g. eliquis may increase your bleeding risk if you take certain medicines. tell your doctor about all planned medical or dental procedures. eliquis, the number one cardiologist-prescribed blood thinner. ask your doctor if eliquis is what's next for you. ♪ welcome to "kasie dc." we're live every sunday from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. eastern. tonight we're joining you from 30 rockefeller center in new york city on the eve of the midterms. i spent the last week all over the country in tennessee, iowa, wisconsin and missouri. some of the hardest fought ground across the midterm map. joining me tonight, a first class group of reporters and analysts to explain as best they can the remarkable week ahead for us and the races in play. first, it's an exciting night here at "kasie dc." if you've watched the show over

the last year, we live and breathe the midterm elections. at this time tuesday, the first polls will be close peri. at this hour, the president is to speak in tennessee. we've never known more about our politics and in some ways never known less about what's about to happen. people everywhere will try to see within the outcome just how tribal our politics are. and wonder whether candidates campaign as themselves without the shadow of the president hanging over them. it comes with converging forces. a controversial president who has transformed his party and who is watching his popularity rise after confirming his second supreme court justice. a booming economy. but with massive growi iviv ivi and storm clouds on the horizon. already nearly 35 million people have voted. in some major counties in texas, they're showing up at pace nearly even with the 2016 presidential election.

in some places like georgia and north dakota, there are shadows of doubt surrounding the most american of activities. voting. we also have brand-new polling from nbc news and "the wall street journal" showing 59% of americans want serious change to the direction the president has been leading the country. and 40% a plurality say their vote is intended to show opposition. and yet in the wake of the 2016 elections, no one can be sure just who is going to cast a ballot and who is going to stay home. if you need further proof that we are on the brink of electio s s, reporters are standing on tractors. vaughn hillyard, call your mom with that. with me, white house reporter jonathan lemere, nbc news contributor dave wasserman. and in washington, correspondent for pbs news hour contributor

yamiche alsindor. thank you for being here to kick off what's going to be an historic week. dave wasserman, you live and breathe specifically races in the house of representatives which is going to be our big story on tuesday night. whether or not democrats will take control. and if so, how wide that is margin going to be? and my first question for you is, make us a little smarter. what are you looking for right now that perhaps we've missed in all of this? >> i think fundamentally a couple things have happened in the last month or so. we've seen the enthusiasm gap narrow for democrats as republicans have come home. surprise, it turns out that these cultural touchstones like the migrant caravan and the kavanaugh fight are better suited for motivating the trump base than tax cuts, which fell flat in a lot of the special elections earlier this year. but at the same time, republicans are really freaking out about independent voters. they think that they're going for democrats by as big a margin as perhaps they would for them in 2006 or how they went for republicans in 2010 the last two

times the house flipped control. and we're seeing a lot of these races in middle class suburbs. in addition to the upscale suburbs finally start to break towards democrats. places like the detroit suburbs. des moines, iowa. the outer suburbs of chicago where districts are suddenly in more jeopardy. >> jonathan lemire, you'll be with president trump in the final stretch of the campaign. how would you say that the white house is feeling right now about how the president has handled the last couple of weeks and the outcome they may be headed for. >> i'll be with part of the press pool tomorrow travel with the prot air force one as he completes the campaign blitz. ohio, indiana and missouri tomorrow. he, today said what the white house has been privately saying for a while. they feel pretty good about the senate. they feel the republicans will be able to keep that. they might even pick up a seat or two is their hope and expectation. they're distancie ining themsel. the president has started to distance themselves from the result they expect to get in the

house. >> he told us two weeks ago, we asked if he'd bear any responsibility if the republicans were to lose the house. would he take that moment like president obama did and said it was a shellacking. he made it clear he would not. that was not going to be his move whatsoever. and then today he sort of suggested. and the campaign travel schedule has borne this out. he's been barnstorming a handful of governors races but there's a growing resignation in the west ring fd for the president himself suggesting that we'll do okay in the house but really the senate has been my game. that's where i think we'll do well. expect him if the republicans hang on to that chamber, he will be happy to take all the credit. >> the strategy that he's running in the senate states has the complete opposite impact in des moines and chicago and all these places. yamish what role do, you know, the turnout among women and minorities in particular play here? what are we seeing in some of

those numbers that could suggest that, you know, this may be a blue wave for democrats or are we potentially seeing the opposite? >> well, right now it's really all about turnout. i've been doing stories in west virginia in orange koupcounty i california and in florida. all the democrats that i talk to say they're pushing hard for young people to come out, for people of color to come out. in florida for those newly arrived puerto ricans who came after hurricane maria to come out and vote for democrats. they are hoping that if we see a large number of people turning out and we see large numbers in places like georgia, that will mean democrats are doing well. i have spoken to pollsters who haven't seen the evidence of the blue wave because a lot of people voting early are also republicans. there's this idea that, yes, there's a lot of people who say they prefer democrats, like the poll you just put up. they prefer democrats to be in control of the house but this

idea that the people most reliably to turn out are still older voters, still white voters in a lot place ofs. in a place like florida, the people voting early are usually older retired people and that's making that person nervous. >> our new nbc news/"wall street journal" poll shows democrats with a seven-point lead on the generic congressional ballot. that's a slight improvement from nine weeks ago when they had a nine-point advantaging. top republicans have been telling us all year that the generic needs to be at democrats plus four to democrats plus six for republicans to have any chance of holding on to the house. meanwhile, a new poll from "the washington post" and abc news shows that 78% of voters say health care is an important issue for them when it comes to their vote. according to that poll, the economy reducing divisions between people and groups, immigration, taxes and border security will also loom large in voters' minds come tuesday. as i mentioned before, i spent my week in different states across the country asking voters

and candidates what matters to them. take a look. what's your top issue in the midterm elections? >> health care coverage. >> corruption. health care is another big one. >> health care is huge. that's huge. >> the top issue is health care. >> what's the issue top of mind for you? >> well, the immigration for one thing. >> i think right now that's the hot-button is immigration. >> immigration. >> government accountability. >> is it immigration or health care? >> i think overwhelmingly, it's health care. >> so you saw there a little bit of a split between -- i want to -- we didn't tell our viewers who or which party any of those voters came from, but i have to say that even among republicans, and you saw republican candidate there david young of iowa. when i asked him the top issue, he did not say immigration, which, if you listen to the president, you might expect a republican candidate to say. instead he pivoted away and said government accountability. that said perhaps the corruption message is breaking through a

little bit for democrats. but i have to say, health care seemed to cross party lines as an issue of concern. >> yeah, absolutely. you found this in your travels. but we spend, with all due respect to this network, we spend a lot of time talking about trump's latest tweets. that's not what democratic candidates have gained traction on this cycle. they've gained traction on talking about pre-existing conditions and the republican efforts to repeal the aca. there's an added element of tariffs, too. on trade, david young, that republican congressman, has been at odds with president trump on tariffs. in a district that produces a lot of corn, soybeans and pork. and yet, all democrats have to do is say that he's voted with president trump x percent of the time, over 90% of the time and those democratic candidates are tending to break through. right now it looks like he's going to lose. >> jonathan lemire, jump in. >> but yet that's not what we're hearing from the white house. the president has made it clear

that immigration is his closing argument. he feels like that is what carried him over the finish line in 2016. he thinks that can happen now for the republicans in 2018. and it's day after day of just throwing stuff up against the wall. the latest sort of dramatic escalation of this hard-line immigration policy, whether it's suggesting he might send 15,000 troops to the border, whether it's describing the caravan as full of terrorists, you know, to perhaps even revoking birthright citizenship. day after day. that includes not just proposals but rhetoric. he promoted this ad this week with the guy convicted of killing two police officers in california. >> an ad that we're not going to show. >> it can only be described as racist. he promoted it on his twitter page. and the campaign it was put out on the web and then the campaign, donald trump's re-election campaign put out a version of itself as well for television broadcast. that's where he's doubled down on that concept. he believes that's going to push them over and maybe it will play

