to abc news on the troubles of herman cain. with the exception of mr. live and let live, himself, libertarian ron paul, who won't even say what michele bachmann had to say about it. >> i have absolutely nothing to contribute to that discussion. >> rick perry finding life in his new glass house discomforting could not bring himself to throw stones. >> i've been focused on my business and haven't paid a lot of attention. >> then there's the romney, santorum approach of letting bible thumping christian conservatives know that they know this stuff is this pushing. troubling. >> any time there's an accuser that comes forward with charges of this nature, you recognize

this is a very serious matter. and it should be taken seriously. this woman's charges are particularly disturbing and they're serious. >> obviously they are very troubling, but these are things, you know, they're allegations. herman has his opportunity to tell his side of the story and the american public can make a decision. >> and then there were newt gingrich's words of wisdom learned through hard and bitter experience. >> he has to have an answer and it better be accurate, because if it's not accurate, they won't survive 24 hours. >> and finally, there's the huntsman angle which smartly recognizes that hopeless candidates like herman cain need not observe any of the rules that govern candidates who are actually trying to win. >> it's a distraction and herman cain can deal with it however herman cain chooses to deal with it. >> joining me now, msnbc analyst richard wolffe. thanks for joining me tonight, richard. >> my pleasure, lawrence. >> richard, it feels to me like

huntsman has this called just about right. herman cain can deal with this any way he wants. he's not going to be a nominee, not going to be a vice presidential selection. he has no future beyond this candidacy as long as it lasts. >> yeah, i was waiting for the kurt cobain reference. there's a bigger issue there for all of these candidates. herman cain is not going to get out. he made that very clear. he's going to be on stage with these people. where has the president lost significant support over the last years? >> suburban women voters, newly single suburban women voters. if you're the marketing guy, you'd say it's the kind of accuser who's gone up against herman cain so far. when you hear mitt romney say those things, he's not trying to pile on to get the votes that cain has got but saying to the women voters who are going to be key for the general election, we are okay, we're acceptable as a party. how do you square that pitch to women voters with being on stage

with a guy like herman cain? >> herman cain did try to respond to mitt romney tonight in his press conference. romney saying these accusations are disturbing. let's listen to how cain responded to that. >> i find the accusations disturbing but false. i don't believe governor romney was saying that he thought i was guilty of any of these accusations. i believe what he was saying because i know mitt romney and his integrity that he was referring to the fact that it's disturbing that these accusations that are not factually based are disturbing to this process. >> richard, do you expect this to find its way into the republican debate tomorrow night? >> yes. i mean, it would be -- you know, you can get your journalist license revoked for not actually referring to the big piece of news in the republican field. and also questioning whether herman cain is actually delusional here. not just delusional because he

thinks he's going to be president or reinterpreting the english language but making the pitch to be the running mate for mitt romney. who's he trying to fool? you can't be this nice when in this kind of trouble. you want to see that probed and pushed a little bit more. what's his game here? >> he doesn't have just other candidates and possibly debate inquisitors to be concerned about. we have a statement tonight from republican senator lisa murkowski of alaska. she told cnn, if, in fact, there is saubstance to the claim, if that's the case, his opportunity as a nominee are gone. it takes incredible courage for an individual to come forward as this latest, as this one woman has, so it does cause me to wonder exactly what is out there. i am concerned. that surely is not the last republican woman to speak about this. >> certainly not. for a start, it reminds us there are extremely respectable,

credible republican women politicians out there. the field is not limited by michele bachmann. and you have to put lisa murkowski alongside someone like tony perkins. completely the other side of the spectrum on the republican side who says if this is a pattern of behavior, it's extremely difficult to get over and will be a real problem for herman cain. both ends of the party saying the same thing. of course, whether it gets through to herman cain is another question. >> it seems that rick perry is the candidate who should be staying up late at night trying to figure out how to use this to his favor. the disabling of the cain campaign. is there some way for rick perry to leapfrog over herman cain and get into that second position, get back up into that top tier? >> well, there's easily enough time for the anti-romney position to be filled. whether it's newt gingrich or rick perry. don't count him out. he has lots of money. in this multi-candidate field, even if herman cain loses only half of his support out of all of this, say 10% still sticks

with him, 10% to rick perry's numbers puts him right up there with mitt romney and the race goes on and on and on. the difficult thing is how do you coax those voters away without looking like you're piling on? clearly rick santorum does not have the solution here. >> richard wolffe whose book is out in paperbook "revival." thank you very much for joining us tonight, richard. >> thank you, lawrence. >> a quick programming note. we'll have a special post-debate show tomorrow night on "the last word." michael moore will be among our guests reacting to the latest republican debate. after the break, michele bachmann takes a swipe at mitt romney calling him a frugal socialist which he is compared to michele bachmann who has benefited more from socialism than any other republican candidate. and there is breaking news. we're following mississippi voters have rejected an amendment that would have effectively banned abortions in the state by declaring that life begins at the moment of

