s tommy thompson to tammy baldwin, here's her acceptance speech. >> i am openly aware that i'll be the first openly gay member. [ cheers and applause ] >> tammy! tammy! tammy! tammy! tammy! tammy! >> but -- but i didn't run, but i didn't run to make history. i ran to make a difference. >> and this race between tammy baldwin and tommy thompson one of the most expensive in the country. the two candidates race raised $20 million combined. that's a lot of money. when we come back, the results heard around the world. global reaction to president obama's big night.

in the wisconsin senate race, democratic congresswoman tammy baldwin defeated former governor tommy thompson, making baldwin the first openly gay senator in u.s. history. in connecticut, pro wrestling magnate and republican linda mcmahon lost to congress member chris murphy, despite spending nearly $100 million running for office. in maine, former governor angus king, an independent, won a three-way contest for the senate seat of retiring republican olympia snowe. king is expected to caucus with democrats. while the democrats retained control the senate, republicans remain in control of the 435- member house in part thanks to redistricting. florida had two closely watched house races. nbc is projecting republican congress member allen west has lost a close race with challenger patrick murphy, that west has refused to concede so far. former democratic congressmember after one house term, has won in a newly created orlando-area district. in minnesota, republican former presidential candidate michele bachmann hung on to her house seat by narrowly defeating challenger jim graves. with 98% of pre

this was tammy baldwin taking on the four-term governor, tommy thompson. >> i have known tammy baldwinsince the early 1990 costs. around the time i met her when she was serving as a state representative representing madison, she was a progressive local politician. i was also thrown out of the government not -- the governor's mansion by tommy thompson on immigration issues and issues that had to do with his welfare reform. he was like a machine politician in wisconsin who was also bush's health and human services secretary and pushing the end >> threat region -- pushing the anthrax threat. the fact that he came back is mystifying to some people, but tammy baldwin is going to be the first openly gay woman a elected to the senate, and she is a pretty aggressive politician. i have had debates with her over the years. generally speaking, she is from the ross fine gold school of politics, which coming off of ron johnson, tammy baldwin is replacing basically an old fogy politician. his slogan was, and nobody's senator but yours. >> she is a colleague of congressman paul ryan. >> paul ryan is

but the bottom line to understand, tammy baldwin will tell you this, brown will tell you, candidateswon races had to spend six, seven, eight hours on the phone, begging for money. this money and politics problem is a crisis. is a crisis the matter what the final result. you may be able to collier with a victory, but do not think it is not a real problem. the people understand that. in montana and colorado, they have referendums on whether those -- they should encourage a constitutional amendment to overturn citizens united. the results are very encouraging, not just in those states, the cities across the country people voted to overturn citizens united. there is an exciting result of montana as well. it looks like the new governor of montana, a democrat, a guy who was attorney general of montana, the person who went to the supreme court and fought to maintain montana's historic are on corporate money in politics. we have elected people who really do understand that we have got to overturn citizens united. i think is important to recognize in the new senate, bernie sanders but overtur

because of tammy baldwin. women are out in force, 3:1 out there canvassing for her. it's women.aw, a rust belt state. is he going to win it? because of the auto bailout. he's doing well with women and not so well. 17--point advantage against her opponent on the gop side. women are giving barack obama the down pal lot push he needs from senate candidate. another outlier very quick which is bob kerry. he's the former senator from the great state of nebraska, lived in new york for ten years. he's running and going to lose unfortunately in my opinion. what's he going to do? he's going to give barack obama one electoral vote. how? because lincoln and other urban areas of nebraska, they split their electoral votes in nebraska and maine. he'll give that vote in 2008. he gets one electoral vote out of nebraska because of down ballot ticket. >> you brought up wisconsin, and that's a state i'm taking a risk on going red. i think the ousting of russ feingold, the election of scott walker, the re-election of scott walker, i think the state is ripe for flipping, but it's a state that is divi

