so good to be with you this welcome to "early today's" special election coverage. i'm frances rivera from and i'm yophillip mena. re waking up to a new day in america as speaker-elect nancy pelosi put itast night after a major shift in power. e nation waking up more divided than ever this morning as seen here on front pages all across the country. a record-breaking number of americans cast their ballots in on of the most consequential midterm elections in hiavory. >> a w of democrats is now making their way to congress, seizing control of the house of representatives and bringing an unprecedented number of womenoo power serve as a check on the

president. >> this resistance began with women, and it is being led by women tonight. they refused to let anyone shu them up or stand in their way, and that is how real change begins. >> and it wasn't just women who went left. african-americans, hispanics, and asian-americans also went for the democrats, joining those consequential female voters. >> while that coalition may have been enough to propelra dem to power in the house, it was an entirely different matter across the capitol where republicans held on to their majority in the senate. they flipped a handful o democratically controlled seats as voters delivered a government said to sha at odds with itself over the next few years. the texas senate race pitting cruz and o'rourke. >> and while the president sought to put immigration front

and center inelection, warning that a caravan of migrants are making their way up from central america, it was health care that won out as a top issue facing most americans with 41% of those polled putting it as first with immigration coming in as a distant second. in fact, nearly 50% of voters claim the presatent's ion policies were, quote, too >> still when it was all said and done, the president got exactly what he wanted after he told americans to vote as if he were on the ballot with two-thirds of voters saying the president was a factor in how they voted, ultimately handingn him accility via the house. >> but it was women who made all the difference this midterm,is makingry along the way. at least 95 women have won seats in the rehouse,ing the current session record. more than two dozen of them are going to whington for the very first time. as our clean janeim writes, women didn't just break records. ooey set the political pla on fire. from the first muslim woman taking power, ra she that tlaib

winning her seat in michigan, and ilhan omar getting elected in minnesota. veronica es co-bar from el paso. and the youngest candidate ever, new york's alexandria ocasio-cortez enteringongress at 29 years old. >> we launched this campaign because in the absence of anyone giving a clear voice on the moral issues of our time, then its up to us to voice them. >> another notable female newcomers, charisse davids, the first native american woman and first lesbian native american woman elected to congress. she's also a former mma enfight. here's mikey sherrill, a former navy pilot who flipped a republican seat. the parentnberger winner in virginia who wrestled the seat away from conservative david brat. and minnesota'sho angie craig gave democrats the 23rd seat they needed in order to win

control of the hous many of the democratic women ran because of president trump. his presidency igniting a d resurgence iocratic activism as they seek a check on his power. it looks like the dems will get exactly that come january with lawmakers set to use their powerf committees to investigate the administration. this morning a source tells nbc news one leading democratic lawmaker already intends to formally request president trump's tax returns. meanwhile on the senate side, no blue wave there. democrats had an uphill battle defending 26 seats to the publicans nine. the gop picked up three of those, giving a big boost to president trump. india democratic senator joe donnelly lost to businessman mike braun. in north dakota, senator heidi itkamp fell to republican challenger kevin cramer. in missouri josh hawley surgedc past democrancumbent claire mccaskill. senator ted cruz fended off beto

o'rourke whomashed fund-raising records in his bid to turn texas blue. >> we saw a $100 million race, but all the money in the world was no match for the good people of texas a the hard-working men and women across our state. >> i am forever grateful to every single one of you for making this ssle. i believe in you. i believe in texas. i believe in thiscountry. looking to florida where the race there, it is still too close to call a this hour. incumbent senator bill nelson and rick scott currentlypa hed by less than 1%. now, if final results have them separated by 0.5% or le, that wilrigger an automatic recount. still, that didn't stop scott from celebrating a victory last night. he told the croot he's going to d.c. to make friends but to get things done. a statemen from nel is expected later today. out in utah, forenr presal candidate mitt romney handily won his bid for

