i'm in product development at comcast. we're working to make things simple, easy and awesome. and that does it for this edition of "andrea mitchell reports." election day, vote. here's ali velshi. when i see you tomorrow, we'll know something. >> get whatever rest you can in there. hey, everybody, i'm ali velshi. >> and i am city of n-- stephane ruh ruhle. it is election day. let's go vote. >> go out and vote for republican congress, for republican senate. if you want more caravans, if you want more crime, vote democrat. if we don't do so well tomorrow, they will put me on the ticket. if we do great tomorrow, they

will say he had nothing to do with it, he was not on the ticket. >> this is the single most important off-year election in my lifetime. and i really think it's more than just about a specific issue, i think it's about the character of the country. >> this is just one of many states where people are lining up outside because enthusiasm around this midterm is higher than we've ever seen before. >> the crowds have been huge. >> the turnout here has been extraordinary. >> a lot of things at stake today. >> i pulled the r button. >> i voted toward the democratic side of the ticket. >> the republicans have a narrow path on the house side if they wanted to retain it. how about the narrow path for democrats on the senate side. >> you were here when beto came to cast his vote and you told me this was very emotional for you. why? >> well, because i wasn't expecting it and because we think he's pretty important and we're honored that he's here. >> why is he so important?

>> because he represents everything that donald trump isn't. >> it is absolutely a great day to be an american. election day is finally here. you get to decide who controls the government. >> ali asked me if i could get through the next segment crying, he'd give me 5 venmo dollars and i'm all choked up. >> you voted this morning, as did i. >> i had two of my three kids with me this morning at 6:00 a.m. and i know you should never talk about who you voted for, but i voted for them. i voted for my children. i voted for every child in this country because i want long-term solutions. i want this world to be better, smarter and stronger for them. we talk every day about how divided we are. we're not. every person out there wants to be socially free, physically safe, financially secure. >> that's right. >> that brings us together. we want the same things. we want to live our best lives. i'd like to think we want our

neighbors too. >> your kids and everybody else's kids and all those kids in schools who are scared of things happening to them, they can't vote so vote for the kids. i voted because i'm not for this country. i chose this country. i'm an immigrant to this country. i came in here for all of the things voting stands for. that sign is on a wall near my voting precinct. the only way democracy works is if we all participate, so that is a duty. it's not just a right, i think it's a real responsibility. >> also, every time i go to vote and you're there, all the people working the polls, for the most part since i was a girl, it's people from my neighborhood, it's senior citizens who are so passionate about getting the job done. it was kind of crowded and chaotic this morning, but everybody is waiting there together, telling jokes, hanging with people's kids. it was awesome. >> we had 38 million people who voted before today. that's an 80% increase over the 2014 midterms. break records today. don't you dare think for your a minute that your one vote doesn't count. it does, because back in january

when control of the virginia state house came down to a tie, election officials determined the winner by picking a name out of the bowl. so many of the races today are tight. they're within the margin of error depending on who's winning or not, so your vote could actually count many, many times across america. >> you have the chance to change history. we encourage you to do it. our nbc road warriors, guess where they are? all across the country in full force. let's bring in ali vitali who's live in naples, florida. florida is a crucial swing state. this state could turn blue. ali, take us to naples. you're in an area where there are more nonaffiliated voters than registered democrats, so what are those people telling you? >> reporter: certainly. that's going to be the key. when i've spoken to strategists over the past few days, all the campaigns are trying to figure out where those nonparty affiliated voters are going to go. this is in fact a more gop-leaning area, but we have found bob here.