and tammy baldwin will now be the first openly gay senator in this country. and she is the first woman senator from wisconsin. she has made history. but it does not only about electoral politics. what happened in wisconsin was profound. people across the political spectrum organizing against the attack on public unions that we are seeing everywhere, especially on teachers, as if there is a new terrorist. teachers, when you think of the teachers i think when i -- i think of the revered when i was growing up, the ones that are thought of as wrecking society, that is not how the people in wisconsin felt. it took over the capitol building. i saw some of the biggest man i had ever seen in my life, the oshkosh prison guards, and i said to them what are you doing in the capitol building? taking it over. so who do vote for? >gov. walker. why? he did not say that he would go after our teachers and their wives and our nurses. i saw someone in the freezing cold outside, an older gentleman with white parents over glasses marching with a sign saying "irs auditors against

i think the race with tammy baldwin and tommy thompson, tammy baldwin is representative as congresswomana very tight race. the race in montana where jon tester has been fighting an uphill fight in that state which is largey republican, and then nevada, going against the appointed senator dean heller there. those races are going to give the democrats if they're able to win any of them. i think they'll hold on to jon tester's seat. i think tammy baldwin will win and i have doubts of how it will go in nevada. 22 seats really when you add the independents or the 23 seats when you add the independents were available were vulnerable, open or contested yes this year the democrats have been able to hold that off and at the very least i think we'll maintain the 53-47 because i think king in maine who will win as an independent will actually be caucusing with the democrats. all they can do is better than where they are right now. i think that's terrific. >> jennifer: michael i would put heidi hyde's tamper in north dakota. i think the democrats will have about 55 seats in the senate. i also say th

i ran to make a difference. >> and this race between tammy baldwin and tommy thompson one of the mostn the country. the two candidates race raised $20 million combined. that's a lot of money. when we come back, the results heard around the world. global reaction to president obama's big night. stay with us. [ female announcer ] introducing yoplait greek 100. 100% new. ♪ it's so mmm you might not believe it's a hundred calories. new yoplait greek 100. it is so good. to provide a better benefits package... oahhh! [ male announcer ] it made a big splash with the employees. [ duck yelling ] [ male announcer ] find out more at... [ duck ] aflac! [ male announcer ] ...forbusiness.com. ♪ ha ha! home of the legendary grand prix circuit. the perfect place to bring the all-new cadillac ats to test the 2.0-liter turbo engine. [ engine revs ] ♪ [ derek ] 272 horsepower. the lightest in its class. the cadillac ats outmatches the bmw 3 series. i cannot believe i have ended the day not scraping some red paint off on these barriers. ♪ [ male announcer ] the all-new cadillac ats. >>> welcome back to w

. >> a lot of that has to do with the hotly-contested seat between tammie baldwin and tommy thompson.has the best name recognition in wisconsin politics. connect eded to the bush administration and late in the campaign, that's exactly what baldn did. she connected him to bush and especially in the debate they had. and she's a -- she as far as the progressive s elizabeth warren if they both get intosenate. >> one thing that's very clear as we see these lines that are no matter what happens, it underscores what many of us have been saying for months why we should not be cutting back on ea we should not beg up wit i.d.people want to vote country standing in line three or four or five hours, why are we having law from vf is cle want to vote1í voting base wouldvocate to sit here and say stay in we should be saying open up the booths for longer periods of times. and everything else so this would not people i don't think a person stand ing there for seven hours is an imposter. i would bet they are it actually the person they claim to be. that would be a good point.>>,woing to moment. who tol

there's no doubt about tammy baldwin, murphy or maize hirono.hey're saying, we're progressives, we're liberals, big deal. >> well, i think what's happening here is that while the republican party was having its own kind of implosion, figuring out who they were. the democrats, in fact, were kind of coming home and getting back to the core of who they are. so now you have the republicans trying to figure out how to expand their base, whatever their come to jesus moment is, or a come to jesus moment where they try to draw on democrats a little bit more. the democrats got back to the core principles that define them as a democratic party. we saw this with the democratic national convention, with speeches by deval patrick, by president clinton, by mayor castro. really talking about who and what they are as democrats. and that's what they're going to be. they're actually becoming, i think, a little bit more clear-minded in their mission on the hill now. >> i think it's true. jonathan, what do you think? i think there's such a thing as a democrat now.