in the senate. it's these red states, trump states where they're up for election. less so in the suburban house districts. >> have you seen it galvanize the suburban house districts? >> there's mixed evidence. we're seeing some comcoebacks a consolidation. some have been targets all year. downstate illinois, the iron range, lexington, kentucky, perhaps, but in northern maine, a district that trump broke through in in 2016 and carried that lone electoral college vote. he's still in trouble against a veteran named jerod golden. races are breaking in strange ways and i think that produces a wide range of possible outcomes, but i think the most likely outcome is democrats gaining the house. >> we've been trying to put our fing or what is driving interest for candidates and voters. i was in tennessee and spoke with democratic senate candidate

bredesen. he said this is what his voters care about most. what issue is most important to tennessee voters? immigration or health care? >> i think overwhelmingly, it's health care. you know, by the nature of my campaign, i've talked to a lot of people who voted for donald trump. he won the state by 26 points. and the number of times that health care comes up in discussions compared to immigration, it has to be 50 to 1. >> and then there's republican scott walker who is asking wisconsin voters to give him a third term as governor. listen to what he had to say when i asked him about immigration policy. >> the president is closing out the midterm campaign broadly with an ad that features a mexican who he says killed americans. he ties it to democrats and the migrant caravan. do you think that tone at the close of this race is going to help your campaign? >> the focus for us here in wisconsin is on our message to the voters which is we've come a

long way together. we've turned this state around. we've got more people working than ever before. put more money, more dollars into schools than before. we've tackled the problems with health care. we did it while still protecting people with pre-existing conditions. >> that was a remarkable exercise in not answering the question and pivot away to an issue that -- any issue other than immigration. >> i think the other thing that's really interesting there is it's also an exercise in taking credit for pre-existing conditions which was at one point a democratic rallying cry. they had to make sure people with pre-existing conditions, including people with diabetes or people who are just women don't have to pay more for health insurance. if i have to go back to my own reporting i think about an emt worker i spoke to. he's a republican living in west virginia and is voting for the democratic candidate. and he told me as someone who literally works in an ambulance every day, he can't afford health care and knows only eight hours in a hospital would wreck his family for months.

there are a lot of people that i talk to who said health care is such a personal thing for them and something they now think that democrats can just do better because of the affordable care act. it's now popular and people want these things covered. as a result you see even republicans like scott walker saying even though we don't like -- we don't want to talk about obamacare or affordable care act, we want to talk about this pre-existing conditions. we'll definitely protect that for you. >> i am just stunned at how the rhetoric on pre-existing conditions has changed since i first started covering republicans on repeal and replace obamacare. now it's immediately, i have a family with pre-existing conditions. it's been a remarkable switch for republicans. we're just getting started tonight. later we'll be joined by dnc chairman tom perez, congressman carbella, steve kornacki and jake sherman and so many more. plus we'll look at two pick-up opportunities for democrats. more on my interview with phil

bredesen. i asked him 20 straight questions about taylor swift, obviously. and jackie rosen tries to unseat dean heller in nevada. we're back after this. checkout is at 4pm. plenty of time to enjoy your ride. (bicycle bell sound) ♪ ♪ (bicycle bell sound) ♪ ♪ (bicycle bell sound) ♪ ♪ explore more with a guaranteed 4pm checkout at over 1,000 fine hotels and resorts. it's another way we've got your back. ♪ ♪ the platinum card from american express. don't live life without it.

the pressure cooker that crisps. it's the best of pressure cooking and air frying all in one so in as little as 30 minutes it will be crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside, and on your table. the ninja foodi, the pressure cooker that crisps. when the guy in frontd down the highway on the outside, juicy on the inside, and on your table. slams on his brakes out of nowhere. you do, too, but not in time. hey, no big deal. you've got a good record and liberty mutual won't hold a grudge by raising your rates over one mistake. you hear that, karen? liberty mutual doesn't hold grudges...

how mature of them. for drivers with accident forgiveness liberty mutual won't raise their rates because of their first accident. liberty mutual insurance. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty ♪ unstopand it's strengthenedting place, the by xfi pods,gateway. which plug in to extend the wifi even farther, past anything that stands in its way.

...well almost anything. leave no room behind with xfi pods. simple. easy. awesome. click or visit a retail store today. ♪ i'm vaughn hillyard in prescott, arizona. it was these steps where barry

goldwater in 1964 announced his presidential bid. this was also a place, a county that donald trump won by 30 percentage points in 2016. and a place that martha mcsalley will need to rely on high voter turnout in order to pull out a victory on tuesday. she campaigned in prescott today and it's going to be these steps she campaigns tomorrow night in her last event before polls open on tuesday. >> vaughn hillyard there in prescott, arizona, covering a senate race getting its fair share of national attention. but it is nothing compared to what we've seen in texas. beto o'rourke and ted cruz have been criss-crossing the state ahead of election day. like in so many races across the country, the issue of immigration has been a constant source of tension. garrett haake has been all over the great state of texas covering ted cruz and beto o'rourke and joins me now live. garrett, i watched you on "meet the press" this morning answering chuck todd's question

and i want to share with our viewers a little bit of the flavor that you offered from the ground in texas. everyone is just wondering, is this beto thing a fad, an obsession that matters more in los angeles and new york, or does he really have a shot at winning in texas? >> well, i guess we'll know if it's a fad by wednesday morning but it certainly feels like a real thing on the ground. i've been calling this the beto paradox. it's keeping me awake at night. i cannot square what i see in the polls which say consistent lead for ted cruz across all the polling in this race with what i see on the ground in terms of enthusiasm and energy for beto o'rourke. i don't want to overstate this but it really does feel like covering a presidential campaign. he'll have crowds in the high hundreds, low thousands at some of these events. a crowd in austin today of several thousand. and they really do treat him like a rock star. he has to be dragged back and forth sometimes from the car by an aide to make sure he can move through the crowd.

that enthusiasm for a democrat in texas is just unheard of. i grew up down here. this is just not how these kinds of races are expected to play out. so i've been trying to figure out sort of what they can do with this. how do they turn this enthusiasm in places like austin, in places like san antonio where i am right now into an actual voting advantage. and really today in austin was the first time that i heard o'rourke make a very explicit call to action from his supporters. here's what he told the crowd in austin this afternoon. >> over the next 54 hours, i'm asking you to give me every waking moment of your life. if you really want to win this, given what's at stake, given what's on the line, given the judgment of the people of the future, our kids, our grandkids, our conscience, let's make sure that when they look back on us they do so with pride.

>> so placing the stakes of this race in pretty dramatic terms. the event here tonight he said utsa students ought to skip class tomorrow and tuesday if they need to to make sure they can do everything they can to get out the vote. there's no math for a regular democratic campaign to win in texas statewide just yet. demographics might change. o'rourke has to get a whole bunch of voters who have never voted before, who have never consistently come out in midterms to come to his cause or else this could be a short night in texas on tuesday. we don't know if that coalition exists yet. that's the bottom line. >> fascinating, garrett. i'm jealous you've gotten to spend so much time down there. we should let everyone know we're watching the president of the united states about to take the stage here in chattanooga, tennessee, one of his final rallies ahead of tuesday's voting. i think that's lee greenwood who had been making some in-person appearances on the final stretch here. but, garrett, i also want to come back to you on another race

that you were covering ef ining on. that's that close senate contest. dean heller often considered the most vulnerable republican incumbent on defense this cycle. you spoke to, i understand, his opponent. what did you learn? >> yeah, this is like the opposite stylistic race from what we've seen here in texas. two candidates hughing very closely to the middle of the road to try to fight over the senate. i talked to jackie rosen. her win in 2016 from the house was her first political win of any kind. her first race of any kind. and now she's got really the hopes of the democratic party resting on her shoulders in that race. so the first question i asked her was, does she feel that pressure? if democrats are going to take back the senate, you have to win. >> i have to win.

i'm going to win. >> do you feel that pressure? >> i feel excited. and i'm going to tell you why. i have outraced senator heller for five quarters in a row. this last quarter, i outraised him by $5 million. >> what does that tell you? >> it tells me i have the momentum behind me. >> that political bravado doesn't come naturally for jacky rosen. a former computer programmer, synagogue president and a mom, her house race was her first political race ever. declaring for the senate the very next year, she was quickly given a derisive presidential nickname. >> a vote for wacky jacky is a vote to hand control of congress to nancy pelosi, cry inchuck schumer. >> you seem much less wacky than the president would have you believe. >> i like to think so. >> what has it been like to draw the president's attention in that way? >> i try not to think about it. i try to keep my head down here in nevada and talk to people.

