dana bash, you're over there at thad cochran headquarters, right? i assume they're pretty excited. they're hearing the news as we're reporting it. >> they are hearing the news as we're reporting it. and they are very excited, chanting "thad." three weeks ago tonight, there was dead silence in the room. there were actually few people in the room. thad cochran himself didn't even come to address the supporters of people who went out for him on election night. now tonight it is a very, very different feel because thad cochran did what many people thought was pretty much impossible. he got not only republicans out to vote for him in this republican runoff, but clearly, based on what we have seen, based on where the votes have come from with our own eyes, but more importantly with the data coming in from all over the state tonight, he has done this by getting democrats who have supported him for years to come out and vote not in a general election for him, but this a republican contest. because they like him, but also because we've heard this from some of these people, that they were ver

thad cochran is 76 years old. thad cochran a slight lead.the vote, a slight lead as well. we'll watch both of these results. back to you. >> wolf blitzer, thank you very much. we'll see you soon. check back with wolf as soon as we get more results. >>> the world cup soccer match today between italy and uruguay. did you see this? luis suarez allegedly bit an oy point on the shoulder. greg lawless is the editor and chief of mls soccer.com. and amanda davies. never did i think i would be talking to you guys about someone biting someone on the soccer field. it was another huge day at the world cup in brazil today. and a major controversy involving the uruguayan striker luis suarez. he appeared to bite italian defender giorgio chiellini on the field. let's take a look at the shot and then we'll talk. >> oh, dear, oh. oh, dear, dear, dear. let's have another look. >> it looks to me, dare i say it, that he has had a little bite at chiellini. surely not again. surely not again. >> it's really not again. >> amanda, you were there. could there be repe

thad cochran's so-called fun. right? in this instance would be what he's doing to the sheep to make it baaa like that. yeah. so things are not going great for mississippi's incumbent republican senator thad cochran. because this is what his race is like right now. in the republican primary to hold on to his own seat in the senate, a few weeks ago senator cochran, of course, lost to his tea party challenger chris mcdaniel. tomorrow is the runoff in the race since neither of them cleared 50%. there is not great polling in the state. at least on this race. but everybody including senator thad cochran seems to recognize that farm animal jokes or no, he is in trouble in this race, so much so that thad cochran is now casting a net way beyond the usual republican electorate in mississippi and thad cochran is now trying to find votes wherever he can. the great state of mississippi has a higher percentage of african-american residents than any other state in the country. in 2012, the mississippi electorate was 36% black. highest

thad cochran, chris mcdaniel. 20% in. thad cochran with 54. 5% of the vote. mcdaniel behind him. this is only 1/35 so far. joining us, mr. hall from the "clarion" newspaper. thank you for being with us. >> thank you. glad to be here. >> obviously we only have early ru returns at this point. in terms of where you know the vote is in from and what you were anecdotally able to report on today, do you have any sense of how this race ended up going today with the national attention, three weeks of furious campaigning, how did it come down today? >> based on the results right now, it actually looks very much like it did three weeks ago which was the early results especially down on the coast, south, most of south mississippi with cochran leading. leading all the northeast mississippi except for a few pockets. so there are still some key areas that we're looking at to see what they do. still haven't gotten anything out of jones county which is mcdaniel's home. he just absolutely swamped cochran there and pulled out more votes from that county than i think they've ever had come out. that

without thad cochran, we could lose some of these important facilities. ins is really about jobs south mississippi and security of our country. senator cochran has the experience and the power to protect the gulf coast. >> i'm thad cochran and i approve this message. >> domenico montanaro, this is in stark contrast to the tea party that said government is too big. you have a veteran republican running for reelection. duringlection was 1978 the carter administration. >> i think this will be a key election to see whether or not that kind of message -- whether you can bring home the bacon -- can still resonate, especially in a state like mississippi where they rely on a lot of government funding. i talked to haley barbour right after cochran fell behind and wound up going into that runoff. he says we need to remind people that even democrats in the state who can vote, because it is an open primary, that chris mcdaniel, the tea party opponent, is against federal funding for education. the problem for them is, is the republican base, is the republican party at