senator, promising to workith lawmakers on both sides. >> the victory tonight is more than a victory of a candidate ford the unitestates senate. i believe it's a callor greater dignity and respect. i believe it's an affirmation that regardless of one's gender or ethnicity or sexual orientation or race or place of birth, that we are all equal. >> in new bjersey, democrat menendez managed to hold on to his seat despite backlash over his federal corruption trial. still up in the air, the race for retiring senator had cook ran's seat in mississippi. the special election there will go to a roff after neither candidate got more than 50% of the vote. that runoff will happen on november 27th. and in arizona, that historic race also still t close to call. democratst k sinema and martha mcsally are vowing for jeff flake a seat.

whichever candidate wins will serve as the state first ever female senator. >> by taking control of the house, democrats will have their first check of president trump since he took office, and possible leadership is already takingshape. according to south carolina congressman jaexs clyburn, he cts nancy pelosi to retake the speakership, and sonny hoyer to serve as majority leader. clyburn would be majority whip. how will democrats wield their newfound power. >> here isto "usy" congressional reporter eliza collins. a broad question. what do you make of what we saw weernight? >> , it's really fascinating because it's basically three very different maps. the democrats made historic gains in the hous th were able to -- maybe not a blef wave butitely a blue ripple. they swept suburban districts. won were swe in. but that map was more favorable to democrats. in the senate, the map was certainly more favorable to publicans, and that's exactly what happened. republicans took out some democratic incumbents by pretty

large margins. and then the governor's race, there were definitely some surprises. kansas went to a democrat. but it was sort of a mixed bag. so it'sust three really different races. >> when you look at the issues at stake here, our nbc news exit polling showed that it was health care that was the biggest driver for voters thet the polls. talk about how that translated to democrats. and on the republican side, what that meant when you have a president just driving and pounding so hard the issue of immigration. >> yeah. so health care is absolutely no surprise, and democrats particularly in the house knew that, and they were very successful with that. republicans ran on repealing and replacing obamacar they basically had that vote in 2017 and were unable to do it, but they were on the record as voting t w do that,ch would allow pre-existing conditions to cost more. and democrats hammered them on that, they were really on the defense. republican sources told me that was sort of the biggest problem for them, and it clearly w

true in the house. immigration, president trump did that. he knew exactly who he was speaking to on that, which was his base. that was really helpful in the senate in these ruby red states. but it did probably hurt him in the house inome of the suburban districts where that might have turned off some voters. >> this election was also a referendum on president trump.ex polling show two-thirds of americans said they cast their votere based ondent trump, whether they supported him or opposed him. and he was really doubl on immigration towards the end here. going forward, how big of an issue do you think that will still be, or was tt just something that he may have been playing up, fearmongering just for the election to get sides to vote thsie? >> well, pnt trump won on immigration in 2016. he's going to say he won onim gration in 2018. after tonight's results came in, he called it a tremendous night even though republicans lost the house. knowing trump, he will probably continue to go with that.

et we'll really ho see. >> especially with 2020 now inow sight,ith the midterms behind us, we'll see what happens after that. >> lot going on there. thanks for joining us. let's get a check of our weather with bill karins. >> we're no longer really tracking any rain severe storms. now we're turning to cold and snowy type weher. we actually have winter weather advisories for araas of na and kansas. this is the beginning of a chillier air mass coming town fr north. we think we're going to get some accumulating snowfalln areas of nebraska and a little bit in kansas. we have rain this morning around little rock.ea rainyer around louisiana through mississippi into georgia and the carolinas late tonight into early tomorrow rning. finally a dry day in the northeast. that's a look at t big weather story of the day. here's a closer look at your day ahead. we're all watching the chance of some showers and thunderstorms along that front. it's not going to pour all day. most areas will get an inch or less. i'm n too concerned of flooding concerns throughout the south. how about this cold air mass m

