. >>> another candidate trying to rebound from controversial comments about rape, richard mourdock. however, he too lost the indiana senate race to joe donnellly. he will replace richard hugher who lost to mourdock in the may area. >>> we go to jessica doyle with more on this. jessica? >> you've come a long way baby. the 113th congress will have at least 19 female senators. that's a record and two more than right now. kate shepherd from mother jones

bachmann was asked about richard mourdock's remarks. bachmann wouldn't tell voters

we're talking about todd akin and the richard mourdock races? >> both are looking unlikely to win this time around. richard mourdock looks like he's got a better shot, although the polling is not looking good for him. todd akin in missouri, claire mccaskill, everyone thought she was going to be a dead woman months back but she is probably going to win that race. the polling is tightening a little bit there, more spending from the gop. outside groups got involved the last week and: zeros like -- looks like claire mccaskill are going to hold on. those were two seats the republicans were holding on to control. they were hoping to win back the senate. after the two societies were taken off the map, it's harder for them to get to 50 or 51 seats. >> and in the house, are we expecting the republicans to keep control? and gain seats, lose seats? >> democrats are bullish about taking back the seats they lost in 2010. they're going to picture up a few and going to be like three to six or 10 if they have a good night. that is not going to be the big number

bachmann was asked about richard mourdock's remarks. bachmann wouldn't tell voters where she stood, dodging questions about abortion, access for rape victims. >> you heard what richard mourdock said and you know that has been controversial. god intended this to happen if a fetus results a consequence of that rape. i want to know if you agree with that. >> what i agree with is i'm 100% pro-life and i agree with the position of the catholic church on this issue. >> let's bring in kelly goth, political correspondent for theroot.com and democratic strategist chris kafinis. the war on women. these remarks by mourdock continued to erode away. how big of an impact is this going to have on these races? >> huge. it already is, right? and i think the way i look at this, ed, is the other perspective of the gop was that this election cycle was essentially about three issues. the economy, the economy, the economy. and that is partially true, right? but you can be the brightest economic business mind on the planet and if you run for office and you sa

party still faces after those rape comments from senate candidates, not senators, todd akin and richard mourdock. focus on mourdock and akin revealed neither of them are outliers. as john weaver told "new york times"sh, quote, they did not seem foreign to our party, they seemed representative of our party. wow. the senate will make history with 20 women making up the largest percentage of women ever to sit in the upper chamber. i don't like the phrase upper chamber. one of those members will be senator amy klobuchar of minnesota who is coming off a big win tuesday night. senator, thank you, and congratulations. you're one of those people that people dare not run against, i guess. anyway, what do you make of the fact -- just the whole women's thing and the way women now tend to be democrats. you see it in california. we have two senators who are women in washington state, and new york, of course, you have a woman senator now and in the northeast. in fact, i think you've got 17 democratic women now, right? >> well, we do. we have -- we're going to have 20 women senators, which is incredible. the a

then indiana where richard mourdock lost by six points.oney spent and we discussed this ad nauseam. the amount of money spent in two senate races by linda mcmahon who lost to murphy, and then that tester race, you look at the state of montana. you look at the senate race, so much of what they got and tester was able to get was indian reservation land here in montana. up here you have the reservation. so much of it is in indian land. the same thing in south north dakota. and then we can't get that map to work. in any case the indian reservations helped both the democrats in these razor thin margin states. in the house there are a couple of races we want to talk about. the house of representatives saw what we think is a big upset. allen west doesn't think it's a big upset. he lost. he'll demand a recount. he has demanded that recount in florida. that is great news for the house of representatives. great news for the tea party losing. one race in california, the brad sherman, howard berman race that was almost literally a bloodbath when sherm

and romney has not disavowed richard mourdock or walked back his endorsement in any way. >> i think it'sear. people say oh, he was misconstrued, mourdock was. but he is reflecting what was an incredibly extreme policy position that is in the republican party platform, which is saying that there should be no abortion even in the cases of rape or incest. and that's something honestly as a young woman, i never thought we would be having that conversation actually at this point in time. so of course. i think mitt romney has to walk this line of sort of recalling his former massachusetts moderate ways, playing the way he did during the primary, which was incredibly right-wing on these issues, and then saying that, you know, i'd be happy to sign a bill outlawing roe v. wade, but then he also said around the first debate when we saw the new etch a sketch romney, he said he didn't know of any bill that he would want to pass to limit abortion. it was really quite shocking. and with no information there, you have to go with where the heart of the party is. >> right. >> because that's actually wher