i think glenn beck who said african-americans whos crossed over to vote for thad cochran, if he's re-elected to the senate what are those voters going to get from cochran? these are now his constituents. they put him in office. >> thad cochran has been someone who's protected the interests of mississippi. that's his constitutional role. i don't think there is a special deal. the democrats in mississippien didn't want african-american voters to vote for thad cochran. they wanted mcdaniel to win thinking he's the most vulnerable person to beat. we have thad cochran because he's been a good senator and he's a conservative senator. he will continue to be conservative. i think the african-american voters within mississippi said, we would rather have him because he'll look out for the state. thad cochran is broadening the base of the republican party which we should be for. >> all right. thank you. coming up next, the house lawsuit against president obama, speaker john boehner is doing what he can to make the right feel good. not everyone thinks boehner realizes what he got into. also, the lost ir

we had in ap call that thad cochrane wins this race. thad cochrane has won a run off. improbable you turn for the political fortunes of thad cochran, who everyone had written off. he battled to essentially a tie in the june 3rd primary and has now come from behind. he has beaten the odds to be on the ballot, come this far for a seventh turn. robert, is the reaction in the room right now? >> the room is not yet know. they are not putting it on the board yet. the ap has called it. here they are still looking intently at the board hoping. >> this is -- the recriminations from this are going to be nuclear. you are talking about the absolute third real -- third rail of american politics that this is happening in the state. it republican incumbent managing to court these black voters to come out. that will be the story tea party activists will be talking about in the weeks and months after this. >> yeah, and so things we will be looking for is, does it engaged them in other races, possibly? there are still places where they can out incumbents from independent challenges. thi

doesn't thad cochran know there's no "i" in mississippi. and this was no accident, folks.ade a deal with the devilcrats, who teamed with the mississippi conservative pac to do get out the vote work and rally african american voters. those democrats, bishop ronnie crudup, sr., and james scooby-doo warren. rut roh! and, folks, i'm telling you, and mcdaniels would have won this race,, too if it wasn't for you meddling kids. [laughter] i guess what i'm trying say is, when did black people start voting? when we return, i'll sit down with one of the people responsible for black people voting in mississippi, representative eleanor holmes norton. we'll be right back. [cheering and applause] andy williams singing "it's the most wonderful tim]" ♪ it's the most wonderful time... ♪ of th♪ ♪ ding dong ... ding dong... ♪ ♪ ...with those holiday greetings.... ♪ ♪ ...and gay happy meetings when... ♪ ♪ ...friends come to call... ♪ ♪ ...it's the most wonderful time... ♪ ♪ ...yes the most wonderful time... ♪ ♪ ... of the year! come to mcdonald's and play peel. play. olé olé. you could win ex

thad cochrane, 51%. mcdaniel -- if things hold, it would be an improbable return of fortune for fat cochrane, whose political obituary was being written in the wake of the june 3rd primary in which cochran failed to clear 50%. everyone is supposed that it would be a mcdaniel victory. that is because everyone figured tonight's election would be a lower turnout affair. they were wrong on that. the total votes cast so far have already exceeded that amount that is in the june 3rd primary. that cochrane clinging to a 2% lead with 97% of precincts in, 179,000 votes. that is going to be somewhat difficult for mcdaniel to overcome, although this race has proven surprising all the way through. turning now, christina, editor in chief from roll call. robert costello live in mississippi. he is in the chris mcdaniel headquarters. can i go to first, what is the atmosphere in the room like? >> okay, we don't have him yet. christina, this race has been so bitterly fought all the way through. it was a razor-thin margin ju

the showdown tonight in mississippi this runoff between incumbent senator thad cochran and tea party challenger mcdaniel, a race cochran very narrowly won tonight this runoff was set in motion three weeks ago in mississippi when neither man was able to clear 50% in the state's republican primary. but these past three weeks of that campaign, these past three weeks of the national press being very, very focused on mississippi and the prospect of an incumbent republican senator losing his seat, these three weeks of all the national reporters flying down there and all the magazine stories and all the beltway press handicapping the mississippi race and the sunday shows weighing in, these past three weeks of intense coverage of mississippi have had a cost elsewhere in the country. because had we not been talking about mississippi all of this time what we might have been talking about instead was another big deal tea party versus republican establishment showdown in the great state of oklahoma. this is t.w. shannon, the man on your left there. former speaker of the house of oklahoma. the fir