if you want to come in and we'll talk to you a little bit about what you were voting for in this election and what's important to you? >> well, i believe we're so divid divided, party to party, and i believe the governor race here and senate race are very important. it's who you want in those races. i felt that i had to come out in the midterm and actually vote my heart. i'll tell you it's a republican vote and that's the way i went because i believe the republicans are doing the right thing right now and we're having a little problem getting the democrats on our side. >> reporter: so you said you were a republican-leaning voter, is president trump weighing on your decision? >> i think he's doing a great job. i don't think he's getting the credit he deserves. it's just so divisive. just two mainstream newses and they go both ways. it's who you believe. i mean he's getting the job d e

done. >> reporter: and your vote reflected that. ali and steph, republican campaigns are looking at this hour, rick scott and ron desantis are looking to run up their margins in this place, collier county, lee county. the gillum folks are trying to make their mark here, keep margins low. we were in ft. myers with andrew gillum last week and he was saying that he's been getting pretty sizeable crowds in those republican areas. whether or not that turns out in the vote we'll see, but more than 5 million people have voted in florida already, so clearly turnout is high already, so the results are going to be really interesting tonight when we actually see what they roll out. >> and we'll be watching results from all across florida very, very, very closely. a tight senate race, tight gubernatorial race and a lot of house seats. >> think about all of those people who are displaced in puerto rico by hurricane maria. many went to florida. let's go to new jersey, democrats are hoping senator bob

menendez can hang on to his seat while big names and big money are making a big showing for house candidates. >> ron allen is in morristown, new jersey, where there has already been a huge turnout. ron, you've talked to a lot of voters who are angry. they're angry about what and what's their message? >> reporter: they're angry about donald trump, to no surprise. this is a part of the country that knows him very well. and we've heard a lot of that. a lot of people are upset about the tone, about the wrrhetoric. this 11th district is significant because it's one of four in the state of new jersey that the democrats hope to flip. it was a long-time republican incumbent here who retired. jersey hasn't gotten a lot of attention, but it's really key in the effort for the democrats to try and take over the house in d.c. this district is very significant. there's a candidate named mikey sherrill who's a mom of four and

she's the kind of candidate democrats have been putting up to try to win seats like this. she's taking on a state legislator, jay weber, who was a former state party leader in new jersey. and there are three other seats like this here. let me bring in a couple of moms, a couple of women here in the district because this has been a big fight about the hearts and minds and souls of suburban women. for example, earlier we were with a group that came together, a group of women activists right after the 2016 election and they have been pounding the pavement, registering voters, trying to engage voters ever since because suburban women rule in this part of the state and this part of the country. with me are mary and lisa who just voted. so again, democrats and republicans have been trying to win your vote. what are your concerns today on election day? >> our current administration particularly trump, it's very disturbing to me what i hear from his mouth and his thoughts.

>> reporter: is that what motivated you to come out? >> well, i would come out anyway. i always vote. but i'm particularly troubled and i would not have missed this vote for anything. >> reporter: i see. and you, lisa, what is your big issue? what is your concern? >> i'm just very concerned about the hateful rhetoric and the fear mongering that he's using in the last couple of weeks, especially in light of the pipe bombs sent in the mail and what happened in pittsburgh, it's just very terrifying. >> reporter: do you see a direct connection between what you're hearing in d.c. and those violent incidents? >> i understand our country has these people supporting their gun control, gun rights, whatnot, but i don't think it's a coincidence. i personally don't think it's a coincidence. >> reporter: do you think this district is going to flip to democrats from republicans. >> i think there's a very good -- i think there is a good chance. >> reporter: do you think it will make a big difference? >> yes. yes, i do. like you said, this is a

predominantly republican district and i think every district that we can flip will be that much more support for sort of getting normalcy back into politics. >> reporter: normalcy, what a concept. >> yeah, i can't even imagine it at this point. >> reporter: i hear you, i hear you. thanks very much. i appreciate it. the other big race that you mentioned is the senate race between the bobs, bob menendez and bob hugin. democrats trying to bring menendez across the finish line tarnished by a trial. >> your hometown of new jersey. >> it's actually not far from where president trump's golf resort is in new jersey, so those women are his neighbors. in the state of nevada, dean heller is the only senate republican up for re-election in a state hillary clinton won back in 2016. this guy is getting a run for his money. nbc's steve patterson joins us live from henderson, nevada.