>> some critics argue rosen may be doing too good of a job keeping her head down. her low-key style failing to ignite the democratic base. the democratic i've heard of you is that you're kind of boring. is this sort of like meat and potatoes politics what nevadans want? >> i think that's their narrative. anyone that knows me doesn't think that. i work hard. >> john rolsten says rosen herself doesn't have to fire up the liberal base. >> donald trump is on the ballot by proxy. they're energized to turn out. and dean heller has helped because he's taken every position under the sun. i'm repealing obamacare, for it, against it, for it before he was against it. that's helped energize people, too. >> kasie, another contrast to this texas race. rosen has had every major democratic surgas possible out there helping her gin up that excitement. also that powerful culinary union driving votes for her in

nevada. if either one of these two candidates wins on tuesday it will tell us a lot about what works for democrats in the age of donald trump. >> garrett haake, thank you so much. really preerkappreciate your reg tonight. we'll be watching beto o'rourke in texas. still to come, we'll talk about wild accusations in the georgia governors race. join rachel maddow and brian williams for special coverage of the midterms live tonight starting at 9:00 p.m. eastern here on msnbc. we're back after this. got directions to the nightclub here. and if you get lost, just hit me on the old horn. man: tom's my best friend, but ever since he bought a new house... tom: it's a $10 cover? oh, okay. didn't see that on the website. he's been acting more and more like his dad. come on, guys! jump in!

the water's fine! tom pritchard. how we doin'? hi, there. tom pritchard. can we get a round of jalapeño poppers for me and the boys, please? i've been saving a lot of money with progressive lately, so... progressive can't protect you from becoming your parents. but we can protect your home and auto when you bundle with us. buback pain can't win. your home and auto now introducing aleve back and muscle pain. only aleve targets tough pain for up to 12 hours with just one pill. aleve back & muscle. all day strong. all day long. i'm ray and i quit smoking with chantix. i tried to quit smoking for years on my own. i couldn't do it. i needed help. for me, chantix worked. it did. chantix, along with support, helps you quit smoking. chantix, without a doubt, reduced my urge to smoke. when you try to quit smoking, with or without chantix, you may have nicotine withdrawal symptoms. some people had changes in behavior or thinking, aggression, hostility, agitation, depressed mood,

or suicidal thoughts or actions with chantix. serious side effects may include seizures, new or worse heart or blood vessel problems, sleepwalking or allergic and skin reactions which can be life-threatening. stop chantix and get help right away if you have any of these. tell your healthcare provider if you've had depression or other mental health problems. decrease alcohol use while taking chantix. use caution when driving or operating machinery. the most common side effect is nausea. i don't think about cigarettes anymore. talk to your doctor about chantix. i don't think about cigarettes anymore. shaquem get in here. take your razor, yup. alright, up and down, never side to side, shaquem. you got it? come on, get back. quem, you a second behind your brother, stay focused.

can't nobody beat you, can't nobody beat you. hard work baby, it gonna pay off. you got this. with the one hundred and forty-first pick, the seattle seahawks select. alright, you got it, shaquem. alright, let me see.

today georgia's secretary of state and republican gubernatorial candidate brian kemp opened an investigation into the state's democratic party over what his office describes as a failed cyberattack. kemp alleges hackers tried to infiltrate the voter registration system and the fbi and department of homeland security have been alerted. since then his office has offered no other evidence or corroborating evidence of this claim. the georgia democratic party released a full-throated denial of the claims. kemp's opponent, stacey abrams, also weighed in this morning.

>> this is a desperate attempt on the part of my opponent to distract people from the fact that two different federal judges found him derelict of his duties and forced him to allow absentee ballots to be counted and he is desperate to turn the conversation away from his failures, from his refusal to honor his commitments and from the fact that he's part of a nationwide system of voter suppression that will not work in this election. >> this afternoon, kemp hit the stump in macon, georgia, where he welcomed one of his biggest supporters. president trump. and while neither made mention of the alleged hacking, the president used the opportunity to take aim at kemp's opponents. >> stacey abrams is one of the most extreme far left politicians in the entire country. you know that. she supports a socialist takeover of health care which means you will never be able to see your doctor, just like the

vets never got to see their doctor. you put stacey in there, and you're going to have georgia turn in to venezuela. i don't think the people of georgia like that. she wants to end the death penalty. for even the most vicious and ruthless killers. stacey abrams wants to turn your wonderful state into a giant sanctuary city for criminal aliens. and stacey abrams wants illegal aliens to vote. joining me is president and ceo of the national urban league and former mayor of new orleans. and in atlanta, the great, the one and only, my friend kat katy tur. thank you for being here. i'm going to come back to you because i want your take on the first trump rally you've been to in a while. mark, we haven't touched yet on what's going to in georgia and the fact that brian kemp, the secretary of state, who has charged with overseeing his own

election, has leveled this sort of last-minute charge without actually having anything out there to back it up. >> it's a cheap last-minute political stunt that people who feel they are going to lose pull in an election. and i think stacey abrams is right. he's trying to distract from the fact that he's been involved in just a conflict of interest from day one. he should have recused himself as secretary of state while he's a candidate for governor. he's tried to use his office to continue this awful scourge of voter suppression. this is interesting. we were in georgia. the national urban league was working on getting out the vote and watch georgia and watch the millennial and gen-z vote. watch the votes of young women. this race is a race where there may be a realignment with voters who have not voted. there's always been a large number, particularly of african-americans, in georgia who are not registered. in atlanta who are not

registered. and stacey abrams, i believe, has motivated them in a very special way. >> do you think the efforts that many say have been focused on suppressing the vote, brian kemp's office using this, you know, what had been outlawed, this technique of matching signatures and court had previously said he couldn't do that. it's resulted in some ballots being thrown out. do you think it's enough to change the outcome of this race? >> i think those efforts are angering people all over the country. the idea that now we're connecting all of the dots since 2013. all of the efforts. sophisticated and crass and crude to, if you will, suppress the vote. what it is doing, it is motivating people to turn out. it's motivating people to vote. and i think that, for him, at this stage to say there was a hacking incident and not put the evidence out there is just a

cheap last-minute desperate attempt. >> katy tur, you are in georgia on the product. what are you picking up on the ground in this race? this would be a pretty stunning display by stacey abrams if she pulls this out, as somebody who has run as an unapol jettic progressive democrat should be the first african-american woman elected as governor. and i also am curious, your take on what your -- what you saw at the trump rallies that you have been going to after having seen so many of them in 2016. what's changed and what's the same? >> i'll get to the trump rally in a second. i will note, though, before we get anywhere that neither donald trump nor brian kemp brought up this investigation tonight in macon, georgia, which i thought was interesting since those allegations came out this morning. i also thought it was interesting this morning on brian kemp's twitter page, and it's basically been a milk toast

get out the vote effort, not much opinion, not much in the way of controversial tweets. this morning he tweeted about the new black panther party saying that they support stacey abrams and claiming that people who want to kill white people and areanti-y sematic support stacey abrams. when you talk to georgians on the whole you get the sense a lot of them feel this is a close race. there's a decimal point difference between brian kemp and stacey abrams right now. the expectation is that this is going to go into a run-off. that's why the other night at the rally that she did with president obama, it was all about going out and voting. the same thing when oprah took the stage. going out and voting. honoring the legacy of those who came before you. the fight that they had to ensure, specifically that

african-americans had the right to vote. john lewis was up on stage with stacey abrams on friday. and he talked about how he spilled blood on that bridge in selma. and he's not asking anyone to spill any blood. he's just asking them to go out and vote. so it's going to be about african-american turnout. whether they have problems at the polls. there's all those allegations and worries about voter suppression. but beyond that, it's going to come down to the female vote here in georgia. do women, maybe women who have supported republicans in the past, do they break from that and do they vote for stacey abrams? are they turned off by the immigration rhetoric, the hard-line rhetoric the republicans in general have been putting out there. and it's notable that brian kemp who won the primary with an ad that talked about rounding up illegals in his own truck, words that he used, it's not an ad he's been running in the general election. it's something he's seemed to shy away from in the general.

on to the trump rally, kasie, it's the first trump rally i've been to in two years. two years. and it felt honestly like i was walking back in time. like i had taken a time machine back to 2016. very little has changed. the voters, they sound exactly like they did in 2016. they are just as enthusiastic about donald trump as they were. donald trump took the stage and hit a lot of the same points. he went on an extended rift about the media and how we don't turn our cameras, even as cameras were actually being turned. he talked about the radical left and how the left is going to try and take your rights away and take your second amendment away. kasie, the playlist at the rally was exactly the same as it was in 2016. i heard tiny dancer on loop again. i heard backstreet boys "i want it that way" again. it's remarkable and goes to show you.

