every election is job interview, in this case, a very long one. >> it is time to for a new direction. it is a time for a new way forward. >> it's the road to a republican majority in the united states senate led through kansas and we did it! >> we're heading to washington! and we are going to make them squeal! >> all right. if you are just waking up, the numbers are in and the

republican party comes out on top. the gop gaining control of the senate widening the majority in the house and winning several key governor's races in this morning. we'll have more results on the battle ground races and the balance of shift in political power. this is "way too early." hey, everybody. good morning. hope you are rested and ready to go. it's wednesday, november 5th. welcome to way too early. we needed an extra 30 minutes. we have all the numbers for you despite millions of democratic dollars, republicans have taken control of the senate they did it on the strength of big wins and races that issue thought to be close so far gaining seven seats it is the end of the harry reid era as senate majority leader. they say he'll now run for minority leader. it wasn't close in mcconnell when he easily beat allison

lundergan grimes. we see the tally. a gracious acceptance speech he was conciliatory after a nasty race. >> a little while ago i spoke with my opponent. they ran a spirited campaign. she earned a lot of votes, and she earned my respect. it took a lot of guts to take on a race like this because of the business we're in and also it meant she would take some heat. i admire her willingness to step into the arena and fight as hard adds she did. we need more people who are willing to do that not fewer. she deserves a lot of credit for it. it was certainly a hard-fought contest. [ applause ] >> joni ernst beat bruce braley to replace senator tom harkin. north carolina where tom tillis

unseated kay hagan. in arkansas tom cotton ourselfed mark pryor. mark udall has fallen to cory garden gardener. >> georgia was expected to last until january for many. but david perd e.u. made it look easy. and republican shelly moore capito won. we look at steve danes going to the senate and south dakota flipping from mike rounds despite an interest from democrats late in the game. in new hampshire there's a lone bright spot for new hampshire where jane shaheen remains. dan sullivan holding on to a five point lead.

louisiana will go into a runoff after senator mary landrieu failed to win outright and a close race. mark warner could face a recount. ed gillespie would not concede. republicans this morning are celebrating big state house wins across the country. their victories include picking up several democratic states. we started in illinois where president obama's home state elected a republican governor. nbc is projecting that produce raunor defeating matt quinn. in massachusetts that state going red with charlie baker defeating martha coakley. as we look at maryland larry hogan upset the democratic lieutenant governor anthony brown. a republican is once again

leadilead ing arkansas and asa hutchinson defeated mike ross. republicans are gaining governorships in the most expensive gubernatorial race in the nation. florida governor rick scott is preparing for a second term after defeating former governor charlie crist by a little more than 1%. >> florida is on a mission. than mission is to keep growing and become the best place in the world to get a job, raise a family, and live the american dream. extend voting in brow ward county due to system mall fujss. he felt it was important. a judge rejected that request. as we steer north into wisconsin, republican governor scott walker defeated democrat mary burke for re-election. it's the third victory in four years for the possible 2016

candidate. after he beat a recall challenge in 2012, if you recall. >> we're excited about the next four years. instead of what they tried to do with the groups of washington that wanted us to be against something. we were for something. for a better wisconsin. for a better university system. for a better college system. for a better economy. for a better future for our children and grandchildren. >> in neighboring michigan rick snyder was re-elected to a second term. republican nathan deal beating jason carter to win a second term in georgia. and incumbent hall of fame pulling out a close win in maine's gubernatorial race. wendy davis lost to greg abbott by nearly 20 points. and the polls were wrong in kansas where sam brownback defeating democrat paul davis to

win re-election. hour, there is no winner yet vermont. the legislator will decide the victor next year in january. in alaska the race still too early to call. and still too close to call in colorado. and that is also how nbc is classifying the race between democratic daniel malloy and tom foley in connecticut. a lot to discuss. i want to bring in mark murray. it's great to have you here. you're out with a new piece this morning. it went up at 5:00 a.m. not only is it a wave but more of a right wing typhoon the democrats have to realize. what do you think the big talking strategies are going to be this morning? the republican? >> they're going feel that the anti-obama message worked for them. you are seeing them being conciliatory. the mitch mccome sound byte is