>> steve, you're at the galleria mall, expected to be the busiest polling place in all of clark county. it looks pretty busy right now. >> reporter: yeah, the mall is just opening up. i love the fact that i'm in a mall. one of my favorite things about the state of nevada, they have opened up these expanded voting centers. so it could be your local library, we've seen pop-up tents in parking lots and polling places in malls. you can see the line has been moving very fastly, that's because of my man, phil, back there keeping things moving. very lively atmosphere. people come in with a smile, leave with a smile, enjoy the process of voting in nevada. obviously a lot is at stake here. as you mentioned, that big-time senate race. also the governor's race is competitive and there's a few competitive house races as well. so we're talking to voters. this is dorothy. what issues are important to you? >> i want the teachers to have more pay, the firemen and the policemen. they don't get recognition.

i don't believe steve will do that and he hasn't even raised the budget because he was on the board of education just like rosen. >> does donald trump inform your decision? >> yes, yes, i voted for donald trump here and i made him win here. so i'm a donald trump supporter. without him our military would never be strong. >> you live in clark county. do a lot of your friends and people you talk to also trump supporters. >> yes, yes. i work in the hospital. we are republican people. >> reporter: a lot of independent voters here. we have a lot of trump supporters we talk to but also people in support of the democrats. we've seen early voting, ridiculous numbers so far. a slight lead for democrats coming into the general election. back to you. >> steve, enjoy the mall. >> reporter: you got it. in the state of texas, voting, it got personal today. one 77-year-old woman loved her oxygen tank, we saw her earlier, to the polls to vote for democrat beto o'rourke for

senate, who's running against incumbent republican ted cruz. she was there when o'rourke cast his vote at 9:00 a.m. this morning. and with her voice full of emotion, she told our own garrett haake what that meant to her. >> i wasn't expecting it because we think he's pretty important, and we're honored that he was here. >> reporter: why is he so important? >> because he represents that donald trump isn't. >> reporter: what will it feel like if you see him win this race tonight? >> everything. just everything. we want him to win. and we'll be watching the tv tonight with him. he'll be someplace, but it will mean so much. it will mean that by gosh, we all have -- still have a chance to have a decent country and

decent values with decent relationships with other people. >> decency. >> i was feeling a little bad today because i went to one place and it was somewhere else and i had to go around the block and she tanks an oxygen tank with her and she goes out and is going to fulfill her responsibility. it was amazing. >> she always wasn't talking about policy. >> she was talking about decency. >> garrett is in el paso, texas. garrett, this senate race between o'rourke and ted cruz has become the most expensive race in the country. how close is it and what are you hearing from voters about what's going to make it happen? >> what a waste of money, ads. >> reporter: folks i talk to in both parties can see that it is closer than the polls have shown. every poll in this race has shown ted cruz leading, although that lead has shrunk the last couple of days. the turnout numbers that we've seen so far in the early vote have buoyed democratic voters certainly. that woman, pamela, encapsulates a lot of what we've seen in this

race. ted cruz likes to say there's no race in the country with more contrast between the two candidates. and i think that is absolutely true both on policy and stylistically and tonally about how they talk about this country. when i talk to republican voters here, i do hear a lot about the border, i hear a lot about immigration, i hear a lot of the same language frankly that you hear from the president. when you talk to democratic voters, you hear about a much wider panoply of issues. you hear about the tone and folks who want to believe in something. they want to feel a little more optimistic. they want to feel like their politics is respectful again. quite honestly since i've been here in el paso, i hear voters laughing off the scare mongering that's happened about the border. i could walk to mexico before the end of this broadcast. this is one of the most connected cities on the planet with the sister city across the border, cuidad juarez. voters here don't feel like the president is talking about the same border they live on. so a divided electorate, a passionate electorate on both

