good evening, 7:00 p.m. here in the eastern time zone. we have the first results for you on this decision 2014. we begin with kentucky senate. this is the minority leader in the senate, senator mitch mcconnell, the incumbent, we project will be heading back. georgia senate, a big race. nunn vers perdue, too early to call. a race to watch tonight. as is the virginia senate race perhaps closer than some people thought. south carolina senate we have two incumbents returning starting with lindsey graham including the appointed senator tim scott standing for re-election tonight. he'll stand once again in two years time. we're watching all of it tonight. we have a number of poll

closings coming up. a tight, tight evening, according to the pollsters. we're back on the air, of course, hourly and with an hour-long special, 10:00, 9:00 central. for now from new yor i'm brian williams. decision 2014. election night. this is "nbc nightly news" with brian williams. and to those of you joining us for our broadcast tonight, that was for the benefit of the entire nbc television network. this is now, indeed, "nbc nightly news." on this election night and as you heard us say there in that one-minute-long update at the top of the hour, we do indeed have our first results of this early ening so far decision 2014. starting with the kentucky senate race. a lot of attention here because of who mitch mcconnell is,

leader of the republicans in the senate. that title is not assured when they get together for the next congress, but we do know he is heading back. a closer race perhaps than some had anticipated. mark warner hoping to return as the incumbent democrat in the commonwealth of virginia. to south carolina we go. the gubernatorial race nikki haley the projected returning incumbent governor. no surprise there. and for the governors race in georgia, jason carter, grandson of the former president, against nathan deal, you see there it is one of our races to watch. too early to call. before any more delay, let's go to chuck todd at the board. we can start to fill in some of the states where we have results. >> we have two. if you're going to tea leaf read, the reason we haven't covered virginia blue right at poll close could give aw hint. we did cover mcconnell red gives you a hint that perhaps this is

a lean republican night as far as the overall map. so we go from our ten races now down to nine. and in the next hour, there are two more states that we're going to be watching very closely to see what kind of shape they're in. it's the democratic incumbents in new hampshire and north carolina. if republicans get these two, then suddenly you see they just need three of these remaining seven and they're favored in at least four. democrats, though, if they can hold serve in both of these, then suddenly the path for the republicans, they need five of these and we have the longer night and the possible runoffs and all of that stuff. but we're obviously watching a whole bunch of governors' races, too, indeed, half the country, half of the 36 governors races appear to be incredibly close. we'll see how that moves on. >> chuck todd at the board. if we get results obviously during this broadcast we'll come on with those. now, we want to go to the center of the country and the center of so much of the attention tonight

because of the race there, but also what it means regionally in politics this evening. nbc's kelly o'donnell is our correspondent in kansas. normally covers the hill. she's far from home tonight. kelly, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. tonight we get to measure just how dissatisfied voters are. the fact we're coming to you from kansas is notable enough. this is a place that is usually republican friendly. tonight it's in play. and as we've talked to voters, that fedup feeling is all across the country. finally today, voters get their say, from iowa -- >> there's too much gridlock. i do want compromise. >> reporter: to lines at neighborhood polling stations in georgia. >> i feel good that my voice has been counted, has been heard. >> reporter: to kansas and wearing those "i voted" stickers. what message do you want to send with your vote? >> let's get together, guys, and work things out. >> reporter: the stakes are enormous.

in 36 governor race, 11 incumbents are in trouble. notably florida and wisconsin. nationally there is the bruising fight to control the senate. republicans need to gain six seats overall, three look easy. tougher, republicans need to win another three out of seven states where democrats are in office. in hot battlegrounds, frustrations directed at president obama and his policies have been used like a hammer on democrats. including new hampshire incumbent democrat senator jeanne shaheen. >> we always knew this was going to be a close race. >> reporter: up against a gop challenger scott brown. >> it was a spirited battle. and i'm looking forward to hearing the results. >> reporter: what's been spent? staggering. in the top ten senate races $429 million on general election ads. for the republican party tonight, there are trouble signs, too. here in conservative kansas. pat roberts has become the country's most vulnerable republican senator. accused of losing touch with his home state.