doesn't thad cochran know there's no "i" in mississippi. and this was no accident, folks. a deal with the devilcrats, who teamed with the mississippi conservative pac to do get out the vote work and rally african american voters. those democrats, bishop ronnie crudup, sr., and james scooby-doo warren. rut roh! and, folks, i'm telling you, and mcdaniels would have won this race,, too if it wasn't for you meddling kids. [laughter] i guess what i'm trying say is, when did black people start voting? when we return, i'll sit down with one of the people responsible for black people voting in mississippi, representative eleanor holmes norton. we'll be right back. [cheering and applause] [ beep ] oh, hey jim, this is my sister, lisa. [ jim ] mmmmm. so, hot. whoo! mmmmm. that is hot! [ male announcer ] made with real cheese and premium cuts of meat. [ ding! ] ♪ hot pockets! >> stephen: my guest tonight is my arch nemesis. please welcome congresswoman eleanor holmes norton. [cheering and applause] congresswoman, thank you so much for coming. good to see you again. you and i have bee

but thad cochran, if you were the same age as thad, we were one-year-old babies in our cribs when thad cochrans went to washington, and now we're old 43-year-olds who may be sitting on the anchor desk when he goes out. >> that's a good sign looking at the turnout numbers. he has been trying over the last few weeks, to put together a coalition. some of them may be democrats, some of them may be moderate republicans. some may be independent. anybody can vote in mississippi's special election runoff primary here, except the 86,000 democrats who voted in the june 3rd democratic primary. and basically cochran is trying to tap into all of those folks to say, hey, listen, i can take care of bringing federal spending back to mississippi. and it is so interesting to see this battle, because on the other side, state senator chris mcdaniel is saying, we don't need more federal spending, we need less. he's obviously the tea party favorite. >> explain to us why this is the republican primary runoff. i mean, normally not the lead story on the fox news channel at 9:00 p.m., even on an election primar

thad cochran defeated mcdaniel, who won the initial primary but not by enough to avoid a run-off. eat him? >> cochran relied on black democrats to put him over the top. >> jon: that's right. thad cochran won the mississippi republican primary because of the support of black democrats. before you jump to the conclusion that black democrats think very highly of thad cochran, rent -- let me give you just a taste of his opponent, mcdaniel. >> chris mcdaniel apparently said there's no place for federal funding of schools here in mississippi. >> if they pass reparations and my taxes go up, i ain't paying taxes. >> mcdaniel has already keynoted a neo-confederate event. he's retweeted white supremacists. >> jon: well, now, in mcdaniel's defense, the white supremacist's twitter account had some extremely cute cat videos. ah. hey, everybody, look. everybody, it's kitler. you know, you'll always be meow fuhrer. clearly mcdaniel's candidacy caused a great deal of concern in mississippi's african american community. is there any way mcdaniel could begin his concession speech that could in every

i personally have talked to several voters who came out saying that they voted for thad cochran. they've never voted in a republican primary before, but they are really riled up for two reasons. one is they like cochran, but maybe in some cases, they are concerned about mcdaniel, the conservative, actually winning here. >> all right. dana bash reporting live from mississippi this morning. >>> in oklahoma, a tightly contested republican primary could be headed to a runoff. one front-runner in the senate race is t.w. shannon, a rising star who has the backing of such tea party heroes like senator ted cruz and former alaska governor sarah palin. if elected, shannon would become the second african american gop senator. he faces a rising star in the house, though. after just two terms in congress, james lankford is now the fifth ranking house republican. he's a baptist minister who has faced criticism for voting to raise the debt ceiling. >>> shocking, new revelations uncovered by cnn at the va hospital in phoenix. patient records changed or altered in a deliberate attempt to make dead

in fact, that has ended up being what thad cochran is running on to try to hold on to his senate seat now in what is turning out to be the race of his life. >> mississippi gets $1.5 billion in federal education funding. chris mcdaniel says he's end that because education is not in the constitution. how do we make up the gap? your property taxes go up. mcdaniel opposes the highway bill. we lose half our road budget. result? higher gas taxes, worse roads. no wonder every statewide elected official exposes chris mcdaniel. >> i'm thad cochran and i approve this message because mississippi is worth fighting for. >> do not adjust your tv set. you really did just hear a conservative republican elected official campaigning on the idea that government spending is good for you. and we need it. and it's important for the stuff that we want and need and that drives our economy. that could be an unexpected message in most states. mississippi, it might as well snowing on the fourth of july. a democratic pollster in mississippi tells the "washington post" today, "democrats are sitting here scratchin