sides and stratospheric turnout numbers mean that all these models and all these polls i don't think tell us a lot about what we'll see tonight. you couldn't pay me to make a prediction either way but i think we'll see extraordinary numbers and maybe some surprises. >> garrett, you have been on an interesting campaign, one of the most interesting campaigns of this entire election cycle watching beto o'rourke, if nothing else, has revived democratic options in texas on a statewide basis that haven't been there a long time. a lot of people are very excited by that race. >> he's also taking one of the most contentious races and pushing forward with positivity. you rarely see him go after ted cruz. >> he doesn't use ted cruz's name. >> he barely references the president. >> it's an interesting campaign. coming up next, we're tackling one of the most pressing election issues, voter suppression. i can't believe we're talking about this in 2018. we'll have a live report from one state where tens of thousands of votes are at risk.

we'll tell you what to look out for. you need to know this and tell other people. no matter where you live in this country, we'll tell you the important things you need to do to make sure your vote is counted. >> do not get discouraged. no matter what, go vote. first, 15 states and the district of columbia are offering same-day voter registration. please pay attention to this. that means you can show up to the polls, register to vote and cast a ballot and do all of it today. if you have not registered to vote but live in one of these places, please go do it. >> and i tweeted this out and people said that's not the case in california. it is the case in california. you couldn't do it in the last few days, but today you can register while you're voting. you're watching v"velshi & ruhl" on msnbc. always a catch. like somehow you wind up getting less. but now that i book at hilton.com, and i get all these great perks. i got to select my room from the floor plan... very nice... i know, i'm good at picking stuff. free wi-fi... laptop by the pool is a bold choice... and the price match guarantee.

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welcome back to a very special day here on vels"velshi ruhl ruhle". one of the most diverse days in history of american elections. >> "the new york times" tallied 272 women running for office today. 216 people of color. >> good news. >> 26 from the lgbtq community. >> good news. but in the months and weeks leading up to today's vote, there have been issues of potential voter suppression, particularly in the state of georgia, where the man in charge of the state's election standards, brian kemp, he's also the republican candidate for

governor. wouldn't it make sense for someone in that position to recuse themselves? but alas -- >> trymaine lee is live in atlanta and has been looking at this. trymaine, just days ago a federal judge ruled that the state's exact match rule was, quote, a severe burden for voters. are people who are going to vote aware of what these voter suppression tactics are all about, and are they able to overcome them? >> reporter: ali, i tell you what, folks across the city are very much aware of the judge's ruling and it's fired some folks up. anyone who was confused about their status, they now have a level of comfort. on the flip side, it has indeed given a chilling effect to some folks with all the confusion surrounding this election and controversy, it's been pretty tough for folks. but i'm here in the command center of pro georgia. they have been fielding calls about concerns. i'm at the polls, any voting irregularities. phones are ringing off the hook about concern over some of the things going on across the city.

i want to pull in the executive director of pro georgia. tamika, what have you been seeing here today? >> some of things we've been seeing is up in gwinnett county, we had an elementary school where they did not turn on the voting machines until 11:00 a.m. we got reports that 150 people walked off the line. so it took our election protection monitors, legal team, poll watchers to stay on top of the county to turn those voting machines on. >> reporter: now, there was so much concern coming into election day. you had all of this controversy surrounding the city, especially around brian kemp. this idea of voter suppression with a long history here in atlanta. has that affected voters and voter behavior at all? >> here's what i'll say, at pro georgia we are one of the six plaintiffs on the lawsuit where we challenged the exact match lawsuit. what we've been doing is sending out mailers to people who were on the pending list, we've been calling them and texting them. with the recent court order that says they have to be allowed to

vote, we have seen voter confidence. we got 45 calls alone on a dedicated pending list line for people wanting to make sure. we got this mailer, we are on the pending list. what do we need to know to make sure when we get to the polls that we can vote. >> reporter: with so much at stake, ali and stephanie, folks are organized. people are getting out the word that you still have time to vote, get out there. if there are any issues, call the hot lines. but folks are fired up, especially in this very historic race here in georgia. >> let's get people out to vote. thanks very much. that is a responsibility as journalists we take very, very seriously. a lot of people on twitter are opining about who you should vote for. our view is go and vote. don't let people stop you in 2018 after people have gone to jail, they have died, they have fought, they have gone to court for your right to vote. exercise it, use it so that muscle doesn't atrophy. >> one other thing for those of you running out there, be honest about what you're running on, be honest on your platform. win your race fair and square.