coming down f canada? only 24 today in bismarck and 28 in fargo. the chilly november is going to be a theme, guys. >> we'llite ready for bill, thank you. candidates were not the only thing on the ballot thi ar. the public also got a chance to decide on policy. americans voted on dozens of referendums that cou have a huge impact on not just the state, but the country. a forgetut red or blue, voters in michigan, well, they went green, voting to legize recreational marijuana. it's now the tenth state in the country to legalize it. the measure will allow adults over the age of 21 to possess, grow, and use small amounts of it. >> more than 600,000 worken missouri are getting a raise after voters there approved proposition b. it wille gradually h up the minimum wage to $12 an ur. you see clear skin. cosentyx can help people with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis find clear skin that can last. don't use if you're allergic to cosentyx. before starting, get checked for tuberculosis. an increased risk of infections and

lowered ability to fight them may occur. tell your doctor about an infection or symptoms, if your inflammatory bowel disease symptoms develop or worsen, or if you've had a vaccine or plan to. serious allergic reactions may occur. how sexy are these elbows? ask your dermatologist about cosentyx. ask your dermatologist when your blanket's freshness fades before the binge-watching begins... that's when you know, it's half-washed. next time, add downy fabric conditioner for freshness that lasts through next week's finale. downy and it's done. give joyat kohl's! with an extra 15% off! save on new bedding plush towels - just $7.64 and a new crock-pot! us - take an extra $10 off your $50 or more home purchase! you'll get kohl's cash too! give joy, get joy - at kohl's.

♪ (gasps) ♪ (coughs) ♪ (coughs) (sneezes) for real cold and flu protection. you can't protect them from an imaginary cold. but with lysol, you can help protect them from the real one. lysol disinfectant spray kills the #1 cause of the cold and clorox wipes don't. lysol. what it takes to protect. every baby can have the freedom to move their way in pampers cruisers with three-way fit. they adapt at the waist, legs and bottom for our driest best fitting diaper. pampers if we all do good, we can all do good. and we can doood by doing good, that if we all put our

oars in the water and row same direction, that we can all get further than by tiourselves. i believe that to be true this evening, even in defeat, i believe that to be true. the question is, we have a choice to make tomorrow morning. are we going to wake up and bask in sorrow and defeat, or are we going to get up and reassert oursves to the mission at hand? are we going to get up and fight for the things we believe in? are w going to get up and say that we still deserve our seat at the table? >> that's florida democrat andrew gillum, who conceded the governor's race to ron ron desantis. the governor's race often courted controve notably with a charge that desantis used racially insensitive language against gillum. if he had won, gillum would have become florida's first black governor. but it was an htoric night for female governors. democrat janet mills became the first female governor of mai afte defeating republican shawn

moody in a tight race. mills replac republican paul lepage, who refused to expand medicaid coverage to some 70,000 people in his state. mills has pledged to implement that expansion immediately. >> and republican kristi noem was elected the first woman governor of south dakota over democrat billie sutton. noem will succeed dennis daugaard, also republican voters in iowa also elected their first female governor in state history. republican kim reynold a won tight race against democrat fred hubble after campaigning on g reformedicaid and fundingre planned hood. and one other milestone to note. jared polis in colorado became irthe openly gay man ever elected governor in america. the five-term congressman who spoke of inclusivity and diversity beat out republican walker stapleton. >> florida is getting a whole lot of attention for its governor's race and some key house and senate races. as the largest battleground state in the country, theseou

elections provide valuable insight into how voters are reacting to the president after narrowly voting him in office two years ago. bc newsurn now to political reporter alley ba tally live in naples. she's been on the road all of these races closely. good morning. >> reporter: good rning, frances and phillip. i think the one thing that you need to look at in florida -- and you're right that it got outsized attention. but florida is one of the swingiest of swing states and it tells us a lot about where the nation is right now two years into president trump's term. you're right that they elected him narrowly by about one point in 2016. the margins tha we saw toptd both in the bill neton-rick sc race and the micked s-gillum race mibl that. you have 0.6 percentage points divides those two campaigns. we'll be watchinthat for sure. i think the lesson here for republicans is that you can run two ways and sll end up with a victory. for ran desantis, he ran in the