without thad cochran, we could lose some of these important facilities. ins is really about jobs south mississippi and security of our country. senator cochran has the experience and the power to protect the gulf coast. >> i'm thad cochran and i approve this message. >> domenico montanaro, this is in stark contrast to the tea party that said government is too big. you have a veteran republican running for reelection. duringlection was 1978 the carter administration. >> i think this will be a key election to see whether or not that kind of message -- whether you can bring home the bacon -- can still resonate, especially in a state like mississippi where they rely on a lot of government funding. i talked to haley barbour right after cochran fell behind and wound up going into that runoff. he says we need to remind people that even democrats in the state who can vote, because it is an open primary, that chris mcdaniel, the tea party opponent, is against federal funding for education. the problem for them is, is the republican base, is the republican party at

doesn't thad cochran know there's no "i" in mississippi. and this was no accident, folks.ochran made a deal with the devilcrats, who teamed with the mississippi conservative pac to do get out the vote work and rally african american voters. those democrats, bishop ronnie crudup, sr., and james scooby-doo warren. rut roh! and, folks, i'm telling you, and mcdaniels would have won this race,, too if it wasn't for you meddling kids. [laughter] i guess what i'm trying say is, when did black people start voting? when we return, i'll sit down with one of the people responsible for black people voting in mississippi, representative eleanor holmes norton. we'll be right back. [cheering and applause] [ male announcer ] are your party foods a party fail? have o'hare party repair remove them. and install tostitos cantina chips and salsa. guaranteed to bring that south of the border je ne sais quoi to any occasion! tostitos. bring the party. they like to put a.1. on pork but not beans. they also like to sit on the same side of the booth. you don't have to like everything the mctaggarts

doesn't thad cochran know there's no "i" in mississippi. and this was no accident, folks. cochran made a deal with the devilcrats, who teamed with the mississippi conservative pac to do get out the vote work and rally african american voters. those democrats, bishop ronnie crudup, sr., and james scooby-doo warren. rut roh! and, folks, i'm telling you, and mcdaniels would have won this race,, too if it wasn't for you meddling kids. [laughter] i guess what i'm trying say is, when did black people start voting? when we return, i'll sit down with one of the people responsible for black people voting in mississippi, representative eleanor holmes norton. we'll be right back. [cheering and applause] rich, chewy caramel rolled up in smooth milk chocolate. all aboard. rolo. get your smooth on. how cool is it that new lets us create our own pizza. and use delicious digiorno toppings like pepperoni, sausage, onions, and my favorite - red and green peppers. and we made it look just like... billy?! (laughter) (laughing) we made billy. i don't see it. new digiorno design a pizza kit has

chairman steele there is a lot of finger pointing at thad cochran.houldn't there be a self-reflection among the chris mcdaniel campaign? >> god forbid we should do that and try to figure out exactly what happened. the what happened was that thad cochran went back to a space where he should have started and been comfortable with all along, that's with the voters. this is a man who has had a long career, built a relationship with the african-american community. surprising he's a guy who's out there talking about and fighting for hcbus in the state of mississippi and talking about the poor and forgotten in terms of how we make federal dollars that come back into the state work best for them. now, for a lot of conservatives today, that's an enaj ma but it wasn't in the bygone era of the early 1980s and early 1990s. he remembered that. and he went to that well and guess what, the black vote was there for him because they remembered the thad cochran who had been there for them. that should be the lesson taken from this race, for african-americans and for t

he was in the runoff from thad cochran.tal evidence thatted th ed ththat t helped by democratic voters. the lesser of two evils. as we do know, african-americans do vote heavily for democrats. that's why we saw mcdaniel very upset by that. >> it doesn't sound like mcdaniel is exactly conceding in that speech, and neither is charlie rangel's opponent, espaillat in new york. very close race, yeah? >> very close race. north of where you two sit right now, charlie rangel, longtime member of the house of representatives, fighting off, or appears to have fought off another challenger from a state senator as well. adrianna espaillat. charlie rangel saying he was the victor. >> did you consider waiting to concede before declaring victory, why declare now? >> it hit my mind, the frustration of all of these people in a hot room and the vote was so close, when it reached a point, that i was more concerned about them and the press than i was about anything else. >> and there you have it. charlie rangel last night saying in fact he is t

