Think i know. I wasnt coming to erie. I have to be honest. There was no way i was coming. We pay our own visit to see how Party Politics is playing with the folks of historic erie, pennsylvania. Plus after so long, you cant take no, you have to go out and get your yes. From atlanta to detroit, how black women became one of the most powerful voting blocs in american politics. Soledad im Soledad Obrien. Welcome to matter of fact. Theres a political transition underway from a Trump Presidency to a biden administration, though things are not yet final. In fact, well have to wait until december 14 when the Electoral College meets to make it official. As the votes came in, it was pennsylvanias 20 electoral votes that put native son joe biden over the 270vote Electoral College threshold and made him the president elect. Pennsylvania, like most states, awards electoral votes to the winner of the states popular vote. Only two states split their deperkt electoral votes. Nebraska, the red state, is one of those outliers and republicans want to reverse course. But standing in their way one longtime progressive state senator. Our special correspondent joie chen has the story of Ernie Chambers and his decadeslong crusade. To understand how one corner of flyover america shaped this election, look back to another president ial race that got itself on track here more than 50 years ago. In 1968, Bobby Kennedys whistle stop tour across nebraska was a wigging big hit at every stop. Ill never forget that day. It was the most Exciting Campaign ive ever seen in any life at that point. Strategists called it a turning point in kennedys tragically brief campaign, but the memory stuck. Someone said to me, 1968 was the last year that nebraska mattered in president ial politics. Thats right. More than 20 years later, Dianna Schimek campaigned to make nebraska matter again. As a young lawmaker, she led a push to make nebraska only the second state to split its electoral votes instead of the winner take all system. Joie why did you want this for nebraska . Because i wanted people to feel like their vote really counted. That it mattered whether they went to the polls or not and voted. I thought that it would increase activity and participation. And it did. And i thought that it might even bring some candidates to the state. Only two states, maine and nebraska have the system two votes go to the statewide winner, but each Congressional District can choose its own. Campaign signs most often the big red state has stayed in the red anyway, except in 2008 and again this year. A biden rally in nebraskas second Congressional District a pocketsized area in and around omaha picked the democrat, joe biden. Does joe biden owe senator Ernie Chambers thanks for that one vote . No, nobody owes me thanks for anything i do. Its a modest re ply considering the credit social media gave north omahas legendary lawmaker Ernie Chambers. His hashtag blew up, as the kids say, did you chambers, who doesnt use social media himself, values oldtime heroes. The greatest philosopher statesperson created or produced by america gave me my motto. Mantra. Pop iowa the popeye the sailor man. I am what i am, and thats all that i am. They will say thats not impressive because people see popeye as a comic strip character. Joie hes a unique figure in nebraska politics. The first, and for many of his 46 years in office, only africanamerican in the state house. At 83, hell leave in january slowly because of term limits. Im glad you didnt use that word retirement. Im not retiring. Im being kicked out. Bidens win is a fitting swan song for chambers, who fought off the effort effort at elimination in 2016, using a tried and true tactic the filibuster. What i do is called by other people filibustering. His last fight came in 2016, when once again, no one could outtalk Ernie Chambers. Time is on my side, yes it is. And while others in the state house may find him comical, he is deadly serious about the cause. The reason i wanted to keep that one electle really a vote for the second Congressional District in nebraska is that to the extent possible, the people who vote can feel that their vote had some, no matter how minuscule it was, some actual influence and impact on selecting a president. The polite vote did make an impact this year but chambers knows when he leaves office, republicans may seize their chance. What will they be doing to the people to have Second District . They will be erasing the impact of their vote. Their vote will mean nothing. It is reprehensible. And it wont go unnoticed that this time, the split vote made nebraska matter again. Next on matter of fact weve had several election surprises. All the polls, all the press, all the pundits thought that thomas dewey was a sure winner, except for harry truman. We review the races that pollsters just couldnt predict. And later soledad Kamala Harris is not the first person of color to be elected Vice President. Hear the story of the native american Vice President you never knew about. We love the new apartment. The Natural Light is amazing. Hardwood floors. There is a bit of a clogging problem. clog dancing at least geico makes it easy to bundle our renters and car insurance. Yeah, helping us save us even more. For bundling made easy, go to geico. Com excited squeal, giggling panting gotcha nooooo. Noooooo. Nooooo. Quick, the quicker picker upper bounty picks up messes quicker and each sheet is 2x more absorbent, so you can use less. Ahoy laughing bounty, the quicker picker upper. Soledad welcome back to matter of fact. If theres a political obituary to be written in this postelection season, could it be a eulogy for polling . The Public Confidence is again on the line, after the much talked about blue wave disintegrated in what appears to be a replay of the