going to be the presumptivive majority leader coming was conciliatory toward his opponent is going to comprise with president obama. i think that's important. there's no doubt it was the anti-obama message that ended up helping republicans. what was amazing and why it was such a political typhoon not just in a nfrl wave but many of us weren't expecting a wave. every single race broke the republican's way. there seemed to be so many 50/50 contests particularly on the governor's races. what was amazing one after another after another after another kept breaking the republican's way. >> one thing you point out mcconnell's speech seemed gracious. the contrast was grime's speech. she was not as gracious in defeat. not really mentioning mcconnell by name or congratulating him on the win. >> these are tough situations. it's so much easier to be

gracious after you won as opposed to after youlost. and maybe you knew the result was coming down the line. one thing to note she has a political future she's just 35 years old. maybe she runs for governor or senate down the line? absolutely. sometimes when you aren't 100% gracious it comes later back to bite you. >> she went first into the mcconnell machine and got labelled with all kinds of things with her running and connections to the clem clinton family. was the biggest problem she couldn't admit to voting for president obama and people thought that's -- >> that's a negative storyline for her and the obama white house. it is notable when the nbc poll went into the kentucky race after labor day before seeing that showing mcconnell with the 8 point lead. the week before the election we showed mcconnell with a 9 point lead. the margin of victory was pretty

much similar to there. the biggest problem that we often saw from democrats was, yes, president obama was a problem but all the distancing from the president created a negative feedback. all of the sudden you end up have a divided house and a divided house doesn't easily stand. >> let's look at the other states where big gop wins were colorado, iowa, and north carolina. these are big as we look at not just what happened yesterday but forecast where we're going in 262016. >> i think it's one of the biggest messages for the whole evening. republicans being able to win in iowa and colorado they hadn't had success in an entire decade. democrats may say it looks like we'll be able to hold on with the incumbent election with john hickenloop hickenlooper. they could have won the senate majority just by winning in the red state ace lolone.

but the true test is the blue and purple states. >> how do you think it expands the brand for 2016 specifically in colorado? >> well, you know, it's always hard to make predictions about 2016. we have a long way to go. as our pollsters point out, it gives them some money to be able to place at the table in the 2016 table to have a good talking point. it's very possible that democrats continue to win this presidential elections. republicans can feel very good about themselves and meanwhile democrats are going to be demoralized. they demoralized today. probably will be a week and month from now. the question is how they pick up the pieces. >> it will be interesting how the sinner gi next year. we're off to the races for 2016. >> it's already begun. and two more years about this kind of talk until we're chatting exactly 700 plus days from now about the 2016

presidential contest. >> great to have you here. thank you for staying up way too late. or way too early. we appreciate it. from raising the minimum wage to legalizing the medical marijuana. which side ballot measures took. this headline say it is all. ouch. casey hunt is here to help us mark the missteps. she went around the country following some of the hottest candidates on the campaign trail. she has an insiders look. you don't want to miss it. it's a special edition of "way too early." we're back after this. big government has lasted long enough. it's time to go in a new direction. it's time to turn this country around! and i will not let you down. thank you so much!

welcome back to the special edition of way too early as we get started a half hour earlier here today. there are so many special campaign moments with many of them talking to kasie hunt. many having a hard time with the simple les questions.

kasie hunt is here to talk about the special moments. when you confronted the different candidates. let's talk about what your biggest take aways are from the races you watched. i know, you were in the hotly contested battles. which one surprises you the most? >> well, i think many of us were surprised by what happened in virginia. i think it was closer than many of us anticipated. one of the things we learned broadly from doing all the interviews with candidates is that we could have -- we were able to tell you that, you know, democrats were strugglie ining republicans. time after time after time just asking a simple question of president obama of democrat was trouble elicited a response that was problematic. >> what do you think will happen now that the gop has control of both houses and someone like mitt romney in ohio just a week over ago, the interview saying if we take both houses we'll be able to get more things done. a lot more things will move to

the president's desk. is that the anticipation now? the republicans are expected to lead. we expect you not just to be throwing the obstructionist lingo from the back of the room. you have to take charge? >> all the smart republicans i've been talking to through the night saying they'll have a mandate to governor and it will be a test for them to see whether or not they can govern successfully. i think it's pretty clear that the electorate was so disenchanted with washington. if republicans sweep in and all it is gridlock and vetoes i think you'll see them get punished at the polls again by voters. >> if we talk about what we know the republican party to have done in the past and the past is prologued we can probably expect some things or at least forecast what the congress will do. does it mean we'll be see a repeal of the aca or the attempt of it? >> i certainly think you'll see some attempts by the republicans to repeal the aca. i'm interested to see how they come together. i think there's acknowledgment they don't want to try to make