senator thad cochran did this very successfully in this last race.nd yet there seems to be a significant section of the republican party that is none too pleased with it. >> what they were trying to do, their issues, they were trying to ride a tiger called the tea party and make friends with the villagers all at the same time. and at a certain point you realize, hey, if i keep riding this tiger i'm going to end up inside it. that's what happened to eric cantor and that was what was about to happen to cochran. at that point you say it's time to get off the tiger go make friends with the villagers and survive. and that's what he did. >> john, i love that analogy. and i love this strategy. i think it's really exciting and i love that african-american voters in mississippi said, you know what? this primary run-on is where the election is likely to be decided and we want to have a voice. it's also quite ingenious and revolutionary for a republican candidate, challenged from the right to actually move left and win, rather than running as far right as he ca

these are people that voted for thad cochran over the years. he's been in the senate for 36 years but haven't had to do so in a republican primary. big picture despite the nastiness and bizarre nature of the race. it has been really the place for the republican party to battle out what we've seen over the past two election cycles, the concept whether it should be an establish the or anti income want fever. >> we'll check back with you. >>> iraq, 90 american military advisors arriving there today joining 40 on the groundworking with an army widely viewed as ineffective and a new estimate says is growing and support of a central government that needs to unify but so far has not. after meeting with top iraqi leaders, secretary of state john kerry was optimistic. he spoke with jim shutto. >> i'm not taking anything i hear from the bank and saying wow, it's going to be solved but i'm hearing things that indicate to me if they follow through on the things they are saying, there is a capacity to have a new government that could be a unity government,

the race between tea party-backed chris mcdaniel and 42-year incumbent thad cochran has been one of the most bizarre and intensely fought races in the country. you may remember that four mcdaniel supporters were arrested for photographing the ailing wife of senator cochran. now a staffer on the cochran campaign has been arrested this time for allegedly destroying or stealing mcdaniel campaign signs. the latest poll conducted by a democratic firm has mcdaniel up over cochran. and now the mcdaniel camp is preparing to send in poll watchers, a tact republicans used to intimidate black voters in the south for decades. the justice department will be monitoring the situation. >>> the united states has reached a key legal agreement with iraq to protect the 300 special operations forces currently deployed there. the pentagon announced monday that the military advisers would not be prosecuted under iraqi law. as part of the deal, the advisers would be protected by diplomatic immunity, similar to what embassy staff are entitled to. as the crisis escalates, here at home, there seems to be growing

but also mississippi's thad cochran is number three. as you probably know, senator cochran just won his republican primary in large part because black democrats showed up to vote against his tea party opponent chris mcdaniel. hello, mr. mcdaniel. maybe you didn't notice this, but mississippi has open primaries. that means everybody can vote, so everybody matters. there's a big lesson for republicans like mcdaniel who, by the way, voted against civil rights museum in mississippi, keynoted an event for the sons of confederate veterans, and said a whole bunch of offensive comments on his radio show. if you disrespect people, they will find a way to be heard. to you kevin, i think there are some republicans that have just continued to misunderestimate the black vote. in 2012 there was enthusiasm gap, romney was going to keep it close. we put a million more african-american voters because of voter oppression that we thought was coming from republicans. don't you think it's time for republicans to rethink the way they relate to the black vote?