polling mistakes of 2016. American University Professor w. Joseph campbell is the author of lost in a gallup polling failure in u. S. President ial elections. Professor joseph campbell, so nice to have you on the program. Lets begin by looking at the past. This election certainly isnt the first time that polling has failed poll watchers, right . That is for sure. We have seen polling failures in president ial elections in this country since the 1930s. And theyve occurred often enough for us to be very wary about polls and very skeptical about what theyre saying. And the most dramatic polling failure in u. S. President ial history had to be that of 1948 when all the polls, all the press, all the pundits thought that thomas dewey was a sure winner and everybody was banking on this except for harry truman, who ran a very intense, aggressive, focused campaign and in the end won this election by 4. 5 percentage points. It was a shock, a shock that was probably more profound and deeper in this country than Donald Trumps victory in 2016. Soledad you have called this, when youve written about polling postelection, a failure of journalism. What do you mean by that . It often is a failure of journalism in the sense that polls set a narrative. It is the predominant way by which journalists understand the dynamics of a president ial campaign, whos ahead, whos behind, whos making up ground and so forth. When that narrative goes wrong, when polls falter, journalism inevitably falters as well. Soledad Susan Collins of maine, i think, is a very good example of polling gone horribly awry because it was a very important race nationally. She never led, ever, in the polls, ever. And yet she won and didnt just win. She won handily over her opponent. Soledad youre absolutely right. And that is a fascinating election. They voted clearly for joe biden in this years president ial race. At the same time, they voted for Susan Collins, a republican. So splitting tickets tends to be uncommon across the country these days. But maine is an exception. And that may have been a difficult factor for pollsters to pick up on. Soledad do you think theres an incentive among journalists to keep the race tight . I think the incentive to encourage a horserace notion really lies more with the candidates and the campaigns because they dont want to encourage their supporters to say its in the bag. And so i think campaigns have a real incentive to say, hey, this is closer than we think it is. Soledad do you then predict the end of polling . I dont anticipate the end of polling. I dont think polling, election polling, is doomed. And if the industry really were that vulnerable to backtoback election surprises, we would have seen this industry roll up and drift away after the 1952 election because that was the following election after dewey defeats truman. That embarrassment in 1948 and the pollsters in 1952 in the eisenhowerstevenson president ial race got it wrong again. There is no way that 2016 and 2020 backtoback surprises is going to mean the end of polling. Not at all. Soledad thank you so much for your time. Always great to see you. Thank you. Soledad this year, pennsylvania proved to be a challenge for pollsters. The state had gone red in 2016. One democratic stronghold that flipped was erie, pennsylvania, in the far northwest corner of the state. A place President Trump expected to hold in 2020. President trump i have to be honest. There was no way i was coming. I didnt have to. I would have called you and said hey, erie, you know if you have a chance, get out and vote. We had this thing won. Soledad the president lost erie county this time around. The vote difference just under 1,500 votes. Last year we visited erie as part of the matter of fact listening tour and asked voter about its shifting political identity. When people outside of erie look at our home, what they see, i think, is a manufacturing, an old manufacturing town, a rust belt town that is filled with these bluecollar voters. Really nothing could be further from the truth. Soledad find out how the voters in erie view their community and their politics. Watch our full report on matteroffact. Tv. Coming up on matter of fact i am stacy ehn abrams. We met her before she hit the national stage. Im changing the face of what leadership looks like. We look at how black women became political powerbrokers across america. And later medical students rewriting the hippocratic oath to ensure racial equality. Who is usaa made for . Its made for this guy a veteran who honorably served and its made for her shes serving now we made it for all branches and all ranks whether they served one tour or made a career of it. We also made usaa for military spouses and their kids usaa is easy to work with and can save you money on auto, home and renters insurance. Become a member today. Get an insurance quote at usaa. Com quote usaa. What youre made of were made for soledad welcome back to matter of fact. Black women are considered the most reliable and consistent voting bloc for the democratic party. Exit polls in georgia prove their political power, a force that literally turned georgia blue. Many credit Stacey Abrams for paving the way. We met abrams when she was a candidate for georgias governor. Now, despite a controversial loss, she became a leading voice on Voting Rights as the head of fair fight, an effort to curb voter suppression. We have been working at this for more than a decade and there have been dozens of organizations and hundreds of people who have made this their primary mission. Ive been privileged to be able to bring to bear resources, both before the election of 2018 and then the 40 million we were able to spend in 2018 to build a democratic infrastructure. Soledad the loyalty of the black female vote also flipped the Battle