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we have breaking news tonight. important election results we're following. in maine, voters repealed a law passed last year by the republican legislature that required voters to enroll at least two days before an election. they restored a four-decade policy of allowing registrations as late as election day. and in ohio, voters repealed the law limiting collective bargaining for 350,000 unionized public employees. that law went even further than a similar law in wisconsin. and the latest attack on abortion is defeated. i repeat, it's defeated in mississippi. deb bie wasserman-schultz joins me. [ man ] i got this citi thank you card

and started earning loads of points. you got a weather balloon with points? yes, i did. [ man ] points i could use for just about anything. ♪ keep on going in this direction. take this bridge over here. there it is. [ man ] so i used mine to get a whole new perspective. ♪ [ male announcer ] write your story with the citi thankyou premier card, with no point caps, and points that don't expire. get started at thankyoucard.citi.com. we asked total strangers to watch it for us. thank you so much, i appreciate it, i'll be right back. they didn't take a dime. how much in fees does your bank take to watch your money ?

if your bank takes more money than a stranger, you need an ally. ally bank. no nonsense. just people sense. in tonight's "rewrite," another episode of we're all socialists now. the guest star of tonight's episode is michele bachmann. who gave a speech yesterday to the family research council. yes, the same family research council that was in last night's "rewrite," for giving an award for the most famous deadbeat dad in america, congressman joe walsh, for his, quote, unwavering support of the family, end quote. just not his family. that gave me all the excuse i needed to go on and on about the family research council's obsession with gay sex including gay soldier sex, but there will be none of that tonight. if you want to hear the family

research council's sweaty talk about gay soldier sex, you'll just have to go to our website to watch last night's "rewrite." bachmann's speech was an unusual one for the family research council to have to sit through because it did not contain a single sentence about gay sex. it had much more to say about socialism. >> socialism is a principle that i will reject and i will work to eradicate socialism all across the united states government. but unfortunately for too many republicans, they also aspire to be frugal socialists and the reason president obama and some republicans can get behind socialized medicine is because they share the same core political philosophy about the purpose of government. we can't preserve liberty if the choice a year from now is between a frugal socialist and an out of control socialist. >> the out of control socialist

is, of course, president obama. the frugal socialist, michele bachmann is aiming at is willard m. romney. and i am here to thank her for at least admitting republicans are socialists, too. and that all they're arguing about is how much more frugal republican socialism is compared to the democrats' version of socialism. of course, bachmann doesn't think that all republicans are socialists. she definitely thinks romney's a socialist. there's no doubt that's who she was aiming at with that clever little phrase that's sure to be echoed in the republican campaign. frugal socialist. of course, romney doesn't think he's a frugal socialist. no republican thinks he or she is a socialist. including michele bachmann. but as i've pointed out here many times before, we are all in favor of some amount of socialism and we are all in favor of some amount of capitalism. the socialism deniers pretend they hate all forms of

socialism, but they don't. they always find some government interference in the marketplace that they support. they all say they support purely socialistic programs like social security and medicare and they all support the most sacred form of american socialism, farm socialism. it's hard to get more socialistic than the government controlling prices in the marketplace. and michele bachmann has thanked the out of control socialist, president obama, for doing exactly that. well, actually she couldn't bring herself to thank the president directly, so she thanked his secretary of agriculture, tom vilsack, in a letter writing, "your efforts to stabilize prices through direct government purchasing of pork and dairy products are veryed." farm socialism is personal for michele bachmann. the bachmanns have a family farm that has received over a quarter

of a million dollars in direct cash from the federal government. a pure socialist transfer of your tax dollars from the department of agriculture to the bachmann family. no one else in the presidential race has personally benefited more from american socialism than michele bachmann. frugal socialists may be an appropriate description of mitt romney, but if there's an out of control socialist in the race, it's michele bachmann. we're america's natural gas and here's what we did today: supported nearly 3 million steady jobs across our country... ... scientists, technicians, engineers, machinists...