. >>> tammy baldwin of wisconsin, victor, moving over to the senate.lection victory earned her two spots in american history. we'll talk about that when we talk to her loiv. that's coming up next in a moment. one is for a clean, wedomestic energy future that puts us in control. our abundant natural gas is already saving us money, producing cleaner electricity, putting us to work here in america and supporting wind and solar. though all energy development comes with some risk, we're committed to safely and responsibly producing natural gas. it's not a dream. america's natural gas... putting us in control of our energy future, now. have led to an increase intands clinical depression. drug and alcohol abuse is up. and those dealing with grief don't have access to the professional help they need. when you see these issues, do you want to walk away or step up? with a degree in the field of counseling or psychology from capella university, you'll have the knowledge to make a difference in the lives of others. let's get started at capella.edu ♪ (train horn) v

with tammy baldwin and clair claire mccaskill, of course. say personally, i could not have been happier to see joe walsh and allen west go -- somebody particularly virulent, nasty, obstructionist republicans in your body. what do you think? >> well, absolutely. and these are the flamethrowers. and that's -- people have asked me all the time, what do you think -- where do you think the american people are? i said the american people are rejecting craziness. they don't want loud people in the government. they want people who actually are dedicated to making government work. not just to basically sink the ship. alan west was one of those people. joe walsh obviously a maniac. you know. so yeah, that's the big lesson that comes out of this. >> stephanie: i don't know if you've heard anything but we're hearing this morning there may even be a recount in the michele bachmann race because it was so close. >> yeah. well that's another -- even if she ends up being re-elected, the fact that she was -- she made it by the skin of her teeth. she's a prodig

because republican tommy thompson and now tammy baldwin little bit of history here she's trying to be the first openly gay senator elected in this race like the other two are toss ups and republicans have to win this that they have any chance of controlling the senate alternately though as you see this is going to be an uphill battle for republicans to take control of the upper chamber but we'll keep an eye on all these races and update you on them as the polls close and as you heard sam just mentioned wisconsin is in the spotlight for over a year now as the labor force movement there is growing this state is an issue and this issue in particular are very important expression today unions have traditionally been a power player on an on election day but since one nine hundred eighty union rates in america have plummeted right alongside the middle class a share of national income since unions are the top funder of the democratic party if you get them out of the way the republicans arguably have a much easier path to elected office so the question is with union power diminished do conser

. >> and let's not leave out tammy baldwin. the person happens to be. >> i was just about to raise the question about tammy baldwin, another first come the first lesbian, the first gay center in american history. what special expectation or constrictions are possibilities might come with her being the first lesbian in the senate. i wonder if she might experience the same catch-22 that president obama experiences, where on the one hand he's not being as forceful as the black agenda, but on the other hand he's had for doing such things. i'm wondering if senator tammy baldwin will face pushed from one constituency that she's not sane to advance a queer agenda and on the other hand saying he represents all of us in this content. you should be pushing such an agenda. >> i think yes, she is going to have to face that. on the other hand coming to recognize she's coming for being a representative to being a senator, so she has a lot of ex-areas and relationships on the hill. i think she's very much aware of the dynamics that she's goin

the thing about tammy baldwin emily's list has been working with tammy since she was in the state legislatureerally with the state legislature. we were there when both of them ran for congress. when the seats opened up, jumped right in on the senate races. i've gotta tell you based here in washington, d.c., i spent two years in essence or 18 months since she got in this race, trying to convince this town that she could win this race. no one believed that tammy baldwin could win this race. she's a force. she put together a great campaign. they love her in wisconsin. and she took down tommy thompson, former governor, very popular, secretary of -- this was an incredible race and to highlight one, it is really what she did on tuesday night to win that race is incredible. she's going to be a great senator. she is going -- between her and elizabeth warren, i mean you literally have changed the dynamics of the united states senate with those three voices. >> this speaks to the cultural changes i was talking about earlier. >> bill: right. >> it's not a disqualifier, not only is it not a disqualifier,