image oftrump, really running in the president's shadow and bear hugging him as tightly as he could at e turn, trying to pick up that trump base, trump voter who powered the president to victory in florida in 2016. then on thether side you had rick scott, who was a big trump 2016 backer tmself. ow is running as his own man, repeatedly telling hepublicans here in state that he was independent and speaking his own mind. so he was looking to targett moderate centrist voter. in the end, both pats came back andas both woepublicans in florida. it gave people a pretty good sense of what could come in 2020 en the president seems to be or expects to be on thealt once again. >> ali, thank you. no matter what's up for a vote in florida, it always seems like a coinfl , right? just ahead, more election coverage. but first after casting their ballots yesterday, dozens of voters flocked to susan b. thony's grave in upstate new york and placed their "i voted" stickers on herheadstone. it's become some of of an

election day tradition. anthony was arrested for voting almost 146 years ago. you're watching "early today." 'se buffalo wing's been around. dozen wings. 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. it's too hot. new listerine® ready! tabs™ aren't gum, mints, or marbles. seriously, what is this? if you guessed they're tabs that turn into liquid as you chew, so you can swish and clean your whole mouth instantly, then you were correct. and that was a really good guess. nice job. gives skin the moisture it needs and keeps it there longer with lock-in moisture technology skin is petal smooth after all, a cleanser's just a cleanser

unless it's olay. hi susan!hs) honey? i respect that. but that cough looks pretty bad... try this new robitussin honey. the real honey you love... plus the powerful cough relief you need. mind if i root through your trash? new robitussin honey. because it's never just a cough. is your floor's best friend. only roomba uses 2 multi-surface rubber brushes to grab and remove pet hair. and the roomba filter captures 99% of dog and cat allergens. if it's not from irobot, it's not a roomba.

getting you up to date with the other headlines, a jury found a man from bangladesh guilty on federal terrorism charges for setting off a pipe bomb in new york's busiest subway in december. after the verdict was read, he

said he was motivated byng at president trump. he now faces life in prison. a coloro man has cut a plea deal for thehocking murders of his pregnant wife and two young daughters. chris watts t agreed plead guilty to nine counts to avoid the death penalty. watts had gone on television to issue a public plea after his family disappeared in august, only to be arrested a short time later. the girl scouts are taking a claim to the scouts name. the group has filed a trademark infringement lawsuit claiming the boy scouts proposed name to scouts bsa could marginalize tco girls and cause confuse. the boy scouts responded by saying there is an opportunity serveth organizations to girls and boys in their communities. just ahead, our midterm elecon coverage here continues. plus powerful storms slam into tennessee and leaving behind a trail of destruction inhe wake. you are watching "early today."

ok i'll admit. i didn't keep my place as clean as i would like 'cuz i'm way too busy. who's got the time to chase around down dirt, dust and hair? so now, i use heavy duty swiffer sweeper and dusters. for hard-to-reach places, duster makes it easy to clean. it captures dust in one swipe. ha! gotcha! and (new) sweeper heavy duty cloths lock away a twice as much dirt and dust. it gets stuff deep in the grooves other tools can miss. you know what? my place is a lot cleaner now. stop cleaning. start swiffering. for serta's biggest sam's club mattress sale of the year. save $200 on all king mattresses or save $100 on all queens and fulls.

from serta america's #1 mattress brand. be serta comfortable. this weekend only at sam's club. this winter, a hero will fight... superhero: [coughs] his cold. what do ya think? sidekick material? eh? superhero: i seriously can't deal with you today. mucinex cold & flu all-in-one. fights... oh no. no-no-no. sore throat, fever, cough, sinus pressure, chest congestion, headache, nasal congestion, body pain... all in one did you really need the caps lock? superhero: hold this. finally, a piece of the actiooooon! get tough on cold and flu symptoms. mucinex cold and flu all-in-one. give joyat kohl's! with an extra 15% off! save 30 to 50% on outerwear save on boots for the family and an instant pot! plus - only at kohl's s you get kohl's cash nd later! the more you give, the more you get! give joy, get joy - at kohl's.

