jonathan. thanks for your great work in michigan you can track your vote at michigan. calm/vote >> michigan republicans filed a lawsuit against you challenging overseas military voting. did they miscalculate going after our troops? have any members of the military told you they are worried about their vote? >> i am a military spouse, so i know firsthand how important it is for our servicemembers and their families serving overseas to have assurances that their vote will count. so i have made it a priority of my administration to make sure that every vote counts including those of of our servicemembers, and it's mind-boggling to me that in the dozens of lawsuits

we are seeing in michigan and around the country this was what they choose to pick on. it is perfectly legal, citizens overseas are entitled to vote in the states of their residence back you. so the protections are creepy but it's directly why they went after us for registering veterans to vote when we partnered with the veterans affairs agency earlier this year. it is very strange strategy, but the law is clear, and we will always side with making sure every citizen can vote, and that every voice is heard >> secretary benson what lessons did you learn four years ago that you are using for this election? >> to stand strong in the face of those threats. the currency that those challenging democracy play with or run in is trying to make people feel afraid, afraid to vote, afraid to stand in defense of accurate election results, and when people gathered outside my home, i

felt fear but a resilience and determination to protect the will of the voters. and that is really what we bring now all of us in michigan and frankly my colleagues in battleground states across the country, defiance and determination that we've been emboldened by these threats and attacks, and we are going to ensure democracy prevails, and we want citizens to stand with us. no one can make you feel inferior without your consent as eleanor roosevelt told us. we need to stand firm and not allow efforts to intimidate us in this historic election. >> secretary of state jocelyn benson, thank you. expecting for having me. coming up pennsylvania clinched the presidency for joe biden in 2020 even hotly contested bucks county went to joe biden with 17,000 more votes than donald trump. our next guest, a writer born

in bucks county has gone back to his county to talk to voters to see where they stand on donald trump this year. s year. even shoes. febreze doesn't cover up odors with scent, but fights them... and freshens! over one thousand uses. febreze fabric refresher.

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joe biden win pennsylvania by more than 80,000 votes in 2020 in hotly contested bucks county joe biden beat donald trump by 17,000 votes. that battle for the american presidency went through dozens of towns and villages in bucks county. the town of riegle's ville population 800 where donald

trump beat joe biden by two votes. 276 to 274 in 2020. two votes. recently a writer born in bucks county went back to where he grew up to talk to voters about the 2024 election and, it is illuminating. especially about the trump voters. michael writes harris supporters liked her even if some felt they were still getting to know her. and they trusted that she would govern as a sort of standard issue democrat. the trump supporters had a more complicated story to tell. they did not express fears that ms. harris would take away their guns or for that matter even mention if they owned guns. none of them were qanon level is busy terrorists who claimed democrats are pedophiles. in other words they did not

seem insane. in their defense of mr. trump of his serial lying, his misogyny, his role in the january 6th insurrection they offered a range of explanations and rationalizations that did not align with any knowable reality. i asked them about mr. trump's business history, which includes six bankruptcies, numerous instances of cheating his vendors and years of paying minimal or no federal taxes. their responses were similar to what i heard from other trump supporters, they accept the rich play by different rules rather than resentment they expressed admiration. "every rich businessman goes bankrupt" one trump supporters said. but he does not leave it there. the trump voters stated reasons for supporting trump don't match reality but the voters aren't crazy, so he continues to prep for an explanation and landed on this. what if what his supporters really want and

do not express is the trump vibe? all the name-calling, coarseness and bullying? hyper masculine authoritarian rhetoric? mr. trump is peddling that clinical poison like political crack, and half the nation is hooked and the other half is repulsed. if it works we face political warfare. bucks county native, michael, it was a terrific story to read. talking to trump voters in 2024 is different than 2016. no one can claim not to know who he is. it seems like they are comfortable with their choice.

>> that's exactly right. they are trying to have long conversations and explore how people were feeling, and what i came away with was that there's a whole segment of the country that no longer hopes for a president to be someone we admire or want our children to look up to. a war hero like dwight eisenhower, or the trailblazer like barack obama, jimmy carter- - people have gotten i think very cynical and low in their expectations, and accepting that not only this is who donald trump, but also imagining they might know who kamala harris is. we might not know much about her , even though there's no evidence kamala harris is interpersonally corrupt, she's had a long career in public service, you know there pretty

obvious in their personal values and conduct. what i found in this sweet little town is people who have convinced themselves that this era in america is over where we are going to look up to a president. >> what do you think is behind the attraction to the hyper masculine authoritarian rhetoric of donald trump's? >> that's really the question. you know, for a lot of men it is something maybe they have grown use to with the fighting challenger reality tv. i think we are used to to it, this coarseness. trump has been around eight, 10 years on the national stage-- it just seems to go past people, but if you really listen to it, to many of us it's

dangerous, it's disturbing, in a way we have not seen since europe and the '40s. it is blaming jews for being ungrateful-- i mean this is really out-there stuff . >> i was curious about this comment from a trump voter. it was a mistake the retired car dealer said in mr. trump's role in overturning of roe v wade. he said his daughters and granddaughters are voting for mysterious for miss harris and some contributed to her campaign. the abortion thing is going to kill the campaign. has the dobbs decision created a wildcard? >> it certainly has. inside the

general store, they were colorful, one of the men said he used to run a gym. they focused on abortion as this is something that our wives and our daughters are not good with, and they see that happening, and they see the younger women influencing their husbands. so there's awareness of that as a big factor with trump. >> michael sokolove, of the new york times, thank you very much for coming to the last word, and for that terrific story. coming up, control of the senate could come down to one of the most closely watched races in pennsylvania were democratic senator bob casey is