changes like taking away preexisting condition or kids on their parent's plans. policy wise i think that's tough to do. i think they'll take up the keystone pipeline. >> what about immigration reform. we saw the republican party john boehner pulling his own immigration bill. the tea party saying it wasn't extreme enough. to some people it looked like a way forward on the immigration reform. do you think that will be revisited and successful? >> i think republicans feel an imperative or an opening to do something on immigration and get credit for it. that's something they need to do if they want to win in 2016. i think you'll see the argument flare is over the idea to a path to citizenship. i think it's democrats to have to decide whether or not they're willing to do a major immigration bill that doesn't include that. i think many of the advocacy groups will object. >> your favorite campaign to follow this election cycle and why?

>> i have to say i liked georgia at the end. i thought michelle nunn was one of the most interesting candidates. we got to take a trip to alaska that was hard to top. >> great reflections. fantastic job as you chris crossed the country and stuck them with some heart questions. >> it doesn't sound like they should be so difficult. kay hagan's loss to tom tillis. one of the most devastating of the night for democrats. we go live. plus the gop's path to power. michael steel joins us to explain what republicans did right and the pressure now on his party to do something big in the future. don't go anywhere this special edition of "way too early" continues after a quick break. >> thanks to all of you, we're heading to washington! and we are going to make them

squeal!

marijuana was a big issue in this election. there's been some questions like do you support the legalization

for medical recreational -- might be too confusing to people who smoke marijuana. as a result they are wording it in ways that are easier to understand. i'll show you what i mean. in oregon they asked would you ever wrap a burrito in a pizza? in a alaska they say have you ever put a slayer cassette to teddy to freak out your little brother. in washington, d.c., they ask have you ever worn cargo shorts to a funeral. we'll get the right answer. jimmy fallon may be joking about it but it was a serious issue in this cycle. voters in washington, d.c., approved legalized recreational marijuana it's looking likely it will happen in alaska. and the other thing to watch is minimum wage. illinois could be next. joining me now is the reporter

for the new york times. an upshot and the msnbc contributor. a man has been up almost consistently over the past 24 hours. >> roughly, yes. >> we'll make it very easy and talk about what happened in the states. marijuana are you surprised by the results or is it following the trend where our social consciousness is going? >> i'm not surprised. the results are similar to what we saw in 2012 which are narrow victories in the states. a few points over 50%. there was a big victory in washington, d.c., which sort of makes sense. it's a more liberal urban jurisdiction. it's a shift in the electorate over the last decade or so with a big shift in favor of marijuana legalization especially among younger voters. i think the trend is continuing we're likely it see ballot measures in 2016 in larger states including california. it's setting up a shut out with the federal government. even though marijuana is legal in the state it's prohibited by federal law. you have the uneasy tension between the two levels of government that will have to be

resolved. >> we look at it from a money making prospect how seriously do you think the federal government will take it as it starts to use the test case states as labs? >> yeah, i think the tax revenue is a little more attractive to state governments and the federal government states needing to balance their budgets every year have been hungry for tax sources that are not income tax, sales tax, things people find very unpopular. in colorado it's falling short of the revenue projections because colorado has medical marijuana alongside recreational marijuana. a lot of people are going out there with the medical cards including some people who don't have a real medical need but they like the lower price. >> let's say what most americans were the biggest factor in how their vote will be cast. that's about the economy. when we see minimum wage measures passed in alaska, arkansas, and a nonbinding issue in illinois. how big are the increases across the states. are most of those indexed in

over the year trying to compete with inflation? >> foof the four that passed tw will not. these ballot measures take it from $8.50 to $9.75 that's in alaska. what the measures demonstrated even though republicans are tend odd oppose minimum wage increases the proposals are popular all over the country as long as they go to the moderate levels under $10. you can pass them even in red states. they didn't just win in the four states. everywhere in south dakota they won by wide margins. in is an issue where democrats have a popular position. but it didn't translate into election victories. republicans picked up seats in the arkansas legislature. even though they were the ones that it had to go to ballot in the first place. >> thank you. thank you for staying up. still ahead as we continue to piece together the results of last night's election as the gop

has taken the senate. we'll talk about what it means for the forecast leading up to 2016. plus, the wisconsin survivor. governor scott walker wins his third election in just four years. can he ride the wave all the way to the white house? some people will think it's possible. we'll see. we're back with more after this. tonight he improves the tight the comeback kid. projected winner for united states elected term.