by businessman greg orman, running as an independent on a wave of voters' anger. >> this campaign is really a tremendous opportunity, i think, for the voters of kansas, to send a message to politicians on both sides in washington that you've got to end the gridlock. >> reporter: and part of what has made greg orman one of the most fascinating figures this election season, he won't say which party he would work with if he gets to washington. as we've been talking to voters, not only are they angry and fed up, but, brian, they also tell us they're just disappointed. >> kelly o'donnell, observerland park, kansas where she'll be posted all evening long. there's a chance a number of races will go into overtime tonight which means control of the senate could still be undecided by the time folks wake up tomorrow. for that matter by one scenario, it's january before we could know. kristen welker is covering a closely watched senate race in georgia and then some for us

tonight. kristin, good evening. >> reporter: brian, good evening. that's right. georgia is pivotal. it could be the democrats' best chance for picking a ining up a from the republicans. if michelle nunn beats republican david perdue, it would increase the magic number that republicans need to win the senate from six to seven. but our polls are showing that a runoff is likely here, brian. that is because in order to win this state outright, a candidate would need 50% plus one vote. that's going to be really difficult because there's a third party candidate here who will pick off some of ethos votes. we're watching a similar scenario in louisiana where mary landrieu is facing a tough fight from two republicans including u.s. representative bill cassidy. now a runoff in louisiana would take place in december. a runoff in georgia would take place until january, which as you said, brian, would mean we might not know who controls the senate until next year. >> kristen welker in the south

tonight covering not one but two big races for us. andrea mitchell's going o be here with us all evening long. andrea, on ballots across the country are controversial items, sometimes div is i've items from marijuana to minimum wage. >> you've got legalizing marijuana for recreational use on the ballot from alaska to washington, d.c. interestingly in washington state which only 11 days ago had that horrific shooting about the teenager who killed three of his classmates and himself, there's two ballot issues. one would require background checks before you could buy a gun, and the other would prevent the state from having any further gun restrictions. and you've got abortion. abortion in north dakota and colorado would say that it's basically criminal because life begins at conception. so you've got a lot of issues there and minimum wage. with congress so gridlocked doing nothing on the minimum wage, five states are voting on

whether to raise the minimum wage. >> i've never heard of this congressional gridlock, but we'll look into it. >> something like that. >> we'll also look at how these questions play out tonight and we'll try to pass the results along along with the big races tonight. as the evening plays out, as people have been going to the polls today, we have been stopping them. a familiar practice. as they exit the polls asking them what's been motivating their votes, what's been driving them on this election day. tamron hall has seen some of the early results of these exit polls and she is with us tonight. tamron, good evening. >> good evening. we've been asking this key question for quite some time. you know the question. do you think the question is headed in the right direction or is it headed in the wrong direction? let's take a look, brian. four years ago 61% said the country was headed in the wrong direction. and in that midterm election democrats suffered big losses in both the senate and house, by the way. look at that number now in 2014. it has ticked up to 65%.

and with that backdrop in mind, the next question we asked voters, how do they believe life will be for the next generation of americans. in 2000, 48% said listen, life will be better for the next generation. today, wow, just 22% of the people we asked hold that same view. brian, 48% now believe it will be worse. those are some of the numbers we're getting from the exit polling. >> that's why they're using the word "sour" to describe the mood at the polls for a lot of folks tonight. tamron, thanks. we'll be checking back with you tonight. our entire team will be with us all night long as these results come in. we're back on the air for a full hour at 10:00, 9:00 central tonight. you can go to the web and get results at nbcnews.com. there's other news on this election day. we're learning more about the moments just before and after that catastrophic explosion of