>> i think you might be referring to #healthcare where people are running on a platform that's actually the opposite of what they stand for. as you go out to vote -- >> also talking about the middle class tax cut that was supposed to get voted on this week. it's a lie. >> you might have liked these things but there is a record. it is 2018. we can see what you've said and how you voted. your ads won't stand up to scrutiny. >> or do you want to have a tax cut, tell us how it's going to get paid for. what are you going to cut? to trymaine's point, as you go out to vote, be aware of ways that you could be prevented from exercising your right. "the new york times" put together a list of common election day misinformation. >> first, hoaxes about polling places. in the 2016 election, tweets like this one spread rumors about immigration and customs enforcement arresting people at polling places, likely meant to discourage latino voters. but this image is photo shopped. it's made up, it's a fake from two different photos. i.c.e. is dispelling rumors like

this saying there are no plans to patrol polling locations. >> we are at many polling locations and have people at them. if we hear of anything like that, we will tell you about it. in 2016, one of the rumors spread by russian troll accounts was that you could vote by text, phone or social media. you can't. that's not how voting in america works. maybe one day it will but right now it doesn't. so do not fall for it. don't text your vote in and think it counted. you have to go to a polling place. >> also look out for those text messages. they could be telling you that your polling station has changed. this one has already happened today. the voting hours are different or that your registration isn't valid. please, check your secretary of state's website or your local board of elections to find out what information is accurate. >> and rumors of voting machine malfunctions that could be efforts to prevent you from turning out. they could be sent to claim the election was rigged. videos from pennsylvania and texas in 2016 showing machines not letting people vote for certain candidate turned out to

be user error. >> and voter fraud allegations, the president even claimed he lost the popular vote due to widespread voter fraud. >> no evidence, by the way. >> in 2016, but voter fraud is incredibly rare. these claims are more efforts to delegitimatize our election system, so please get out to the polls and go armed with facts. i want to point out with you, donde votar, where to vote, is top trending on google searches in the united states today. there has been a spike of over 3,000%. >> it is really amazing. oprah said it the other day in georgia. if you come out in numbers that are too big to tamper with, then nobody can mess with the election. joining us now is msnbc legal analyst maya wiley. it is really important for people to understand if someone challenges your vote or right to vote, there is something you can do on the spot. you can ask for a provisional ballot. >> absolutely. a provisional ballot, people should not get confused because it can have different names.

some states it might be called a challenge ballot, some states it might be called an affidavit but it's the same thing. there's a federal law that says you have the right if there's a question about whether or not you're appropriately registered or in the right place to vote that you can fill out this provisional ballot. it has to be taken, and you should stay in line, you should get the provisional ballot, ask for it explicitly. do not let someone turn you away without having exercised your right to fill that ballot out if they're challenging your right to vote. >> let's say i fill out a provisional ballot and it goes into some pile. is it really going to get counted? >> depends on the state, that's the short answer. because the way our election system runs is, since we have a state-based election system is how they're counted, when they're counted varies from state to state. rather than going through which states count, which states don't, just fill it out. >> right. >> much more important than trying to figure out how it will

be treated to try to submit it and get it in because it's a very complicated state-by-state system. but the short answer is many states don't count them right away. they are separated, they are put in a separate pile, but it gives you the opportunity to contest your right to have voted and in some instances hopefully it will count. >> you know when it will never be counted? when you don't do it. i just gave that to you, you didn't get it? >> no, that was good. it was good. i'm just a little slower than you at that. we'll be live in two states where major races could go either way and change the political trajectory of those states, arizona and michigan. up next there on your screen you see a line of students voting in arizona. >> students, how about that? and remember, in whatever state you live in, your right to vote is not a given. over hundreds of years, countless people fought and died

for that right. some of those who risked their lives in service are on the ballots today. think about that. >> there are 172 military veterans now running for congress. 14 of them are women according to the military times. good on all of you, we're proud of you. thank you for your service. you're watching "velshi & ruhle" live on msnbc. here we go.