♪ introducing the all-new corolla hatchback. toyota. let's go places. in> well, we did have one tornado that dely was a deadly tornado in tennessee yesterday. even flipped a oouse in case. no such things going on like that today. we have coldow air coming from the north and we're going to have a chilly air mass in play. 28 inbillings. memphis at 57. then the cold air continues to push to the south as we go io thursday. by friday and saturday, to the east coast. stay tuned for more. cosentyx can help people with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis find clear skin that can last.

don't use if you're allergic to cosentyx. before starting, get checked for tuberculosis. an increased risk of infections and lowered ability to fight them may occur. tell your doctor about an infection or symptoms, if your inflammatory bowel disease symptoms develop or worsen, or if you've had a vaccine or plan to. serious allergic reactions may occur. how sexy are these elbows? ask your dermatologist about cosentyx. ask your dermatologist my mom washes the dishes... ...before she puts them in the dishwasher. so what does the dishwasher do? cascade platinum does the work for you, prewashing and removing stuck-on foods, the first time. wow, that's clean! cascade platinum. ...perfectly seasoning our ohillshire farm smoked sausage. so by simply adding the right ingredients... ...you can end each day crafting a perfectly delicious dinner.

abouthe colonial penn progra here to tell you if you're age 50-85 and looking to buy life insurance on a fixed budget, remember the three p's. the three what? the three p's? what are the three p's? the three p's of life insurance on a fixed budget prare price, price, ane. a price you can afford, a price that can't increase, and a price that fits your budget. i'm 54 and i was a smoker but quit. alex, what's my price? you can get coverage for $9.95 a month. i'm 65, retired, and take medications. what's my price? also $9.95 a month. i just turned 80 and i'm on a fixed income.what'? $9.95 a month for you, t. if you're age 50 to 85, call nowt bout the number one mpular

whole life insurance planug available th the colonial penn program. it has an affordable rate starting at $9.95 a month. that's less than 35 cents a day. you cannot be turned down because of your health. no medical exam, no health questions. your accepnce is guaranteed, and this plan has a guaranteed lifetime rate lock, so your rate can never go up for any reason. and withouhis plan, you can pickpayment date, so you can time your premium due date to work with your budget.s optiart at $9.95 a month, plus, you get a 30-day money back guarantee. so call now for free information. and you'll also get this free beneficiary planner,. so call now.

good morning, ev i'm eun yang. >> i'm aaron gilchrist. election night has come and gone, but the drama continues this morning. recounts in some of the country'sroost high ple cases are already being ordered. the candidates prepare to move on from the campaign and into a lega> fight. >> we are breaking down the biggest races impacting our region. how abo ourweather, chuck be ll

"news 4 today" starts now. election night is over, and this morning new faces are making plans to begin their new jobs right here at the u.s. capitol. that wasn't exactly a blue wave as many utpredicted, there

wasn't really a red wall either. fast approaching 4:00 a.m. good morning, everybody. i'm aaron gilchrist. >> and i'm eun yang. the house of now in control of the democratic party, but republicans held onto the senate.ea that a to be enough for president trump who took to twitter late last night ith this simple message, quote, tremendous success tonight. thank you all. but with so many new democrats coming to washington, what does that mean for president trump's agenda. >> we are digging into that question this morning and looking at all the races from last night. we want a to beg we always do with that all important check on your commute and your forecast helissa mollet standing by with a view on roads. let's start with storm team 4's chuck bell and a look at theay ahead. >> good morning, aaron and eun. he ripeful hopefully you are out. a little chance of sunshine coming back. a little wave of low pressure