12,000 people showed up to this thing. it goes to show you that donald trump's message among those who like him is still very much resonating. and i think what you'll see on tuesday is we're going to find out, does this country, and depending on which way the votes go in each of the states, does this country look more like a donald trump rally or does it look more like a president obama rally? i think that's going to be a real indicator, whatever way it breaks on tuesday. >> for sure. dave wasserman, it seems the question is, well, is -- for as much as we saw the excitement around president trump in 2016 and the rallies had the energy, whether or not the energy on the democratic side is exceeding what we're seeing there. >> yeah, that's right. look, in georgia, remember john oshoff, remember the $40 million that democrats spent on that district? well, now it's stacey abrams at the top of the ballot. she may not win statewide. it's a very close race. but she may help carry a democrat over the top against karen handle in the northern atlanta suburbs because that's

the type of place where she's overperforming relative to past democrats. >> and really quickly, you -- we were listening to garrett haake report on texas. what's your sense on whether beto has a chance here? >> i just crunched the numbers on texas' early voting. it's almost at 2016 levels. but the top two counties in texas reports -- the high -- the biggest 15 counties early voting stats. the top two counties on pace for 2016, dallas and travis counties which are both african-americans and left trending. but left trending white voters, especially in austin. the two bottom counties, hidalgo and cameron in the rio grande rallies, the most hispanic large counties. it doesn't suggest who is going to win this race, but it does suggest if beto is to win, he's going to need to overperform massively with suburban its because he can't necessarily count on the same enthusiasm. >> so potentially white

progressives. thank you all so much for being on tonight. still to come, we're going to talk to republican congressman carlos kerbelo about a rare moment of unity in a time of incivility. "kasie dc" back after this. need a change of scenery? kayak compares hundreds of travel and airline sites so you can be confident you're getting the right flight at the best price. cheers!

kayak. search one and done. alice loves the smell of gain so much, she wished it came in a fabric softener too. [throat clears] say hello to your fairy godmother, alice. oh and look they got gain scent beads and dryer sheets too! opportunlike here.rywhere. and here. see? opportunity. ev-er-y-where. about to be parents. meeting the parents. and this driver, logging out to watch his kid hit one out of the... (bat hits ball) opportunity is everywhere. all you have to do to find it is get out...here. ♪

why didn't you book your on a travel site?on at hilton.com, i get the price match guarantee. and i can choose from their 14 different hotel brands, so i get the right hotel for every member of my family. like a doubletree for my cousins who love their warm chocolate chip cookies. a homewood suites for my uncle who likes a long stay. a hampton for my sister and her kids. that's a lot of syrup and the waldorf astoria beverly hills for me. but i thought your family vacation was in miami? it is. i hear they're having a great time. book at hilton.com and get the hilton price match guarantee. if you find a lower rate, we match it and give you 25% off that stay. on the new sleep number 360 smart bed. it senses your movement and automatically adjusts to keep you both comfortable. and now, the queen sleep number 360 c4 smart bed is only $1299. plus 24-month financing on all beds. only for a limited time. ( ♪ ) everybody wants a new, different, better world. here's to the people who do what it takes to build it...

to keep it running. the people who understand no matter what the question, the obstacle or the challenge, there's only one answer... let's do the work. (engine starts, hums) this week, there was a breath of fresh air in what's

been a toxic midterm election season. last week carlos curbelo received a death threat from a 19-year-old constituent via twitter. the suspect was arrested the next day. you may be surprised at what you're seeing on your screen right now. that's curbelo this week standing next to the man who threatened his life. the two held a news conference together during which curbelo said the young man had apologized. >> i'm grateful to him for being willing to not just learn a lesson himself but to stand with me here today. now it could possibly turn into something positive, an example of how this society can heal, can reconcile and a reminder that this type of speech really has no place in our society. >> joining me is congressman carlos curbelo who has asked the state to drop all the charges against that man. congressman, it's great to see you. thanks for being on the show.

>> good evening from miami. good to be with you. >> so that was the opposite scene of what i have heard so many times over and over and over again from you and your colleagues, which is that these threats have reached new levels over the course of the last couple of years. that's really a demonstration that perhaps we can move past that. how much hope do you have that this can be something that's broader or are politics destined to be stuck in this incivil place where people are threatening violence and each other's lives? >> kasie, i have a lot of hope because most of the people who are speaking in these terms, who are saying hateful things, are like this young man. like pierre alejandro. people who don't really mean it. there are just things going on in their lives. our culture has been so toxic, they feel it's okay to say these things. this young marngs dn, did he ha intention of doing this or was

he just seeking attention? they thought it was the latter. i said let me sit down with him and see if we can make this something positive. i didn't want this young man's, the rest of his life to be ruined with a felony charge. but i think it's an example hough we can start healing in this country, rather than dehumanizing, discarding the people who attack us who say mean and nasty things to us. let's try to have a conversation with them. >> how much responsibility do you think president trump bears for this change in our discourse for the worst? >> oh, he's certainly contributed to this. he has certainly contributed to this. but, kasie, it's a mistake to think that this is all his fault. we all have to look in the mirror. that means all the politicians. that means members of the media. of course, it means every single american because we all contributed to what we're living in our country today. all these rallies i'm watching, whether it's trump or obama, i don't think this is good. i think we need more

conversations, more dialogue in our country and fewer rallies. >> with all due respect, president trump's rhetoric is distinctly different from president obama's in this context. >> no question. no question. and i said that from the start that he certainly is responsible, in part, for all of this. but all of these rallies, whether they're trump's or anyone else's, all they do is highlight our differences. no one is out there saying how are we going to bring different people in this country together, republicans, democrats, independents, to sit at the table, compromise. no, we're not going to agree on every issue. of course not. but figure out where we can meet in the middle. that conversation isn't had at these rallies. these rallies are about putting other people down, dividing the country and turning out bases. and that's the kind of politics that has us in this mess. >> let me pick up on that because your race, one of the closest in the country, south florida. your district heavily hispanic, of course.

the president's rhetoric in the final weeks of this race is to focus on the migrant caravan that he talks about. he paints it as a threat to this country. is the way the president is closing this race, is that what is making your race harder in these final days? >> no, kasie, because my community knows me, and they know my record on immigration and they know how hard i've fought for immigration compromises in congress. now i regret what the president is doing. i think it's wrong. it's part of the divide and conquer strategy that he and other politicians have used for a long time. and in the short term, this, obviously, it worked out for him in 2016. it's worked out for others. but in the long term, if we continue dividing this country, if we continue portraying people who disagree with us as the enemy, we are all going to lose. my family came from a country where politics became violent, where people started dehumanizing each other. they lost their democracy and eventually they had to leave. and they made america home and

thank god for this generous country. but, no, the president should not be out there trying to pit one group of americans against another. he should be trying to unite this country. all of us have a responsibility in doing that, but responsibili in doing that but especially the president, any president. >> what do you say to americans who are about to cast their ballots in this midterm e llectn and they watched what you and your party have done and they say i have no evidence sending a republican back to washington will ultimately change the behavior of this president. what do you say to those voters? >> i think that every american has the right and the duty to choose the best candidate in every race, and for me, choosing the best candidate in every race this year means asking oneself who is going to help heal our politics? who is going to make sure republicans and democrats can work together? i was watching you and your colleagues on the nbc network

this morning and the nbc "wall street journal" poll shows republicans, democrats, independents, one of the few things they have in common is they want politicians to work together, to do their jobs, to get things done for the american people. so in every race, i think people should put party aside and figure out who is the candidate that is going to be able to achieve that for this country because that's what we desperately need. >> congressman carlos curbelo, thanks for that. "kasie d.c." returns live from new york after this. enjoy your ride. (bicycle bell sound) ♪ ♪ (bicycle bell sound) ♪ ♪ (bicycle bell sound) ♪ ♪ explore more with a guaranteed 4pm checkout at over 1,000 fine hotels and resorts. it's another way we've got your back. ♪ ♪ the platinum card from american express.

don't live life without it.

the full value oft wyour new car? you'd be better off throwing your money right into the harbor. i'm gonna regret that. with liberty mutual new car replacement we'll replace the full value of your car.

♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty ♪ vo: costs are rising.e squeeze. it's hard to keep up. in washington, one party is calling the shots and the middle class isn't being heard. we need a new congress that will cut taxes for the middle class, ensure coverage for people with pre-existing conditions, and protect social security and medicare. vote for a democratic congress; for an economy that works for everyone. independence usa pac is responsible for the content of this advertising. if these packs have the same number of bladder leak pads, i bet you think bigger is better. actually, it's bulkier. always discreet quickly turns liquid to gel, for drier protection that's a lot less bulky. always discreet.

so we've talked about some of the most important issues during this election cycle, health care, immigration, apartapar apartapa apparently axes. a real ax to show the point she's making about axes taxes. democratic senator joe donnelly locked in a tight race in indiana actually put his ax to use in a recent campaign ad. >> for the most part, i'm an easy going guy but not when mike

brawn keeps lying about my record. i split with my own party to support funding for trump's border wall. >> that moment, of course, bears a striking resemblance to a fictional ad from a show you may have seen. >> resident salina myer thinks she can chop our pros paperity,r dignity and stature around the world. well, someone is chopping back. >> yet another way in which real life is imitation and republican candidate for governor in georgia brian kemp who campaigned with president trump. >> i have one more charge for you. one more charge. as we leave you. keep working. keep chopping that wood. let's hunker it down one more time and bring home a big win on tuesday. thank you and god bless you. >> okay. in our next hour, steve kornacki, greg sherman, maria

kumar join me and phil on the rocky path to flipping a tennessee senate seat to red and the kasie dvr. our producers watch the sunday shows so you don't have to. a packed show coming up next.

(door bell rings) it's open! hey. this is amazing. with moderate to severe ulcerative colitis, are you okay? even when i was there, i never knew when my symptoms would keep us apart. so i talked to my doctor about humira. i learned humira can help get, and keep uc under control when other medications haven't worked well enough. and it helps people achieve control that lasts. so you can experience few or no symptoms. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened; as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. before treatment, get tested for tb. tell your doctor if you've been to areas where certain fungal infections are common, and if you've had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flu-like symptoms or sores. don't start humira if you have an infection. be there for you, and them. ask your gastroenterologist about humira. with humira, control is possible.

big corporations are making and just got a huge tax break. but the middle class is struggling. prop c is a common-sense plan. the top 1% of businesses pay their fair share to tackle homelessness for all of us.

companies with revenue greater than $50 million pay, not small businesses or homeowners. the prop c plan is supported by the democratic party, nancy pelosi & dianne feinstein vote "yes" on c. big corporations pay for it, not you. less than 48 hours, we got two days to go.

>> what is shaping up to be the most consequential in years. >> the president ran a controversial ad this week and tweeted out this racially charged video blaming that on democrats. >> what was the message of that ad? >> the point is the president is a problem solver. >> it's inaccurate and racially insensitive. you don't have any issue with that? >> i have an issue with our immigration system, democrats, again, want time to the table. democrats refused to work with this president. where are the democrats? >> was this president of the united states the democrats' fault? >> it's a system failure. >> the 2018 midterm campaign reached the end game. >> the stakes are enormous for both parties. the. >> toughest political map in 60 years. >> we had our work cut out. >> the map looks good. >> we made great progress. >> never, ever, nobody should

count heidi out. >> the hangover will be bad. >> everything comes down to turnout. >> it will be a great night. >> welcome back to hour two of "kasie d.c." live in new york. i want to start with a terrific lead. two years of political volatility will costart when th render whether trump is a historic anomaly or reflection of modern day america. as phil tweeted, it is 50 degrees and raining where hundreds of trump supporters are walking three plus miles from their cars to try to get into the airport rally. the lucky few are riding shuttle buses for the last mile and a half. folks are being told the covered viewing space is full. the president has been all over the country and offered this piece of consolation if there is a democratic takeover of congress. >> we will be fighting.

it will be, it will be ridiculous frank ly. it will be bad for the country, the democrats. it could happen, could happen. we're doing very well and really well in the senate but could happen and you know what you do? my whole life, you know what i say? don't worry about it, i'll just figure it out. does that make sense? i'll just figure it out. >> we have the a team here to help us figure it out. steve kornacki and msnbc political analyst and co-host of the words matter pod cast and sha shauna thomas and maria kumar and co-author jake sherman and jake, i'm going to start be you because you and i are so often in the speaker's lobby of the house of representatives together or have been on and off over the course of many years, and we really are looking at

that being the historic potential change on tuesday night. how are your sources in both parties feeling at this stage and how -- what do they expect the margin to be? >> god, it's a tough question. most i'd talked to several senior house republicans today who pretty much all to a person said they believe they will lose the house, and they believe the margin will be something like a five-seat democratic majority, but i mean, there are those still that are holding out hope and one senior republican called me today and said i think we'll keep this and i said you're the on person on planet earth that thinks that. listen, it will be close and i don't think if it's a five-seat democratic majority, that's not a big majority for dell cmocrat when there is going to be presumably in a democratic majority a sizable chunk of democrats who will have nothing, want nothing to do with giving

donald trump victories. is there a chance republicans could take the house but everything has to break their way. there is 20 to 30 seats. most will break republicans way if they keep the house. really tough to tell at this point but you have to if you're a gambling man, which i'm not. you have to put your money on democrats winning a small majority. >> we have a private pool here, one brave soul said republicans will take the house. i guess we'll find out. steve kornacki, while jake was sharing wisdom made his way to the big board. steve, can you walk us through how election night will play out as we get the first early signs and trying to figure out how this will go? >> we spent two years trying to look at the tea leaves and read them for 2018.

when will it actually become real? we got the countdown clock on the screen and two questions, will the democrats take over the house and the outside chance, will the democrats take over the senate? when does that get real? tomorrow night. let's look at the house side. you probably know this number. democrats need the net gain of 23 seats, 23 flips would get them the house. what you see, you heard jake talking about opportunities democrats have and call this the big 66. these are 66 republican held districts. we think these are the 66 best shots democrats have, not the only shots but the best shots democrats have at flipping seats and again, they need a net gain of 23 here to do it. are they on their way? we'll find out at 6:00 eastern. we'll get the first votes in a key house district in kentucky. the sixth district of kentucky. this is a republican held seat. we'll put the map on the screen and zoom in.