as far as tammy baldwin goes? >> the exit polling for lgbt lgbt.doesn't help much because you only get national stuff. i wound up looking at the gallup data. so the ones where could it matter, which is ohio, florida, virginia and colorado. >> one thing i can add to that is that our firm had the privilege of helping general consultants. i know my business colleagues have talked about it. lgbt issues in wisconsin and other states, it is about the message that the president sent by being bold and what that says to independent voters, other progressive voters, and i think that part of our job, as we work through the challenges moving forward, how does a conversation happen. the fiscal cliff, what that will mean for senior citizens, i think that we need to figure out a way where we do the math that shows why we are so important. and attach that is really great challenges and make sure that we are not just thinking about ourselves over the next 18 months. i am afraid that some of our friends and progressive partners cs

nbc news can project that tammy baldwin, the democratic candidate for senate in wisconsin has beaten republican component,r governor tommy thompson. this was a hard fought race as tammy baldwin becomes the first openly guy woman in the united states senate. it's a big deal. wisconsin goes to the senate at the presidential level and goes democratic at the presidential left. mitt romney's concession remarks from boston and paul ryan will join him on stage after his remarks are concluded. mitt romney in boston. >> thank you. thank you, my friends. thank you so much. thank thank you. thank you. i have just called president obama to congratulate him on his victory. his supporters and his campaign also deserve congratulations. i wish all of them well but particularly the president, the first lady and their daughters. this is a time of great challenges for america and i pray that the president will be successful in guiding our [ applause ] i want to thank paul ryan for all that he has done for campaign [ applause ] and for our country. besides my the best choice i've ever made. [ applause ]

tammy baldwin one of the most senate races in the country. ng to win. >> i do, too. >> bill: great candidate. >> she hasn't been behind in any of the polls over the next -- since the democratic convention really. they've gotten tighter. you know. i'm optimistic in large part because she was ahead by such a large margin for so long. >> bill: the polls have gotten tighter in wisconsin. we're going to talk to sherrod brown a little bit later. i think in -- next hour. tom harkin, we'll be talking to in iowa. karl you'll have a chance to talk to the senator. senate races the polls have gotten tighter because the super pacs have been pouring money knowing romney can't win -- pouring money into the senate races. >> they've already spent $400 million in this shadowy money. >> bill: whoa. republicans have a chance? >> no. it is probably the biggest squandered opportunity in politics of the cycle. clair mcclass kill for all intents and purposes is a gorn. she will probably get the reward for best run senate race. she picked her opponent and then her opp

now we're also following the senate race in wisconsin where tammy baldwin has become...has become the first lesbian senator. well, first openly lesbian senator because you're not fooling anybody, lindsey graham. ( laughter ) now of course in addition to the senate, we're also tracking all the nation's referenda. california alone has 11 ballot measures this year, and florida has many that most voters simply scroll to the bottom and click "i agree." there's one in los angeles that could affect the entire country. los angeles county voters will decide on election day if adult film actors should film condoms while shooting porn films as the sex initiative measure b would not only mandate the use of condoms but also require the los angeles department of public health to lead inspection and enforcement efforts. that's right, folks, more burdensome regulations for america's job creators in the key sectors of hand rim and blow. but, folks, i got to say today's most watched initiative have to do with marijuana. that's right. everyone's watching you, marijuana users. it's your mom

now we're also following the senate race in wisconsin where tammy baldwin has become... become the first lesbian senator. well, first openly lesbian senator because you're not fooling anybody, lindsey graham. ( laughter ) now of course in addition to the senate, we're also tracking all the nation's referenda. california alone has 11 ballot measures this year, and florida has many that most voters simply scroll to the bottom and click "i agree." there's one in los angeles that could affect the entire country. los angeles county voters will decide on election day if adult film actors should film condoms while shooting porn films as the sex initiative measure b would not only mandate the use of condoms but also require the los angeles department of public health to lead inspection and enforcement efforts. that's right, folks, more burdensome regulations for america's job creators in the key sectors of hand rim and blow. but, folks, i got to say today's most watched initiative have to do with marijuana. that's right. everyone's watching you, marijuana users. it's your mom. >