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it is election night 2011.

here are the results of the most hotly contested issues as called by the "associated press" at this hour. in ohio on issue 2, a referendum on the bill signed into law in march by republican governor john kasich, that limits collective bargaining rights for public workers. that law was rejected overwhelmingly by voters with 71% of precincts reporting. the vote is currently 39% for the law and 61% against that law. also in ohio, on issue 3, to amend the state constitution to make it illegal to impose an individual mandate for health care coverage, that amendment was approved overwhelmingly by voters, with 65% of presicincts reporting. the vote is currently 66% in favor and 33% against.

in mississippi, on initiative 26 to amend the state constitution, to define personhood as a human being from the moment of fertilization, an effective ban on abortion in the state, that initiative was defeated with 58% of precincts reporting. the vote is currently 57% against and 43% in favor. in the two gubernatorial races today, mississippi lieutenant governor phil bryant, a republican who strongly supported the personhood amendment easily won the race to succeed governor haleiy barbour. in kentucky, governor steve beshear, a democrat, easily won a second term. joining me now, congresswoman debbie wasserman-schultz, chairwoman of the democratic national committee. thank you for joining me tonight, congresswoman. >> thanks for having me tonight, lawrence. >> i want to go to the result in mississippi and the reproductive

rights of women. this very clear attempt to present a direct attack on roe v. wade, being soundly defeated in mississippi. was that something you expected tonight? >> well, in mississippi, the success tonight for people who care about preserving women's access to health care, that was an incredible victory. to have that victory in mississippi sends a strong message across this country that women in this country want to make sure that they get to decide about how much access to health care they have. they want to be able to make sure that they can have the rights of reproductive choice. they don't want the government telling them that they can't get access to infertility treatments. that they might be allowed to die in a hospital, even if they have an atopic pregnancy. that's how extreme the personhood initiative is and for it to be rejected in a

conservative state like mississippi sends a clear signal to proponents of the personhood initiatives all across this country that they need to stay out of personal lives of women and make sure women can continue to make their own health care decisions. >> it seems like a wake-up call for republicans in particular, like haley barbour, who was briefly undecided about this and ended up voting for it. you had the feeling me just, you know, had his finger in the wind and was voting where he thought he had to. but here are voters saying to republicans on this extremist kind of stuff, you've gonn een vernor of mississippi says that the personhood amendment gave him pause because of its far reaching effect and his concern that it, perhaps, went much further than he was even comfortable with, that tells you that if a conservative republican was giving pause that this is a totally out of step extreme measure that goes much further into the personal lives

of women in this country than anyone is comfortable with. it's clear voters across this country, whether in a conservative state like mississippi or in more progressive states, they want to make sure that the government stays out of their personal life. >> let's go to the crucial state of ohio. this is going to be the crucial state in the presidential election next year. they went in two different directions on the big issues on the ballot there. voting pro union in effect, pro union rights with one stroke and then voting against a key element of the democrats and president obama's health care reform on another vote, vote against having an individual mandate in ohio. how do you interpret those results? >> well, the passage of the repeal law, repealing sb-5 in ohio today was a tremendous victory for middle class and working families who overwhelmingly sent a message to governor john kasich that he

massively overreached, that it was absolutely inappropriate and they rejected his attempt to go after public employees, to go after working men and women who simply want to be able to negotiate for better wages, make sure that they can negotiate for health care coverage that is the kind and quality that every working family deserves. and the clear overwhelming rejection of governor kasich's overreach tonight sends a message to all extreme republicans, particularly tea party republicans, who have championed the absolute decimation of workers' rights, whether wisconsin or ohio or other states, this is where it has to stop and now we need to focus on creating jobs and getting this economy turned around. we have to focus on moving the economy forward and working together. i hope republicans and their

extremist tea party friends get the message tonight that from these results, because they've been overwhelming all across the country. >> didn't those same ohio voters deliver statistically as big a rebuke to the idea of an individual mandate in health care? which is in the president's bill? one of the most significant courts in the country. and to have the conservative judge write the majority opinion, of holding that law, as constitutional, that sends a

clearer message as to the lik y likelihood of success. >> and notwithstanding this vote tonight, if the supreme court rules the individual mandate to be constitutional and appropriate in law, that will override whatever was voted on tonight in ohio? >> exactly. i mean, the federal law will -- if it establishes that at the end of the day the supreme court says that the affordable care act is constitutional, that will apply in every state in the country. >> congresswoman debbie wasserman-schultz, chair of the dnc. thank you very much for joining me tonight. >> thank you for having me, lawrence. a reminder, tomorrow we'll have live reaction immediately following the republican presidential debate. michael moore will be among my guests. i'll also talk with jack abramoff tomorrow about his new book, in which he details how as a republican lobbyist he basically owned republican members of congress. tomorrow on "the last