thad cochran, has been in the snot for over 30 years, has always avoided the spotlight. hind the scenes operator, an appropriator. you have to think that the republican establishment led by cochran, the barber family, down in mississippi, really made such an effort to court these african-american voters that maybe possibly he can go back to the senate if they have the majority, talk to perhaps future majority leader mitch mcconnell and let's have a conversation about ways we can perhaps stimulate growth with african-americans in the republican party. you know, it's tough to tell if that's actually going to happen, but that, more than actually last night's elections might be a way that the republican party can engage with african-american voters. but real quick, just to add to dana's point, there was the message, also last night, the campaign really changed how politics and campaigns are run in mississippi. they asked african-americans to vote for them. they went into the neighborhoods, grew the ele electora electorate. they did it with door knocks, phone calls -- >> it ma

thad cochran expanded the republican tent. we are weighing in. >>> later, the bush and clinton dynasties. will jeb bush or hillary clinton have a go against family legacy if they run? we'll explore more, when we come back. ♪ touch down... every morning... ten times! not just... now and then. once more on the rise... nuts to the flabby guys! go, you chicken fat, go away! go, you chicken fat, go! run, two, run (running) (like a tortoise) okay! (too far, and too slow.) now double up, ready! run two three four... (running) run two three four... (like a hare) run two three four... (now you are) run two three four... (getting there) run two three four... (go you) run two three four... (chicken fat,) everybody sing! (go away!) go, you chicken fat, go! go! go! go! dismissed! tdd#: 1-800-345-255050 tjust waiting to be found. ties tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 at schwab, we're here to help tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 bring what inspires you tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 out there... in here. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 out there, tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 there are stocks

thad cochran desperate to hold on and win another term.ng to upset cochran and it was believed the tea party support would get the conservatives out. both of them did get, it looks like, the votes out. and turnout is really high in the special election, really quickly, new york, charlie rangel is hanging on right now, still early, 36% in. espaillat is a challenger, dominican born, the district has changed around charlie rangel. he could lose this he's trying to get a 23rd term in congress. >> do we know anything about the 5% of the vote that is out in mississippi tonight? >> it's tough to say, jones county is where chris mcdaniel is from. he won jones county overwhelmingly. just a small part of jones county still out. it's believed he's tapped those votes. as far as the interior of jackson, overwhelmingly thad cochran support. desoto county is the question mark, and there are five different precincts there that could be big deciders. >> thanks. special report each week night, 6:00 eastern on fox. the man who just won the gop senate race in

thad cochran is essentially running on that.fact he's brought home those dollars you see right there to mississippi. now you have chris mcdaniel really using that against him and using a black person to do it. what do you make of that? >> well, it's definitely not a new strategy. there's nothing new under the sun, so to speak, joy. i think the larger problem is this. mississippi has the largest black electorate if you look at the exit polls from 2012. the fact that any candidate waited to engage the black demographic of mississippi or anywhere else in this country until it was time for a run-off is highly problematic. the other challenge with that particular strategy, joy, is this. the folks who are most likely to be engaged in any type of electoral politics if they're black and democrat, they already voted in the original primary for the democrats. so they're not eligible to vote in the gop run-off today. so that's the real issue here. i think more over, is it true thad cochran has done more than some of the other conservative

>> i have not. >> reporter: why do you like thad cochran so much? >> he's tested. like what he's done for this state. >> reporter: this is all part of a concerted effort by establishment republicans to beat back the tea party. a pro-cochran super pac spending big bucks to get out democratic votes for cochran, especially african-americans. >> i'm really committed to trying to represent the views and interests of all of the people of mississippi. >> reporter: but republicans nationwide see this not just about mississippi. this year's last big national fight for heart and soul of the gop. how much do you feel pressure personally about that? >> well, i feel that a vote for me is a vote for experienced representation in washington. >> reporter: nervous national republicans from around the country are all in for cochran. john mccain was a closer. >> thad cochran, a good, decent, honorable servant. >> reporter: the chamber of commerce with a hail harry ad. >> i urge you to stay with a proven and respected leader, thad cochran. >> reporter: but they're up against anti-wash

mississippi tee party candidate chris mcdaniel with a not so conciliatory race after losing to thad cochranhing a bit unusual about a republican primary that's decided by liberal democrats. >> thank you all for being here to help celebrate a great victory. >> reporter: cochran, who trailed mcdaniel june 3rd in the primary spent the past three weeks courting voters outside the gop base, including african-americans, pointing to federal funds he secured throughout his 36 years in the senate. >> and to those who say you know what, you have been reelected time and time again, your opponent says it's just too much. you've been there too long. >> well i'm the choice the people have made freely and openly. >> reporter: in the largely african-american precinct we visited, turnout was up three times than the primary and higher elsewhere. who did you vote for? >> thad cochran. >> reporter: have you ever voted in a republican primary before? >> i have not. >> i guess they can take consolation in the fact that they did something tonight by once again compromising, by once again reaching across the aisle