lower your tax bill or your local bill and we found in our experience in this room is the moment tammy baldwin walks through that's senate and and a senator that wants to get to the floor to debate will think twice about what they say about us when they know tammy will stand up at her desk. almost as important though i think we have a bold group has democratic sig -- senators who themselves look at this issue completely differently. when you connect lgbt leaders with bold allies that we have now, just think the tone of the debate happened. i do think though considering redistricting, and how tough it will be for democrats to take over the house of representatives for some time, not impossible but really tough, we have to be really careful about our success and understand that to get to real congressional action on something super bid is going to require work among republicans where a movement that hasn't always done that well in the midst of such big wins, i can see us veering into a place where our lexicon gets arrogant and we start labeling people who want 100% with us as their enemy and i d

. >> and let's not leave out tammy baldwin. the person happens to be. >> i was just about to raise the question about tammy baldwin, another first come the first lesbian, the first gay center in american history. what special expectation or constrictions are possibilities might come with her being the first lesbian in the senate. i wonder if she might experience the same catch-22 that president obama experiences, where on the one hand he's not being as forceful as the black agenda, but on the other hand he's had for doing such things. i'm wondering if senator tammy baldwin will face pushed from one constituency that she's not sane to advance a queer agenda and on the other hand saying he represents all of us in this content. you should be pushing such an agenda. >> i think yes, she is going to have to face that. on the other hand coming to recognize she's coming for being a representative to being a senator, so she has a lot of ex-areas and relationships on the hill. i think she's very much aware of the dynamics that she's goin

tammy baldwin in wisconsin was in the capital, with the protesters. sherrod brown, in ohio, turned his campaign over to the movement in that state to overturn their anti-labor law. and so, you really saw something begin a very long time ago. and there were a lot of people who were hard-pressed, who got engaged politically, in defense of their own labor rights a year and a half ago, and transitioned that into this campaign. now, the interesting thing that happened, in this campaign, is that mitt romney showed himself to be precisely the sort of person that they had been fighting. someone who was clearly committed to attacking unions, but also who was willing to say and do anything to win. and i cannot emphasize to you, not just in ohio, but in other states across the great industrial heartland, romney's comments saying that jeep was going to close and move to china, that scared is people? >> you heard that a lot in toledo last night? >> and it also woke a lot of people up. not just in toledo. in toledo, yes, ed, but also up in detroit. i heard it over

old boys club in congress is fading with wins by senator elect elizabeth warren of mass mass and tammy baldwin, the first openly gay senator from wisconsin. >> women have been the bastion of bipartisanship. >> reporter: late this afternoon another sign of progress. with the speaker of the house telling barack obama he wants him to succeed, not as a liberal or conservative but as a president who can bring them together. >> we'll have much more on the elections at 5:30, including a live report from check with the latest from both presidential campaigns. >>> start you off with a check of maryland's most powerful radar. light precip, also across the bay bridge, kent island through caroline county. zoom. you have to remember where you see the color changes, this is a doppler estimate. some of them producing a mix, wintriy. as we go further in here southeastern baltimore county, a little mix. roads could get slick at time. right now we're safely above freezing. if you throw in some melting snow, that can mack things even -- make things even more slippery. so drive with caution. let's take a look at

>> in the tammy baldwin-tommy thompson campaign, there are differences and similarities on the obama campaign and tammy's campaign. i think overall it was a rejection of the policies and the candidates of the past, where that was tommy thompson or mitt romney. i think from a paid media perspective and someone who sort of is calling shots on whether or not we're putting resources into mail or television or online, we, you know, as i started out, we started this campaign with a healthy fear of citizens united and what the other side was going to be able to do. so both -- in tammy campaign we knew that the day after the primary we needed to define tommy thompson as quickly as possible and make sure that everyone, particularly female voters, who needed more information about a guy who they had known for years as their governor, had gone to washington, had lobbied for big corporations and sort of left those in wisconsin and was going to take care of folks other than the middle class in wisconsin. if he was to return. so our job was to define him quickly and maintain that sort of competitiv