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>> singers: ♪ safelite repair, safelite replace. ♪ the road to the mackin presidency runs to pennsylvania. and, the road to the supreme court and every other federal judge in the cabinet runs through the senate. we can have a senate that put ketanji brown jackson on the board or the one that put brett kavanaugh and two other trump

justices on the court. those are the stakes in this election. one of the races that will determine control of the senate is in pennsylvania, where senator bob casey is locked in a tight race with his publican challenger, former hedge fund ceo, dave mccormick. and just like john fetterman capitalized on questions about jersey boy menopause's residency senator bob casey is taking a similar approach with dave mccormick as he did in the final debate on tuesday. >> the campaign that we are in today started with this candidate, mr. mccormick, starting the race line to the people about pennsylvania about where he lives. how do you lie about where you live when you are running for an office where you seek to represent the people of our state? he said he was living in pennsylvania, he wasn't, he was living in connecticut. at one

point he said he was a farmer, then he grew up on a farm, if this is a question about who's telling a lie how do you allow people >> the latest attack came after a major goof by dave mccormick from pennsylvania sports fans. he seemed to confuse the philadelphia eagles and pittsburgh steelers football teams posting on social media, at an eagles game on sunday, " fun tailgate in philly today, excited to watch the steelers throttle the raiders." [ laughter ] even i know the philadelphia team is the eagles. the pittsburgh steelers from the other side of the state. the mccormick campaign spokesperson told news this week that a mistake had not been made and that mccormick is a lifelong steelers fan, and pittsburgh resident. cheering for the local team is kind of a layup for a politician you shouldn't have to explain it. [ laughter ] sorry.

joining us now, democratic senator bob casey of pennsylvania. he is running for re-election this year. senator casey, always great to see you. you have been targeting mccormick as not being from pennsylvania. is that resonating with voters? >> it's great to be with you. i think it is resonating, because people have a sense in their lives these campaigns are distant from their daily struggles. the cost of living, and issues that are so close to people's lived experience, whether it's the cost of food or household items, or housing, or childcare. and when they hear about a candidate who is not living in the state i think they have a sense that not only has he not been there, but in this case he was living in a $16 million

mansion in connecticut. so it does impact i think how they see the race. but despite all these arguments back and forth, and we have had a vigorous debate in the campaign, this is a very close race. it's probably race it's probably two points, the reason for that is this guy has a small group of billionaires that have funded a super pac set up for him and one super pac set up for one candidate has already outspent my entire campaign. i would ask folks if you want to help us beat those billionaire, by the way out-of- state billionaires, please go to bobcasey.com. >> our last guest spoke to voters in bucks county. none planned to shift how they are voting in 2020. are there minds that can be changed with

18 days to go? >> i think there are, but it's a small number. what would form the base of that column in bucks county, that's kind of a 51-49 county. so i think it will be close regardless, but we have got to continue to earn the vote of the people of bucks county. that's an important county. and that was a county decided by less than two points in 2016 and 2020. >> elon musk is in pennsylvania pushing voter fraud lines with cash for voters. how do you combat that kind of disinformation? >> well first of all making sure folks know all the details

, and what registration ends on the 21st of october just a couple days away, and also the people that have a continuing sense of what is at stake. but, sometimes disinformation is hard to combat. but we've got to make sure people know what's at stake. basic rights at stake as you made a reference to earlier. women's rights, workers rights, voting rights, all on the ballot in this race. in addition to the usual debates we have about tax policy and healthcare and so much else. i think people are engaged. i think it will be harder to prevent misinformation, but we've got to continue to make sure people know what's at stake. if we continue to do that people will vote, and i think it will be a high turnout. >> was that website, what was that again? >> bobcasey.com.

>> senator bob casey of the commonwealth of pennsylvania, thank you very much. and we'll be right back. back. like your workplace benefits and retirement savings. voya helps you choose the right amounts without over or under investing. across all your benefits and savings options. so you can feel confident in your financial choices. they really know how to put two and two together. voya, well planned, well invested, well protected. introducing new eroxon gel, the first fda-cleared ed treatment available without a prescription. eroxon gel is clinically proven to work within ten minutes, so you and your partner can experience the heights of intimacy. new eroxon ed treatment gel.

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before we go, reminder for you, you can join me this weekend on the saturday show and the sunday show both at 6:00 p.m. eastern. on sunday we'll react to the brand-new interview with vice president kamala harris after she joins the reverend al sharpton on politics nation at 5:00 p.m. eastern. that's all here on msnbc. that is tonight's last word. the 11th hour with stephanie ruhle starts now. >> there are 18 days left for kamala harris and donald trump to rally voters. >> you better remember i'm here and she's not i could have done that too. >> thou shalt not bear false witness to the neighbor, >> especially led eber's election results.