the virgin galactic aircraft four days ago over the california desert. while the pilot was killed -- the co-pilot was killed, the pilot was able to survive. once again on the story for us tonight jacob rascon in the mojave desert. good evening. >> reporter: brian, good evening. it is almost unbelievable that anybody could survive a rocket plane crash at the speed of sound. but new information from sources close to the investigation make peter siebold's story of survival even more astonishing. sources close to the investigation of the failed virgin galactic test flight tell nbc news at 45,000 feet after co-pilot michael alsbury prematurely unlocked the plane's tails or feathers and they deployed, the space plane actually broke up around the pilots, thrusting them at the speed of sound into an atmosphere with almost no oxygen. and sources confirm the pilots had no oxygen supply of their own outside the aircraft.

both crewmen were wearing parachutes but only pilot peter siebold was able to deploy his. investigators theorize either alsbury's parachute failed or he blacked out and was never able to deploy it. the ntsb now says wreckage from spaceshiptwo landed as far as 35 miles away from the original debris field. in a statement released today the company's founder richard branson praised the company's 400 engineers and technicians and says, while this is a tragic setback, we are moving forward and will do so deliberately and with determination. one industry watcher says this accident, while tragic, will not cripple the drive to space tourism. >> i think the industry can recover. there will be much more attention now on both how these vehicles are built from an engineering standpoint and a regulation standpoint. >> reporter: when investigators finally do interview siebold, they hope to find out why

alsbury pulled that lever. they started a memorial fund for alsbury which has already met its goal of $100,000. >> jacob rascon in the mojave desert tonight, thanks. this striking video showing a woman grabbed off a city street. and, thankfully, investigators are on a clue that's bringing them closer to the suspect's tail tonight. and later, why a big arrival was something of a surprise in los angeles. urprisin los angeles. (announcer) are you dealing with hot flashes during menopause?

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we're back with these images that have sparked a manhunt going on in two states. they show a young woman walking alone when a man suddenly approaches her, attacks her and drags her to his car. whether the suspect knew it or not, it was all captured by a surveillance camera. luckily more clues have now presented themselves in this case. we get our report from nbc's rehema ellis. >> reporter: this disturbing three-minute surveillance video shows a young woman's desperate police say 22-year-old carlesha gaither was kidnapped sunday night in the germantown section of philadelphia. today her mother begged for her daughter's life. >> give me back my baby. give me my child. please. >> reporter: the video shows a gray ford taurus being parked.

moments later a heavily built man is seen approaching gaither violently dragging her down the street and shoving her into the car where authorities believe she kicked out one of the car windows. police say after the abduction they found the young woman's glasses and cell phone here on the sidewalk. today police released photos of a man using gaither's atm card early monday morning at a bank in aberdeen, maryland. that's 75 miles south of where she was taken. it's also the place her grandmother says she called home for most of her life. >> she's a very strong person and i have a lot of faith in her and i have a lot of faith in god. i know she's going to make it through. >> reporter: her sister says he was pursuing a nursing career. >> she's really a sweetheart. she loved animals. she's just a free person. >> reporter: this afternoon back at the crime scene. >> we're going through every step and we're going through everything, you know, twice, to make sure we didn't miss anything. >> reporter: tonight a $45,000

reward is being offered. as a family clings to each other and the hope that their loved one comes home. >> please bring her home. >> please bring her home. >> reporter: rehema ellis, nbc news, germantown, pennsylvania. when we come back here this evening, something remarkable in hawaii. we'll show you what's been spared by the lava flow on the big island. spared by the lava flow on the big island. the future to life. for more than 145 years, pacific life has been helping families achieve life-long financial security with innovative tools and strategies. talk to a financial advisor to protect your family and plan today. pacific life. the power to help you succee two words: it heals.e different? how? with heat. unlike creams and rubs that mask the pain, thermacare has patented heat cells that penetrate deep

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minnesota vikings running back adrian peterson has pleaded out to a lesser charge in a deal with prosecutors to resolve a child abuse case. peterson pleaded no contest to a reduced misdemeanor. he took full responsibility for his actions. he'll pay a fine, serve 80 hours of community service. his future with the nfl is uncertain. in hawaii tonight on the big island, something of a freak of nature as the slow flow of lava overtakes a hillside including a japanese cemetery in the town of pahoa.