tammy baldwin the first gay person elected to the u.s. senate.we had these same sex ballot measures, same sex ballot measures, which we've never had on the ballot before. for the first time we had a tipping point where we won not one of these states but all four of them where they were on the ballot. the president's endorsement of same-sex marriage helped a great deal in those. the president's endorsement of same-sex marriage last may helped him get re-elected. democrats always said this is the kiss of death. we don't want to be--we are with you, but we don't want to say we're with you because it's toxic because people will use it against us. this helped get the president re-elected this time. >> eliot: richard, i think you're so correct. sometimes doing what is right turns out to be good politics. taking the risk of being out in front of an issue not lurking or leading behind that famous phrase. quickly, unfortunately time is running out. but you agree with richard that the president has to continue to lead on the issue of same section marriage

learned former presidential candidate michele bachmann narrowly held onto her seat and democrat tammy baldwin was the first openly guy senator in illinois and tammy duckworth was the first open combat person elected. >>> it will come as no surprise president obama carried the district, but as bruce johnson reports, those same voters turned out well known incumbent councilman michael brown. >> reporter: this was the scene at 14th and u streets in the early hours this morning after president obama was declared the winner. >> we have four more years to finish what has been started. >> reporter: board of elections said the president got 91% of the d.c. vote. that percentage will go even higher when special and absentee ballots are counted. >> what i want most in the president for the second term is for him to really stand up for democracy. >> reporter: d.c. mayor gray hopes the president can do more to help the city in the second term. authority over its budget and legislation are at the top of the mayor's wish list. >> he's an eloquent spokesperson. he's a brilliant man and we need his support t

sherrod brown, tammy baldwin, debbie stabenow, bob casey, tim kaine, bill nelson.ending on florida, a democratic sweep of the presidency, and definitely a democratic sweep of the senate races. in those states that the gop was so excited to have supposedly turned red in a way that was going to stick. last night, democratic women swept every major office in new hampshire. last night, california democrats wanted democratic super majority in the state house and in the state senate. not just majorities in california, but super majorities. wherein, if the republicans don't turn up, any of them, any day at work, nothing will be different in california. they're completely legislatively irrelevant. alan west lost a seat. more women got elected to the u.s. senate than at any time in u.s. history. the republican presidential nominee and vice presidential nominee both lost their home states. missouri and montana and west virginia chose democratic governors. west virginia chose its first gay state legislature. so did north dakota. west virginia and north dakota? yeah, seriously

wisconsin elected tammy baldwin the first openly lesbian senator. sorry, lindsay graham. yeah. you missed the lindsay graham joke. it was a pretty good one. ( laughter ). perhaps the best news was in florida. after months of republican governor rick scott attempting to suppress democratic voter turnout, and attempting to decrease voter discomfort and my favorite introducing a 10-page novelette state ballot to people who couldn't handle a ( bleep ) one-page ballot. florida remains too close to call. what is the good news, you say? the election was decide without them. ( applause ) ( cheers ) for once, florida's cluster ( bleep ) is irrelevant. it's like hearing good news, america. the tumor on your dong is benign. ( laughter ). it's a joke about... come on. we're tired! for the most part, the news naeks acquitted themselves nicely with little of the early called controversy and malfunctions of years past, except b.m.n., bull ( bleep ) mountain news, who were caught flat foot bide a historic storm did spite all the evidence just days before, they never saw coming. >> i think mitt

and we've just elected our first openly lesbian senator, tammy baldwin.rom wisconsin. we reelected a president heen dorised gay marriage. 19 years ago, i was working for president clinton and we thought it was progress to pass don't ask don't tell so gay service members could lie but still serve their country. i think he is right. this might be for somebody who believes in that cause, one of the most wonderful things about tonight. >> ana navarro, you and i have spoken loot over the latino vote tonight. big surprise for you? >> florida. i'm surprised that romney lost florida. i thought he was doing much better in florida than what it ended up being. i'm also surprise that had after we know that the eyes of the world are on us when it come to voting, we couldn't get it right the second time around. i'm hoping that the governor of florida, the legislature in florida get together and figure out a way to fix our ballot. fix our system so we don't have these issues that we saw in this election will. >> what was your big surprise of the night? >> my surprise wa