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welcome back to "velshi & ruhle." new early voting numbers are in. they'll be the final ones because voting is open now. but according to nbc and target smart, look at that, more than 38.4 million people have voted early in this midterm election. >> up for grabs today, 35 senate seats, 435 house seats and 36 gubernatorial seats. democrats need to pick up 23 seats to take back control of the house and net two seats to take the senate.

easier said than done. >> a crucial senate seat is up for grabs in arizona. gadi schwartz joins us live from tempe, arizona, on the campus of arizona state university. gadi, all indications are what has been a contentious race between martha mcsally and ch s kyrsten sinema will go down to the wire. is that a voting line? >> reporter: yeah, this turnout is looking a lot more like a presidential election than a midterm, especially when you consider that these are all young voters here. this is a line right here. hi, everybody. they're very enthusiastic about voting. this line is about 100 people long. it stretches all the way down here. you've got it stretching into this polling site. this polling site is right in the middle of campus, so it's pulling a lot of people in. you're surrounded by some dormitories, so they have made it very easy for young people to vote here. they have no excuse not to vote. but we have already seen some candidates down here.

greg stanton, he is trying to fill a seat in line talking to some of these prospective voters. you've got david garcia who is running for governor here. and this polling location, this demographic in particular is extremely important. these are the young voters, many of them independent. most of the voters here in arizona vote early. we know some of the makeup right now. we know 41% are republicans, about 33% are democrats and that leaves 24% that are independent voters like the voters that you see out here. they could swing this way one way or another. and then you've got people that are studying for the midterms. you guys are discussing some of the issues out heerks right? >> yes, absolutely. >> reporter: how is your cramming session going? >> i'm trying to learn more what i can do to help out and getting some great help here on proposition 305. >> reporter: perfect, thank you so much. education is one of those issues here in arizona that is so important, but as you can see, the turnout out here very dramatic. guys, back to you.

>> gadi, thank you for that. we're trying to figure out how young people, many of them are in college and on campus and in class so it's a little tricky because they had to register where they go school and we want to see what their power is and what their views are. >> i remember during the presidential election, you and i were on a college campus. i stayed at a sorority house and i spoke to those young women and they said over and over they didn't feel connected to the candidates. now here we are, you've got college kids waiting around the block in line and they're talking about specific ballot initiatives. >> yep. >> that's not just candidates, that's like digging down that they care about. >> that's what's going to happen. you took your kids to the polling place, so it gets in their dna and they have issues that they take seriously, like climate change, like violence in school. you can't just talk about these things, in this country the vote matters and that's what they're doing. >> you love the planet, you love the country, you love your

rights, you've got to fight for them. let's go to michigan where debbie stabenow is fighting to hold on to her senate seat. >> mariana atencio joins us. michigan was key to donald trump's victory in 2016. what's it looking light now. >> reporter: ali, steph, the democratic candidate for governor looking very strong in the polls as is debbie stabenow to retain her senate seat. as the democrats are looking to gain back control of the house, those 23 seats that they need, their path might go through here. two toss-ups here in the state of michigan, the congressional 11th district where we're live from this morning and the congressional 8th district here. you can see the voting is under way behind me. there have been some steady lines. early voting is not a factor here, so it just puts more pressure on days like today. and i want to personally take