he beat the republican candidate, richard mourdock. you remember richard mourdock beat the incumbent republican, richard lugar, who has been in the senate for three decades. there was no way he was going to lose the seat but when he lost the primary, richard mourdock was in the general election and made a big blunder a few weeks ago when he said pregnancy resulting from rape was a gift from god and he plummeted in the polls. huge wins for democrats. very bad news for republicans. it is not impossible but virtually impossible at this point for republicans to take back the senate. >> are we looking now at no-calls? >> really one no-call. this is a very important race. this is a potential piece of good news although we have to be very cautious because close to 60% reporting. at this point, george allen, the republican candidate, is a little more than 35,000 votes ahead of tim kaine. this is a democratic seat right now. this could potentially be one republican pickup but look how close it is. >> it would be good news for republicans. >> th

next, we'll talk to some of the other big winners from the night, joe donnelly who defeated richard mourdockis is "hardball," the place for politics. >>> mitt romney suffered the second worst home state defeat in the history of presidential elections. romney lost massachusetts by 23 points last night. according to the smart politics blog, the only major presidential candidate to do worse in his home state was john freeman, way back in 1856. he was the republican candidate. he won only about 19% of his home state of california in a three-way race won by james buchanan. well, romney also lost the state he was in born in michigan, lost new hampshire, and california, where he owns homes. we'll be right back. >>> welcome back to "hardball." in a series of hard-fought races, democrats kept control of the u.s. senate last night, despite ample opportunities for republicans to pick up seats. and today, two more races have been called for democrats. nbc news can project that incumbent senator jon tester of montana has won re-election. and in north dakota, heidi heightkamp is the apparent winner in her

republicans had banked on wins in missouri and indiana until gop candidates todd akin and richard mourdockcomments about rape and pregnancy. >> those two races in particular, the republicans have done it to themselves. it might cost them control of the senate. >> reporter: in connecticut folks had hoped linda mcmay hon could pull off an upset spending part of her own fortune but polls show her behind and in wisconsin tomorrow any thompson is locked in a nail biter with tammy bald win who could become the first openly gay senator. >> your voices will be heard. >> reporter: when the votes are counted, analysts predict the new senate could be even more narrowly divided than it is now. kelly o'donnell, nbc news, cleveland. >>> the chris christie, barack obama relationship grows closer. plus the cast of the jersey shore talks. >>> snow possibly for the coast. you're watching "early today." the arteries of your dishwasher are constantly clogging up with grease and lime scale. use finish dishwasher cleaner every month to keep your machine in sparkling health. for shining results, finish dishwashe

in indiana, democratic representative joe donnelly defeated republican state treasurer richard mourdock, who became famous for suggesting pregnancies resulting from rape were god's will. in virginia, democratic former governor tim kaine beat republican george allen, also a former governor, for thee seat. and know how, democratic senator sherrod brown held on to a senate seat in a campaign that saw outside groups spend tens of millions of dollars to defeat him. in connecticut, democrat chris murphy defeated republican nominee and wrestling magnate linda mcmahon. the senate races saw a series of major victories for democratic women. in one of the most closely watched races nationwide, consumer advocate elizabeth senator scott brown inican@ massachusetts. >> this victory belongs to you. you did this. you did this. you did this. for every f that has been chipped and squeezed and hammered, we're going to fight for a level playing field, and we're going to put people back to work. [applause] that is what we're goido. >> in missouri, democratic incumbent senator claire mccaskill held on to rec

and while republicans play the blame game, americans should thank todd akin and richard mourdock for telling the truth for how they exposed the gop and exposed them for what they're all about. predictably, rush limbaugh lashed out at the gender gap. >> women voted obama 55-43 for romney. massive gender gap. unchanged from 2008. unmarried women backed obama 68% to 30%. they thought romney was going to take away their birth control pills. obama treats them like vaginas and they say, he's my man. go figure. >> ah, the voice of the republican party. let's bring in terry o'neill, president of the national organization for women. terry, congratulations is in order. i know your organization put a lot into this election, because a lot was at stake. now, did the war on women cost mitt romney this election? >> there's no question that it cost him this election. and mitt romney deserved to lose, because he was right in the thick of waging this completely shameful war on women. his vice presidential pick todd -- i'm sorry, paul ryan, actually referred to rape as simply another means of conceptio