senator thad cochran. welcome home sergeant bowe bergdahl a grateful america thanks you for your service. and then america no longer grateful for your service. stephen lynch, same thing. great to hear that bowe bergdahl has been released from captivity. warmest regards to his family. ah but then as of this morning, delete. no more warm regards for you. warm regards hereby rescinded. congressman lynch doesn't want any one to know that he once thought it was good news that the service member was released. he's hoping that one goes down the memory hole. tonight, the u.s. special envoy for after gap stan and pakistan and other white house officials walked over to capitol hill and did a rare briefing for the full united states senate on the administration's actions to end sergeant bergdahl's captivity and get him home. that briefing was closed to the public. no cameras were allowed inside. but we were told that one of the things that senators were allowed to see that nobody had seen what we're told is that sena

rush limbaugh who you may have heard of had pretty provocative explanations for why thad cochran won ht. i think we have the sound. let's listen to that. >> i wonder what the campaign slogan was in mississippi, uncle toms for thad? >> african-americans did turn out and vote for thad cochran. what do you think? >> he's an entertainer so i laughed. so that's number one upon. number two, in the past because i have family in mississippi, my maternal grandmother is from mississippi, i was there last week. there are a number of african-americans and independents and others who support thad cochran because he's been a good senator and he's delivered and i can tell you this, rush limbaugh needs to understand this, right after hurricane katrina who was down there trying to help people pick up their lives? who was there to help them get back into their homes? who was there to help them rebuild their lives? it was thad cochran. it was no rush limbaugh. >> interesting. it's a point dana bash made and she's been down in the state covering this. >> ari, i want to give you the last word on an intere

know, what was this runoff strictly some kind of odd anomaly, or do you have -- just imagine thad cochran'sone ringing off the hook with republican strategists saying, hey, how did you pull that off? >> reporter: the cochran campaign does show an alternate path to victory, the alternative simply doubling down on the base, trying to just, you know, get low turnout and appeal to enough white folks to get past the finish line. >> it worked. >> the republican party needs to deal with depth graphic change. they have had a problem doing that. rand paul is constantly challenging to reach beyond the base, to reach out to african-americans. and hispanics. the cochran campaign is one of the first to do it. in a primary. which the degree of difficulty is much higher. it is it show an alternate path to victory, a different way to fight in the gop civil war. and it could, if someone is inspired, inspire some folks in the republican party to think beyond the base and try to figure out how to practice the politics of addition, not just the politics of division, which they have done for basically the past

so the turnout issue is bad news for thad cochran.e bad news for thad cochran is that one of the anti-tea party republican groups, that helped him in his race so far, that helped him against chris mcdaniels, it's karl rove's american crossroads group, they announced today they are pulling out of mississippi, essentially abandoning thad cochran now when he most needs them, even though they helped him before. but the third thing to know here is that democrats are psyched, or psyched for mississippi, about the prospect of not running against incumbent senator, thad cochran, who would surely be re-elected in the general election. they're psyched to have the prospect of running against this tea party guy instead. today, politico.com reported that private democratic polling has shown that the democratic nominee, former congressman, travis childers, would start a general election statistically tied against mcdaniel. a race against thad cochran, though, who's well liked by independents and many democrats, that race would be difficult for demo

thad cochran didn't. is it a surprise?me in "morning joe" history. you go back to 1947, that never happened. all three of us said the way that republican primaries and runoffs work, thad cochran didn't have a chance. i'm stunned. >> just echoing what eugene said, really a great victory for hailey barbour and the whole of the mississippi establishment world that rallied around cochran. saw the warning when the runoff was going to happen, they all flooded down there and pulled it back together for him. >> let's talk about that. the mississippi runoff defied conventional wisdom about getting out to vote. where did those new voters come from? the cochran campaign got help from some big names, like the barbours who helped turn out voters in strong cochran areas. cochran supporters actively sought out african-american democrats making the argument that cochran had delivered for mississippi. it appears to have worked. several heavily african-american communities saw major jumps in turnout, all favoring cochran. cochran increased