should not be blue. it should be gray. democrats would love to see it blue. the democratic votes will come out of lexington, about 40% of the district that will test democratic enthusiasm in a college town, white collar professional, suburban, that kind of thing versus rural area. democrats making roads in trump country. we'll get the first read out in a key house race at 6:00 but then at 7:00, the map will start to open up on the house side. you can see it here along the side panel. look at this, virginia, virginia, virginia, virginia. four republican held seats in virginia starting right outside the washington d.c. suburbs getting to the richmond suburbs to the southern part of the state, virginia beach. republican held seats, democrat haves a shot at all of them. if democrats are getting multiple seats out of virginia and two seats, three seats, four seats out of virginia thanks would start to tell you some kind of wave is on and it will

be more in ever than 23 on the democratic side. if republicans hang on in virginia to three of those or even all four of them, you might say something else is a foot but the early clues i think florida at 7:00, florida, georgia at 7:00. kentucky at 6:00. numbers come in fast and furious after that. >> love having you in person at the big board. you and your reporters are trying to get a read where voters are. where are you on where they are missing as we talk through themes we hit over and over again. are there any surprises 1234. >> california 25, vice news has been following it closely. we have a special episode about that race and one where katy hill is the democrat and it's a district that's red and went for hillary clinton in 2016 and steve knight is pulling pretty

close to katy. he's pulling above katy in this situation and the thing that's interesting is it's tightening not because of the race baiting we're seeing in the race and the immigration conversation, though there is a large latino vote, a gas tax repeal is on the ballot. it is really pocketbook issues seem to be tightening the race. i find it interesting because it's like old school politics to a certain extent, which is nice to see. it's not to say kavanaugh. >> donald trump is not the be all, end all. >> exactly. it's not crazy, right? it's not that kavanaugh didn't have an effect. there was a tightening in the race after that and katy hill is super outspoken about sexual assault issues, but it is really like what affects people who live 40, 50, 60 miles from l.a. and how much they pay for gas. >> obviously. i'm so glad i don't live there. i can't handle the traffic.

let's talk about the vote for a second. this has been really one of the major outstanding questions, democratic hand ringing whether they were doing enough and dave was talking to us about the senate race in texas and how the biggest turnout is in dallas and austin, texas which means suburban white largely progressives whereas a lot of counties under performing are those along the boarder where there are a lot of latino voters. how many received the message voting is urgent? >> 55% of them had not been contacted as of last week but what we're finding is latinos are self-organizing in a really big way. according to target smart, texas itself, the youth vote is up 500%. >> 500%? >> 500%. the latino vote is 200%. if you follow the diagrams, the perfect diagrams, the majority of the young people registering and voting are hispanic, and i think the challenge right now is

texas is the lowest voting state anyway so even though the numbers sound like a surge, it's the very end whether or not the gamble the president is doing on this caravan, whether it will work in texas, arizona or nevada and i can tell you it's not. he says i'll try to mobilize the midwest but you have a lot of independent and modern republicans in texas saying this is something i'm not comfortable with because i understand what immigration means to texas. >> i was going to ask you about that very thing. when you came up in a party that was different at the time than the party of donald trump and when i was out on the campaign trail, i went to an event with scott walker running in wisconsin, paul ryan and their senate candidate up there, not hardly any mention of donald trump of his caravan. when i asked scott walker, he wanted to talk, it seemed, about anything else. >> that's a big question. is scott walker going to pull this out at the end of the day?

is paul ryan's seat going to flip? that's probably unlikely. you see the election so far doesn't seem to be as nationalized as coming into it. i think that the pundit class expected, we just finished up around focus groups across the country with polls and what surprise. it's not the main issue and the voters have a perspective whether to vote for republicans in the district is to support trump. they actuallyfairly divided and see the stagnation if democrats take control of the house as something that motivates them far more than voting in support of donald trump. >> steve kornacki, are there any big surprises you're looking at? there was a story on friday about alaska for anyone that covered congress knows this sort of institution as a way, maybe

at risk. i'm not sure we realize that. are there anythin things you ha your eye on? >> you can do a list on paper, one in southern west virginia, trump won the disvicttrict. trump in 2016 and as a competitive house race. there are some that don't fit the national mold. i think the big question that i'm asking as results come in tomorrow night, it's basically this, the divisions of 2016, the dividing lines that were revealed on election night 2016 in the trump, clinton map are those going to deepen and harden, have they deepened and hardened in the last two years where the only real change we'll see is just the districts already against trump now being against all republicans or are we going to see there is give in that map and that trump country, the democrats are making roads in trump country that places that went obama, obama, trump 2008, '12 and '16 go back to democrats. are we seeing that reversal or

more suburban districts that voted for hillary clinton but reelected republican saying enough with the republicans. >> jake sherman, i want to push ahead quickly just because if in fact the house goes democratic and happens and could happen early in the night and in fact, the reality is if we don't get a call early in the night, chances are much worse overall for democrats but the story will shift quickly to both the leadership fight, will nancy pelosi hold on as speaker of the house? a lot depends on the margin there but also, what is a democratic held congress look like? does it mean for the president and what are the risks of over reach potentially for the democrats if they win? >> a lot to unpack there. i think if democrats win the house, nancy pelosi is very good chance to be speaker. winning heals a lot and pelosi indicated she'll be a transitional speaker. it doesn't mean she'll leave immediately but recognizing

she's in her upper 70s and won't be there for the next 25 years. that's a comforting thing for democrats that said varying things ranging from they won't vote for her to they would be unlikely to vote for her. that's number one. number two, there are a lot of people that don't want to do business with donald trump and early next year, you imagine trump will try to try orando so on infrastructure. i want to piggy back on what are surprise races? you have to look at any seat that's an r plus 7 or less. that includes a lot of seats. i think the don young thing is a little spun out of control in alaska. you saw the house republican super pac get in there. they can put a lot of money in. >> they got to spend it somewhere. >> if don young wins, they have to take credit. you have to look at seats like anything, r plus 7 or less. rob who represents a seat

outside of atlanta used to be a conte conservative seat and hispanic, a seat like that could be up for flipping. there is a lot of seats that could come on the board that republicans don't recognize at this point and i think we have to keep an eye on basically everything that is not a solid r plus 8 or more. >> all right. slightly dire prediction there. we'll have some eights. we'll take si we won't take sides. i'll talk to the democratic senate candidate in tennessee who is frustrated with his party as he tries to pull off a big upset down south. after the show tonight, stick around during rachel maddow and brian williams for special coverage tonight starting at 9:00 p.m. eastern on msnbc. hi.i just wanted to tell you that chevy won a j.d.power dependability award for its midsize car-the chevy malibu.

i forgot. chevy also won a j.d. power dependability award for its light-duty truck the chevy silverado. oh, and since the chevy equinox and traverse also won chevy is the only brand to earn the j.d. power dependability award across cars, trucks and suvs-three years in a row. phew. third time's the charm... your insurance rates a scratch so smallr you could fix it with a pen. how about using that pen to sign up for new insurance instead? for drivers with accident forgiveness, liberty mutual won't raise their rates because of their first accident. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪

i am a techie dad.n. i believe the best technology should feel effortless. like magic. at comcast, it's my job to develop, apps and tools that simplify your experience. my name is mike, i'm in product development at comcast. we're working to make things simple, easy and awesome.

so if you want more caravans and crime, vote democrat, it's very simple. >> i want to start here by taking you back in time to the virginia governor's race. i know what you're thinking, i wasn't paying attention to the virginia governor's race. that's because it already happened in 2017 and a one-time middle of the road romneygigill

>> are those the issues i would choose to run on with tax cuts and frankly, even the criminal justice reform innovative propels i put forward in that regard? that's where i would rather the race have been about, but that's not going to move numbers and win. >> gellespie lost by nine points. he didn't campaign with the president and said it's hard to run independently from trump. it's a tough tight rope to walk and might not be walkable to be honest. what did he get the night he lost? a tweet. ed gillespie worked hard. the race was a preview of the

mid determines a year early and so significant republicans nearly lost control of the state general assembly. remember the coin flip? it revealed something else. the democrat improved on hillary clinton's performance. quote, in just about every part of the state, he outperformed her with both white working class areas where he struggled and in the well-educated areas she excelled but ed gillespie faired well. he ran far ahead for every republican other than mr. trump. it looked more like the 2016 presidential election than any other recent election. do you think this gives a lesson you can see applied across the map? >> that map you showed is what i have in mind talking the last break about the scenario where the lines of division from 2016 reassert themselves at the congressional level in 2018 because what that map is telling you right outside d.c., the

suburbs are on fire. outside richmond and virginia beach, if you offered republica republica republicans nationally a repeat, they would take it. they weren't trump district countries plipiflipping. they have a 23-seat majority and 25 nationally that fit that criteria. clinton won the district. republicans hold it now. if you're republican, you get wiped out but that limits losses. there is other dynamics but it's an interesting model because on the surface, it's clearly a huge win for democrats and in big important ways, it was but shows limits to the victory, too.