some time to thank barb here, the precinct chair, for letting us be in here and show the process that works for our national audience. thank you, barb. >> you're welcome. >> she said they will be here until the very last vote is counted. i'm going to step outside because one of the last things i want to point to is voters like patrick. he is a registered republican and today he skrujust told me h cast his vote for the democrats. so this area, as you said, ali, that narrowly went for donald trump in 2016, everyone looking at voters like him to see if they're going to swing in the democrats' favor after today. ali, steph. >> mar auniana, thanks. the precinct chairs, the volunteers, the volunteers for the parties who go in to work, the bottom line is democracy doesn't work if people don't participate. voting is the way most of us participate or certainly should, but there are people who look forward to this and keep our races honest. >> you might want to bring them

a pizza when you go vote later. >> yeah. next, we are live covering key races across the nation that could give us early indications of results across this nation. here is a live look at a polling place in glen allen, virginia, which is just outside richmond. we're going to break down the bellwether races that could be decided in just a few hours. look at that, another young boy there with his mom. a once-in-five hundred year storm should happen every five hundred years, right? fact is, there have been twenty-six in the last decade. allstate is adapting. with drones to assess home damage sooner. and if a flying object damages your car, you can snap a photo and get your claim processed in hours, not days. plus, allstate can pay your claim in minutes. now that you know the truth... are you in good hands?

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this is the board which you normally see steve kornacki. steve will be up all night overnight and when he decides he needs to go to bed i'm going to take over in the morning which means i'm going to sleep early tonight, stephanie, and as a result of that i want to know what races to look at so that i can get a sense of how the election is going if i want to go to sleep early. let's take a look just at the house. the democrats need a net gain of 23 seats. let's take a look at the democratic targets. these are a lot of ones they think they can turn around. which ones will we look at earlier in the night. 50i i want to go to kentucky 6. we'll see what happens. andy barr is the incumbent and is expected to win this one. if he doesn't or if his showing is lighter than usual, you can imagine that that's going to be a top -- a big night for

democrats. virginia 7, dave bratt is the incumbent. he defeated eric cantor, the house majority leader. it was the canary in the coal mine for the tea party movement. in the same way an bail sp-- abigail spanberger is expected to do well. if this goes toward democrats or shows weakness for brat, that's something to look at fairly closely. let's look at georgia 6. this was karen handel. she won in a special election and that's why she's defending this seat. lucy mcbath is running against her. lucy mcbath, if she -- this is still expected to go to karen handel but if she doesn't do as strongly there in georgia, we'll be looking at that. part of the reason this is interesting, when we're looking at georgia, everybody's attention will be on the gubernatorial race with stacey abrams, who if she wins becomes the first black female governor in america. but this is an interesting one

to watch for purposes of the senate. let's go to florida 15 right now. this is an interesting one. this is located between tampa and orlando. it's a seat that dennis ross is retiring from. the republican is ross spano. kristen carlson is the democrat here. florida is a tough one because we're looking at that gubernatorial race between andrew gillum and ron desantis. we're looking at the senate where bill nelson is holding off a challenge from the current governor, rick scott. if this ends up going towards the democrat, it's a harbinger of things to come. finally i want to go to pennsylvania 1. pennsylvania is my version of new jersey. it's the other state that i live in. this is in the philly suburbs. the incumbent is brian fitzpatrick. but those philly suburbs, this is bucks county, a little beyond that, you know it well, if this starts to go there, then we'll get some sense of what's going on. pennsylvania, as you know, went for trump last time. >> we also have to factor in, in many of these suburban locations, these are people who

are invested in the market, okay? >> that's right. >> so they might find president trump and some of his actions morally reprehensible but the stock market is up 28% since president trump took office. when he was running, he didn't have the investor class. >> that's right. >> in fact, investors going into the last election thought that president trump's unpredictability would not be good for world order. it wouldn't be good for stocks. they were wrong, it's obviously been very good. >> so look at these suburban -- >> in all of these suburban areas. >> washington suburbs around here, this is washington, d.c., virginia 7 is in here. that's going to be one of those tests. you and i have been hearing about and talking about suburban moms, which way are they going to break. take a look at the philadelphia suburbs, take a look at the d.c. suburbs. we're going to get those really early on and get some sense of it. >> if you are the investor class, if you are part of corporate america who got that massive tax cut, you were not in trump's pocket before. you're pretty pleased about him now. >> you may not tell pollsters or