senator thad cochran won with almost 51% of the vote. cochran's margin of victory over mcdaniel was more than 6,000 votes. some of those votes came from african-american democrats wooed by thad cochran's campaign, and the republican party, which has spent $23 million this election cycle defending republicans from within their party, from tea party challengers like mcdaniel. mcdaniel was backed by freedom works, one of the largest tea party groups. and today, the president of freedom works released a statement. it's disgraceful that self-described gop leaders like mitch mcconnell, john mccain, the chamber of commerce and the nrsc would champion a campaign platform of pork barrel spending and insider deal making while recruiting democrats to show up at the polls. if the only way the k street wing of the gop establishment is win is by courting democrats to vote in gop primaries, then we've already won. the associated press had not even declared mcdaniel a loser before sarah palin said this last night. >> you had considered moving third part

were you there for john mccain's speech and his endorsement of thad cochran? >> guest: my colleague attended that event yesterday because i was working the day before a 14 hour day down in gulfport t to cover the candidates. >> host: bad cochran has emphasized this and survive as. is one of those and then we'll come back to get your thoughts. >> i'm thad cochran. this election is about mississippi's tomorrow. as your united states senator i can d be more for mississippi. >> our aerospace industry, shipbuilding, military bases, research and development, agricultural breakthroughs, thad cochran's strong leadership makes it happen. he's a powerful voice for our state. let's keep him working for us. >> i'm thad cochran at i approved this message because mississippi is worth fighting for. >> host: emily wagster pettus is was the associate press mississippi political reporter. do we know where thad cochran is going to be today and chris mcdaniel as well? >> guest: thad cochran after he voted on saturday, so does that have to do that today, he will be out among suppor

to the black population. >> reporter: and that outreach delivered a surprise victory for thad cochran. >> we have a right to be proud of our state tonight. >> reporter: he's been in congress since the days of nixon. and was expected to lose until his team organized a strategy to win african-american voters, mostly democrats. >> i decided i was voting for senator thad cochran. >> i believe that mississippi can depend on thad cochran. >> reporter: and he edged out the tea party's biggest hope to take down on incumbent. he lashed out at the republican establishment. >> once again compromising, reaching across the aisle, and abandoning the conservative movement. >> reporter: voters here said cochran's support for black colleges and federal programs was reason enough to do something this salesman had never done before. surprised yourself voting republican. >> yes, i did. in 20 years, i never have. but i did last night. good to see him win. >> reporter: the tea party challenger, state senator chris mcdaniel has not conceded, and today called the tactic unbecoming of the party of ronald reag

in jackson mississippi, chris mcdaniel appears to be headed for a run off with thad cochrane. john has more on this. >> reporter: we are expecting a nasty six weeks. cochrane is fighting for his political life and hoping to not become the first imcumbant since 1942 to be defeated. the cochrane campaign is threatening to fire back at the pictures of his wife being posted at a nursing home. >> i think it is a big deal four people of his campaign are felonies. i think people will get another chance to examine that. >> reporter: tea party and conservative groups are throwing in with chris mcdaniel seeing them as their best chance to upseat the incumbent. they invited everybody for a debate but that is not going to happen. joanie won and she is facing off with brayly who said if i am not elected your chance an ex-farmer who doesn't have a law degree will become part of the judicial group. and republican establishment in california is worried if tim donnelly beat carey that might affect republicans. and look at carl de mayo advancing. his office was recently broken into but the vote

>> thad cochran. >> a lifelong registered democrat. >> so why do you like thad cochran so much?ested. and i just like what he's done for the state. >> thank you. >> this is all part of a concerted effort by establishment republicans to beat back the tea party. a pro cochrane super pac spending big bucks to get out democratic votes for cochrane, especially african-americans. >> i'm really committed to trying to represent the views and interests of all of the people of mississippi. >> but republicans nationwide ethis not just about mississippi. if this year's last big national fight for the heart and soul of the gop. >> if you win, the tea party movement is going to perhaps be back on its heels. if you don't, they're going to get a new lease on life. how much do you feel pressure personally about that? >> well, i feel that a vote for me is a vote for experienced representation in washington. >> nervous national republicans from around the country are all in for cochrane. john mccain was a closer. >> thad cochrane, a good and decent and honorable servant. >> the chamber of commerce