>> sean thomas, what is your take on whether this model could work in a place like missouri. missouri is red and african american votes. how does that balance out? does it get it out? >> virginia is different. you boost that turnout and you're going to help democrats. missouri isn't the same and even in their sort of inner cities, it's more conservative so i'm not sure if it's apples to apples or not. >> what do you think? >> virginia, one of the reasons that he won is he had local candidates.

you talk about the issues were all local. they brought in a new wave of individuals that i would say he won in large part because people voted and the ms-13 ad. what got them to the polls is the idea of something that we wanted to talk about road taxes and the toll. it's local issues that helps at the very end. >> what are the lessons for republicans? >> authenticity. it goes back to that is not who ed gillespi was. he's not a trump figure when it's emphasis to everything he put forward through the rest of his career. you look at other trump candidates throughout the country, and people who have tried to adopt, i don't know what is going to happen in florida but ron desantos is struggling and not worked for him the way it's worked for donald trump. you look at arizona with martha

mcelderry s mcsally. she had to try to shift which she ended up and went too far but right now she's really struggling. i think that the authenticity factor behind the pose really matters. >> steve kornacki, thank you for being here and taking the time. you'll be busy. can't wait to watch you on tuesday. just ahead, my conversation on the rocky path to flipping a tennessee senate seat red and as we go to break, president obama back on the trail. >> what we have not seen before, at least not in my lifetime are politicians who are blatantly, repeatedly, boldly, shamelessly lying.

checkout is at 4pm. plenty of time to enjoy your ride. (bicycle bell sound) ♪ ♪ (bicycle bell sound) ♪ ♪ (bicycle bell sound) ♪ ♪ explore more with a guaranteed 4pm checkout at over 1,000 fine hotels and resorts. it's another way we've got your back. ♪ ♪ the platinum card from american express. don't live life without it.

kwa kwa. welcome back to "kasie d.c." president trump was in tennessee

with marsha blackburn. the senate race underway 12 tig tight. most polls show blackburn ahead. his party has frustrations with him. >> it's unexpected to have a competitive republican versus democrat in the state of tennessee. what is it about the political climate has you in the game? >> the more moderate people and the fact i've been that way as governor and reached across the a aisle puts it in play. >> what surprised you the most about this race? >> i think in political terms, i knew that in a senate race that the party affiliation was more

important than in the governor's race in just that, but i probably under estimated it. it's just particularly during the kavanaugh stuff how quickly people said, oh, yeah, i remember i'm a democrat or republic republican, how quickly that happens. from a campaigning standpoint, i take more selfies in a week than i had in my entire life up until the campaigning. it's a totally new world out there. it actually is kind of fun, you take it with somebody and 50 or 60 people will see that, the comments and gets passed around. >> what do you think of the job that national democrats are doing in washington, say, on the kavanaugh fight, confirmation fight. that changed the dynamics of your race. do you think that was handled appropriately by senate democratic leaders? >> no. one of the things i feel very strongly in a race here in

tennessee is the national democratic brand, if you will, which is the summer, the kinds of things people do and issues we talk about is a huge problem for me. i didn't think the kavanaugh thing was handled properly. i'm a believer in the notion that the role of the senate is to respect the fact that a president has the right to appoint the supreme court justices and ones that agree with his philosophy and the role of the senate is to, you know, make sure that there is competence and ability to perform is there. we drifted away from that. not that long ago, 95 plus votes and scalia got 95 plus votes and that to me is very much the way we ought to be acting. i thought the immediately coming out against anybody that trump put up was a mistake in terms of broadening the base of the party and attracting people in. i thought the way in which the

information about dr. ford was delayed to the end did not read well at all in a lot of the country. i wish they had handled it differently. i think it hurt the brand. >> if you lose your race here, do you think that's why? because of what happened with kavanaugh? >> no, i don't think it will only be kavanaugh. i certainly plan to win. if i lose, i think it will be because the national democratic brand is a problem in general for me, and it will be because i haven't succeeded in making the case well enough i'm different enough from that to be considered. i think my party, democratic party is at its best when it's sort of getting out of this stuff and gets back to being a strong muscular party that is really focused on opportunity for working class and middle

class americans. i think you can do a lot of stuff and halo around that but that has to be the core of the party. >> you don't think it's the core of the party now? >> no sg. >> do you think the caravan coming from mexico is part of the united states? >> we're economically and military the most powerful country in the world, and the notion that anybody should consider a caravan of a few thousand poor people, mostly women and children with no weapons approaching our border as a threat to the country strikes me as almost beyond belief anybody would see it that way. i can understand how you can blame people to think that, but i think it's something we ought to handle appropriately. we ought to control our borders, no question about it. when i was governor, i sent national troops, national guard troops down to the arizona border after 9/11 after the president suggested that would be helpful and we certainly got to control the border but we can do so, fine.

let's put the appropriate number of people down there and control the border. there is an orderly legal process people can apply for asylum at the border. act like grownups instead of inflaming passions. >> the president suggested this week that perhaps troops should be able to shoot at people who throw rocks at them, at the border, what's your response to that? >> i have no idea what their rules of engagement will be under circumstances like that. i do not think american troops shoot at 12-year-old boys throwing rocks or something. i think that would be -- that's beneath us. >> republican candidates across the country have been insisting in my conversations with them and tv ads they would protect people with pro existing ceexis conditions. >> i think reporters like you ought to plan to ask them how they plan to do that. today in our country, if you don't have a substantial corporate health plan from your

employer, you know, obamacare, the affordable care act is the only vehicle there is for protecting, for someone who has preexisting conditions to have guaranteed access to insurance, and so i'm ever f you get rid o somebody ought to ask where do these people go instead of saying we'll protect you. there isn't a way outside of that. that's one of the two big things that obamacare did, that and some subsides for people to help buy insurance at the lower ends of the income scales. those are the two big things that it's about. >> your opponent marsha blackburn, how do you think she's handled herself on the national stage? would you grade her well or poorly? >> well, i can't say that i watched her much on the national stage. i think she is very good with kind of pushing, you know, the one or two-line sound bytes that

this industry loves and i think it's very effective at that. i don't think she's had any production from a legislative standpoint or a policy kind of standpoint. i mean, she's a pure political player and, you know, in the sense i've just described but she certainly is respectable. i would say she looks at everything through the lens of what are the talking points for the republican party today? are the talking points for the president today? and i don't think that's the way you're supposed to act in one of these elected offices. i'm hoping someone like myself has a little different view of the thing, more willing to compromise, more willing to be independent and take different stands from the party or president. i think it's healthier for tennessee, more likely to get things done that people here really care about or are really important to them. >> thanks for that interview.

jake sherman, i want to ask you about his assessment there at the end of his opponent, marsha blackburn and sort of her approach because the reality is, tennessee has never sent somebody statewide to washington who kind of takes on her demean demeanor. the republicans that won have been in a moderate mold. lamar alexander and bob koshcor it would be for tennessee voters. >> blackburn is a tire breathing conservative and has been in the house for many years. i don't mean that as a put down or insult. she is somebody whose kind of at the tip of the spear of the tea party movement and has been since congress. what he is trying to do in that interview with you and throughout the campaign is trying to pick from both parties and show that he is somebody who is not afraid to side with republicans on key issues but is

not afraid to buck the president which is a message that is clearly well received in some of the well healed suburbs of nashville and memphis and places like that. now, he's right in the sense that marsha blackburn is not the second coming of lbj in any sort of way. she doesn't have a ton of huge legislative achievements under her belt and bredesen was a governor and trying to make the point for tennessee, which had many of what they consider to be statesmen in the senate, he's a better fit and the polling indicates she's pulling ahead and the more conservative part of the state is rearing its head. >> and perhaps coming home. elyce, i was struck by his answer on the question about the migrant caravan, which is not to point the finger at president trump and say look how terrible but rather to say we're the