bush's type of republic party mitt romney as todd akin richard mourdock in another. >> very good with latinos, kevin mccarthy. we have some bright new leaders and we need to have more of those. >> george w. bush's policies spending and two wars ended up also delivering barack obama into the white house. but let's start with you, chip. your take where we are. what do you think of my point that romney ran a defensive campaign but he also did have to deal with the bush baggage, credibility on spending, and a foreign policy that was frankly the by product of the hopeful but ultimately rather confused and unsuccessful policy in the middle east? >> yeah. i think you are spot on. first, let me say i aspire to be one of those old white guys. >> laura: and rich. >> definitely be a rich old white guy no question. that's what i aspire to be. no question a heavy load for romney. to thine ownself be true. we know who we are as a party. center right party in a center right country. conservatism didn't lose. mitt romney lost the race for the white house. we got knocked down but we dust ourselves up.

ryan's view on abortion is exactly the same as richard mourdock and todd akin.act, akin and ryan co-sponsored one of the anti-abortion bills. and i think they muzzled ryan on purpose and romney converted himself through various phases from a moderate to a right wing to a moderate again and he can't stand up to those kind of questioning because he doesn't appear to be at anyplace. >> when given a multiple choice test, they dloe throw away the pencil. >> the greatest quote about this is ted kennedy versus mitt romney in 1994 when kennedy said i'm the pro-choice candidate and mitt romney is the multiple choice candidate. >> he nailed it. that is a clip that should be on loop for some time to come. former governor from vermont, howard dean, thank you for joining me this evening. >> thanks for having me on, alex. >>> the fight for control over the senate. who is likely to hold on and who has absolutely no chance at all and where does that missouri race stand right now? joy reid and ryan grim join me coming up. >>> former president bill clinton is making nearly as man

joe donnelly defeated tea party favorite, richard mourdock, in indiana.should have been impossible. joining us now is steve kornacki, co-host of "the cycle," 3:00 weekdays here on msnbc. happy aftermath, steve. >> i was just checking unskewedelectionreturns.com and they said republicans have 67 senate seats now, so i'm not sure what you're talking about here. >> also, mitt romney won with a anonymous vote. >> yes, in d.c., that's right. >> that's right. what happened yesterday in the senate specifically? obviously, the expectations were leaning much more toward the democrats by the time we actually voted, but the distance between patty murray having to be essentially arm twisted into taking that job and what happened last night, what happened? >> you could have put a headline from something i wrote in 2010 up there, because i was saying there was no chance for the democrats after the last election too. but what you can see now, it's a reflection of the conclusions the republicans drew from the 2008 election and the actions they took over the last four yea

. >> we have joe donnelly defeat republican tea party-backed richard mourdock. >> dave the screaming behind you is because claire mccaskill was nominated. allan west appears to have lost to his opponent patrick murphy. >> jennifer: last night was just not kind to tea party republicans. four of its most famous faces went down in defeat. michele bachmann eked out a third term but it cost her a pretty penny, actually more than $20 million. she outspent her opponent 12-1 and she only won 50.59% of the vote. in all at least 47 tea party house remembers retained their seethes with the help of obscene amounts of money. so where does the gop go from here? tonight we're putting that question to j.d. hayworth and duf sundheim. who is joining me here in studio. i want to thank you both for bringing both ends of the spectrum. j.d. just two years ago, there were 60-newly elected lawmakers who swept into congress and now some of the most prominent among them went down in defeat so did the tea party overreach? >> no not at all. the fact is there is still a substantial majority you mentioned in this

. >> i'm supporting richard mourdock for senate. >> i can't believe they are picking winners and losers like that mourdock just snalinged this plumb endorsement last week. let's check in and see what this brash young republican is all about. >> i believe that life begins at conception. the only exception i have for, to have an a dortion is in that case for the life of the mother. i struggled with it myself for a long time, but i came to realize life is that gift from god and i think even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape that it is something that god intended to happen. >> jon: well that brings us to yet another install am of our surprisingly recurring series republican candidates said what about rape now? (laughter) now i am not-- i am not a pollster, or a pundit. but here's how you know your campaign may have veered slightly into the weeds. when 1 week after your party's leader endorses your candidacy you have to call a press conference to say this. >> i absolutely abhor violence. i abhor any kind of sexual violence. i abhor rape. and i am absolutely confident as i s