your friends but may want to keep that tax cut in your pocket. here's another important trend this election. more than 450 candidates with backgrounds in science, technology, engineering and math are on the ballots. that's a good one. you're watching "velshi & ruhle" live on msnbc. - meet the ninja foodi, the pressure cooker that crisps, with the best of pressure cooking and air frying all in one. with our tendercrisp technology, you can quickly cook food, juicy on the inside and crispy on the outside. go from fresh to deliciously done in half the time. which means it may become the only thing you use in your kitchen. (tapping) for cooking, at least. (upbeat music) the ninja foodi, with tendercrisp, the cooking while parenting technology.

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welcome back to "velshi & ruhle." election day is upon us. tom costello is live in virginia, watching the race there. all right, tom. walk us through this. this is a significant bellweather. why, and what are people saying there? >> reporter: so mr. bratt is a tea party republican, member of the freedom caucus. you have with him -- or opposing him, abigail spanberger.

on a typical midterm election, the folks here have a thousand people who vote by the end of the day. already as of 1:00 here alone, they've had 1500 vote. i talked to a couple women who were here with their kids. one of them was here because she said she was voting about guns. another said she wanted to see her voice counted. i met an older couple in the parking lot who said they were supporting mr. bratt and believed in the trump economic message. look at how tight this race is. we have a poll to show you that it is down to the wire, really, in a district that mr. trump carried handily. we're right now at 46-44 with mr. brat showing a very tiny margin there, within the margin of error. the question is whether this trend will continue throughout the day. we've had a very rainy day here in this part of virginia, but the voter turnout has still been very strong. guys, back to you. >> tom, we're going to be watching that one very, very closely. in terms of bellwetheres, that'

one to watch. >> nbc's anne thompson is -- >> i feel like i went too far. >> anne wants to part of this. she's in part of pennsylvania's new first congressional district in bucks county. they're very familiar with bucks county. pennsylvania's congressional map was redrawn recently to get rid of a lot of political gerrymandering that made them very weird shapes in pennsylvania. how is that affecting the place you're in? >> reporter: well, what it means is the first congressional district, ali, is now made up

mostly of bucks county and a little slice of montgomery county. as far as politically, the first congressional district went for hillary clinton by two percentage points in 2016. so the big question tonight is can the democratic challenger flip the house seat, which is currently held by a first-term republican named brian fitzpatrick. his challenger is scott wallace. that's what we're going to watch. what we have seen here in this voting district, which is warwick 4, has just been an extraordinary amount of voting. they had 900 people vote by midday today. that's out of 2200 possible voters. they've also seen a record number of absentee ballots cast as well. so the interest is very high here. but as far as the national picture goes, people are going to be watching what happens here because this is one of those

bellwether districts. >> anne thompson, thank you very much. >> all right. we're going to leave it there, take a quick break. first, today's a huge day for america's schools. please listen to this. about 1,500 educators are running for state and federal office. that is about triple the number of current and former educators who usually run in an election cycle. i absolutely love that. you are watching "velshi & ruhle." ♪ ♪ i'm all for my neighborhood.

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where'd the hour go? we're very excited about election day. >> so excited that ali is going to be tuckered out by 8:00 p.m. he's heading to bed early, if he hasn't told you yet. >> by 8:00 p.m., i'll have been sleeping for two hours. >> how do you go to bed that early? i will not. i will see you tonight on our digital coverage. don't go anywhere. stay right where you are because our friend katy tur is picking up the coverage from georgia. >> ali, can you show us your feet? >> why? >> i want to know if you're wearing a onesie. >> no, my bedtime onsie looks suspiciously like this. thanks for calling me out. >> it may just go to his ankles too. >> good night, ali velshi.