strongest country in the world, the idea this rag tag group that's clearly in trouble is a threat to us is simply not making sense. >> phil bredesen was speaking in the way that the culture that he's running and he's not in a state like new york. he's running like a tennessee democrat and that's why he had been so successful up until this point, until the kavanaugh hearings, which i do disagree. we did focus groups back in march in tennessee and it was the first time in a group we ever had trump supporters go out of their way to rationalize why they could vote for the democrat. they said phil bredesen, i could vote for him and we heard so much energy surrounding him and that was i guess over six months ago but then you look at how the polling changed following that vote. people did sink back into their partisan identities. >> one person i talked to said it was amazing how quickly

people remembered they were republican. my thanks. i should he thinks we invited congresswoman marsha blackburn to be interviewed here but she declined. we'll have our entire interview on the kasie d.c. podcast. jake sherman, thank you for joining us tonight, as well. just ahead, tom perez is standing by and he'll join me live in just a moment. let's get started. show of hands. who wants customizable options chains? ones that make it fast and easy to analyze and take action? how about some of the lowest options fees? are you raising your hand? good then it's time for power e*trade the platform, price and service that gives you the edge you need. alright one quick game of rock, paper, scissors. 1, 2, 3, go. e*trade. the original place to invest online. - [narrator] meet shark's newest robot vacuum. it powerfully cleans from floors to carpets,

even pet hair, with ease, and now for cleaning surfaces above the floor, it comes with a built in shark handheld. one dock, two sharks. the shark ion robot cleaning system.

i'm lucky to get through a shift without a disaster. my bargain detergent couldn't keep up. so, i switched to tide pods. they're super concentrated, so i get a better clean. number one trusted. number one awarded. it's got to be tide

the job of dnc chairman is never easy. dell ca democrats are trying to flip the house and senate. sir, thanks for coming back on the program. great to see you ahead of a historic week. >> great to be with you, kasie. >> my first question to you is where does this stand? in your view are the surprise races where if it's really going to be a blue wave that we should be paying attention to that we're not talking about right now. >> i'm optimistic that not only do we have the house seats and senate seats no play, you are seeing seats in iowa. we had two seats in play in iowa and now steve king's seat is in play. you look at the map of govern governor's races. if we want to be competitive in the house, we have to win more state houses and you look at the map of state houses that are in

play. we have become a 50-state party once again. you see kansas in play. you see iowa in play. you see alaska in play. you see obviously, the industrial midwest in play. >> yeah. >> i was in florida and georgia -- >> i'll tell howard dean you said that, by the way. >> and ron brown before him and we from time to time have gotten away from that, kasie. we've invested more in this mid materi term cycle than before. we have to work with our partners, the d triple c and senate committees but also the dga and people -- >> can i pick up on that dga comment? i want to ask about news that's been out today that is brian kemp has accused the state democratic party in georgia last minute of trying to hack into the voter roles. he's not offered any corroborating evidence. have you gone and looked into this? do you have any idea as to what

he is talking about and what is your response? >> he's full of it is my response. when i was head of the siecivil rights division, i sued. he and chris from kansas are the chair and co-chair of the voter suppression task force. two federal judges have ruled against brian kemp. he can't win on the merits on georgia. he knows he's in trouble and trying to change the subject. this is a distraction. i was in georgia just yesterday. there is so much energy there. you look at the early vote totals. you got more young people voting and spore -- sporadic voters voting. we sued him and he should have resigned from that job months

ago because it's unfair to all foxs to compare him to a fox guardian a hen house. >> i want to ask you about the split in how some of your candidates one because it's going to, if you do win the house, break out into the open in a way we haven't necessarily seen and i talked to phil and he said the national democratic brand is a problem for me and the reality is in long term if you want to win back the presidency in 2020, there is going to be tension between the newer candidates saying look, we have to focus on communities of color and those saying no, we have to figure out how to win back male voters in the midwest. how do you square that circle? >> what is interesting is because we're competing everywhere, you know, you have two congressional seats in kansas that are in play. you have a governor's race in kansas that are in play. i look at that as a false choice.

we were proud to play a role with so many others in helping conner lamb win that district. those were obama trump voters. there had been a lot of obama, ocbama stay home voters and voters that just haven't is all about making sure we bring folks in particular communities of color, that haven't participated into the fold. and that, that is exactly -- we have to do all of the above and then some. that's exactly what's happening across america. we're leaving those zip codes behind. beto in texas was in all 254 counties. leaving no county behind. and that's what we're doing everywhere. i reject these false choices. when we govern to get to the other part of your question, we're talking about issues i think that unite folks. we believe that health care should be a right for all. preexisting conditions exist in

rural america, red america, blue america. >> i certainly heard about preexisting conditions when i was out on the road in the heartland. thanks for being with us. we also invited rnc chairwoman rona mcdaniel to join me tonight, but she declined, more kasie d.c. after this. ♪ trelegy. the power of 1-2-3 ♪ trelegy 1-2-3 trelegy with trelegy and the power of 1-2-3, i'm breathing better. trelegy works 3 ways to... ...open airways,... ...keep them open... ...and reduce inflammation... ...for 24 hours of better breathing. trelegy won't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden breathing problems. trelegy is not for asthma. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it. do not take trelegy more than prescribed. trelegy may increase your risk of thrush, pneumonia, and osteoporosis. call your doctor if worsened breathing, chest pain,

mouth or tongue swelling,.. ...problems urinating, vision changes, or eye pain occur. think your copd medicine is doing enough? maybe you should think again. ask your doctor about once-daily trelegy and the power of 1-2-3. ♪ trelegy 1-2-3 save at trelegy.com.

back pain can't win. now introducing aleve back and muscle pain. only aleve targets tough pain for up to 12 hours with just one pill. aleve back & muscle. all day strong. all day long.

this is a time in our show when we tell you what to watch for in the week ahead. considering how badly the predictions went in 2016 on the steps ahead of polls closing, i figure i would give you time to make your unpopular predictions about what might happen. shawna thomas? >> i would have said in 2016 red states do not expand things like medicaid, but it is on the ballot in idaho, nebraska and utah, i was in idaho last week, i think they're going to expand medicaid in idaho. they'll still vote republican for everything else, don't worry. >> i think that we're seeing a fundamental shift in the electoral map. the midwest is looking more like the south and the south is looking more like the midwest. i would encourage everyone to start looking at the outvote. the youth vote is the one that

doesn't get poll-tested. >> i've been saying that it seemed more like a blue splash, but then a smart republican strategist today compared what's happening to a blue tornado, meaning that you know, the trump effect when people don't like him, they really don't like him, when it hits down. you don't know how big it's going to be and how far it's going to spread. i'm watching for the pockets of tornadoes across the country and how big it's going to be. >> i'm watching for women voters. and i want to give a shout out to phil rucker who has won the mid terms by getting a rihanna retweet tonight. go phillip, congratulations for being on a first-name basis. that does it for kasie d.c. rachel maddow and brian williams pick up the coverage after this short break. and did you know that geico... (lips smacking) offers mo... (coughing) motorcycle insurance?

ho-ho... my lips are burning. (laughs) ah... no, my lips are actually burning. geico. over 75 years of savings and service. see how much you could save at geico.com. it's too hot. oh, this is too hot, mate. coaching means making tough choices. jim! you're in! hot. but when you have high blood pressure and need cold medicine that works fast, the choice is simple. coricidin hbp is the #1 brand that gives powerful cold symptom relief without raising your blood pressure. coricidin hbp.

checkout is at four. enjoy your ride. (bicycle bell sound) ♪ ♪ explore more with a guaranteed 4pm checkout at over 1,000 fine hotels and resorts. it's another way we've got your back. the platinum card from american express. don't live life without it. first, it continues to pay paramedics while we're on break. second, it ensures the closest ambulance can respond if you call 9-1-1. vote yes on 11.

proposition 11 "proposition 11 is a vote to protect patient safety." it ensures the closest ambulance remains on-call during paid breaks "so that they can respond immediately when needed." vote yes on 11. on of all things a sunday night at 9:00 p.m. eastern, good evening from our election headquarters on this sunday evening live from 30 rockefeller plaza here in new york. renamed as luck would have it, democracy plaza for these few days. and in less than 48 hours as the first polls close, the big number we will be watching, the big story line of