i think last night, whether it was the defeat of allen west, or richard mourdock or todd akin or joe walsh, there are, you know, the extremists, the most extreme tea party republicans were not successful last night. and i think that's what their constituents -- and hilary i saw this all across the country as i traveled on behalf of president obama, they -- voters, americans want us to work to the. countless times people told me, you know, i want us to win but we've got to quit the vitriol and divisiveness and we've got to come together and compromise. i mean i'm hopeful, i know president obama is hopeful that now that this election is over, that we're going to be able to work together, i mean i hope -- >> can i ask you a question before we get -- >> -- last night's results. >> how do democrats make up that 20-point loss. if you look at the exit polls for white voters, 59% to 39%. 20-point difference among white voters. democrats can't sort of give up on white voters, can they? >> oh, of course not. but i think, you know, what we can't ignore in last night's victory was that you know

we also saw in the election cycle candidates like todd akin, richard mourdock fall because of their commentspregnancy. joe walsh defeated after bashing of tammy duckworth. until they get serious about women's issues and stop talking them down, really use this election cycle as hindsighting 20/20, moving forward? >> look, we have to separate out two issues differently. what is it about women as candidates and what difference they're going to make and the other is sort of the real extreme itch that we saw on issues of reproductive rights but also just on the notion of women as adults who can be trusted to tell the truth about their own reproduction, whether or not they've been victims of violence. you know we did see undoubtedly a strong repudiation, and i think a bipartisan repudiation that rape is up for redefinition. each in places where mitt romney won the popular vote in the state, we nonetheless saw that todd akins and the richard mourdocks fall and that should be very encouraging because it does say these sort of things are off the table, this is the 21st century we are citizens and ope

>> well, we didn't know that todd akin and richard mourdock were as bad as they were until they got the nominations, and people are not looking to wagt forring all of the solutions -- looking to washington for all of the solutions, but what we need is a good grass roots plan to get candidates and look to the leadership, because the governors are not ideologues, but they are practical, and they have to practical to run their states and they know that government plays a role in people's lives, but it has to be a limited role. the problem with the government right now is for a lot of people, it is overwhelming, and as the admiral said it is unaccountable, and we need accountable government and that is right. so look to the governors and not to washington. >> admiral, we heard or we saw senator rubio in iowa 38 months before the next presidential vote is to be cast here, and as we look forward and look at some of the comments put out over the weekend from senator graham, and jindal and walker, and others, and the republicans need to change strategy, but whose vision is best here, and to fol

meanwhile that prickly issue of abortion detonated once more this week when richard mourdock, the gop senate candidate in indiana talked about rape and pregnancy during the latest debate. >> life is a gift from god. when it begins in the horrible situation of rape, that is something that they intended to happen. >> gop candidate mitt romney distanced himself from the remark. but despite objections from women's rights groups romney didn't pull this campaign ad. >> i hope you will join me in supporting richard murdoch. this, of course, after freshman house republican joe walsh of illinois insisted there is no such thing as an abortion to protect a woman's life or health because of "advances in science and technology.". and representative todd akin's infamous remark about women's bodies shutting down to prevent pregnancy in cases of so-called "legitimate rape." >> so doctor, are these extreme remarks by republicans distancing themselves from these remarks, are they what are keeping abortion front and center? >> they are actions. they remind women of people trying to redefine rain rape. t

helped richard mourdock take down indiana republican senator richard lugar, the first with a press release saying her candidacy will undoubtedly be cheered by the g 0 op establishment. congresswoman capito has a long record of support of bailouts, pork and bigger government. quickly followed saying capito is too liberal for them to support. quote, there's no question that congresswoman cap toe is well known in the state and is favored by the washington establishment. they know she won't 0 rock the boat when it comes to cutting deals with democrats to spend money we don't have. freedom works which has given capito a 61% lifetime voter rating said an endorsement would not be, quote, automatic. conservatives aren't happy with her votes for the auto bailouts. west virginia, remember, is still, to put it bluntly, a pork state. robert byrd made it famous but republicans and democrats alike vote to bring federal dollars to west virginia. capito has voted to extend unemployment benefits and as a defender of the state's children's health insurance program. she supports abortion rights but she just