but it spared the headstone of the sato family. they thought they'd never see it again. they were relieved to see it had been spared. it has been surrounded by vently hardened volcanic rock. also hawaii democratic congresswoman tulsi gabbard, an mp and captain in the army, has been activated by the national guard. she's expected to win re-election tonight from congress. following tonight she'll be on duty with her guard unit providing assistance in the area of the lava flow. the feds have fined ringling brothers and barnum and bailey circus $7,000 for an incident in rhode island back in may. it was a stunt featuring acrobats hanging by their hair. you may recall that the mishap sent eight of them falling 15 feet to the ground. some sustained serious injuries. $7,000 happens to be the maximum fine that osha is allowed to impose in such a case for safety violations. the spokesman for the company that operates the circus said it

disagreed with osha's conclusions but will follow osha's guidelines for rigging equipment when the tour resumes in 2015. big buzz in l.a. over a big new arrival. for the first time in 26 years the l.a. zoo has welcomed the birth of a healthy baby hippo. it was something of a surprise because -- how to put this -- they were using protection. the mother hippo mara was put on birth control a while back but apparently no one briefed the father hippo armanda. hippo gestation is eight months. you'll be a happy to learn the zoo is happy because the family of three is bonding. the baby will be a major attraction. when we come back, it might change your mind about car dealers when you see what one of them has done for the life of a young man. them has done for the life of a young man. hey, how you doin'? it hurts. this is what it can be like to have shingles, a painful, blistering rash.

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the most common side effect is diarrhea, sometimes severe. if it's severe, stop taking linzess and call your doctor right away. other side effects include, gas, stomach-area pain and swelling. bottom line, ask your doctor about linzess today. finally tonight, a car dealership is not first place that comes to mind when you think about what could make a real difference in someone's life. but for one teenager in minnesota who happens to love cars, it has done just that, giving him a new window on the world. we get the story tonight from correspondent boyd hoopert of our station kare in the twin cities.

>> thank you for calling. >> reporter: by now you've been to enough car dealerships to know all the players. >> hang on one moment, please. >> reporter: but unless you've been to the ford dealership in apple valley, odds are you've never met a player quite like this. >> how's it going? >> good. >> reporter: jake nelson has had a lifetime obsession with cars, which led instinctively to his fascination with car lots. >> we've been to hondas, chevys, all the different ones. >> name a brand. we've been there. >> reporter: but last year father and son stopped at the lot of apple ford lincoln, and for the first time a salesman paid attention to him. matt liukin introduced jake to some of his dealership co-workers. >> how are you? >> good. >> reporter: and from there things took off. don't bother looking for an unlocked door at apple ford lincoln or a wheel that's not straight or a bumper over the

line. >> he feels like he's a part of something. >> reporter: it's hard, as parents, to be told your 3-year-old will never read or write or even drive one of those cars he love, but at 17, jake has found his place. >> keep her going. >> reporter: several times a week jake's parents bring him by after school to tend to his lot. that's the senior sales manager he's leading around. to see jake so at ease picking the colors for the showroom display. a mom can't say thank you enough to the employees of a car dealership who shared a little. >> oh! >> uh-oh. did you find one? >> yeah. >> reporter: and gave a lot. >> i think we did pretty good. >> reporter: for nbc news, boyd hoopert, apple valley, minnesota. that is our broadcast on this tuesday, election night. thank you for being here with us. one last reminder, we'll have election update threw the

evening on this station. then we're back for our decision 2014 special hour at 10:00, 9:00 central. i'm brian williams. of course, we hope to see you back here tomorrow evening as well. for here and for now, good night.

don't tell him i said i was okay with it, until i see him. >> who am i? >> matthew may want to thank jim carrey for that parody now. this is a little tough