Ground states wisconsin, pennsylvania, and michigan. Last year on visit to detroit, we talked to black women about the power of their vote. Our special correspondent joie chen reports. Joie the rich, red georgia clay once grew rich fields of cotton and a comfortable life for families like grace allens. But in the early 1950s, they, like so many others, moved north, wanting more. We wanted to do a better living. We wanted to do more than just chop cotton and pick cotton and hoe and do this and that and the other. Joie and your children. Mm. Joie you didnt want them to have that life. I wanted them to have a better life than i had. Joie she brought her two boys north to a strange city, got a job working on the Assembly Line and built two businesses of her own. I just wanted to do something to help somebody. A conversation in a barbershop . Its the most authentic thing you can have in detroit. Joie at the kutitout barbershop on detroits east side, Marlowe Stoudamire told us the history of his city. As early as 1915, a lot of black people were transitioning from the south, a white south primarily, to come to detroit for a better opportunity. Thats the great migration. Joie thats the great migration. Jjoie some six million africanamericans moved north in whats known as the great migration. Detroits black population alone grew more than 34 in the first half of the 20th century, with women like grace allen leading the way. How does she fit into that picture . I think she represents a lot of stories you havent heard, women who had to mistake do it all, from being the foundation of congregations, from volunteerism. To leading organizations specifically at the grass roots neighborhood level. Joie growing new roots in the Community Todays is jasmin barnett. I am an an saysors wildest dream. I am a youth activist. Joie at 29 years old with two degrees in hand, she moved into a fragile community. Little girls to support its girls. The correct way to ask for sugar is may i please have some sugar, ok . Joie barnett launched ladies in training to encourage social and professional skills and to expose these girls to a world beyond clairmount street. A lot of the girls who live in this neighborhood, they live 10 minutes from downtown and they have never even been to downtown detroit. Joie she credits her activism to the woman who encouraged her dream, her grandma. Grace allen. Did you realize that you were kind of creating a path for us to follow . I was hoping someone would follow me. She may not know that that was a Guiding Light for me making sure that i do the right thing. Joie the right thing this year, to empower Detroits Young black women at a critical moment in american politics. It is our right and our duty to get up and vote on election day. Joie is it prime time for africanamerican women . I believe so. I think its our time. I think its our time because, after so long you cant take no, you have to go out and get your yes. Joie getting their yes, and getting ready to lead another generation of women in power. In detroit, im joie chen for matter of fact. Soledad one of the people you just saw in that story, Marlowe Stoudamire, was a big, big fan of detroit. He was a businessman and a Community Leader and he died, of complications related to covid, in march. He was just 43 years old. Marlowe is survived by his wife valencia and their two young children. Next on matter of fact , the hippocratic oath that doctors take is, well, ancient. How a new generation of docto soledad now to a weekly feature we like to call were paying attention even if youre too busy. A new class of medical students is breathing new life into an old tradition. The incoming students at the university of Pittsburgh School of medicine rewrote their own version of the hippocratic oath. Now, its the common practice for incoming medical students to do that, but the class of 2024 went further than most. They acknowledged the more than 700,000 people whoever died from covid19, called out by name some of the people whove recently died at the hands of police violence, and asked their fellow students to eliminate personal buyas bias and combat disinformation. The class recited their new version of the oath along with the traditional version as part of their orientation. I think thats pretty cool. By the way, the earliest known version of the hippocratic oath dates back to the fifth century b. C. Coming up how the first native american Vice President made the tickeke the medicare enrollment deadline is only weeks away. And theres so many unanswered questions. Like, do you know if your plan is still the right fit . Having the wrong medicare plan can cost you thousands. And thats why i love healthmarkets, your insurance marketplace. What if you didnt have to shop for Health Insurance again . Health market fitscore forever promise is the answer. It continuously scans the market to compare your plan against any new options year after year, while helping answer all your medicare questions like does your plan have no copays, no deductibles, or 0 premiums. Healthmarkets has the answer. Does your plan offer dental and vision coverage . How about hearing aids, glasses, wellness visits, and even telemedicine at no additional cost . Healthmarkets has the answer. Find the answer from the number one ranked Health Insurance agency in america. Call the number on your screen soledad and finally, you might be surprised to hear me say this, but Kamala Harris is not the first person of color to be elected Vice President. Harris made history becoming the first woman, first black and south asian Vice President elect. But if you check the history books, youll find it was charles curtis, a member of the k can aw nation, who won the offers as herbert hoovers running mate in 1928. What else do we know about curtis . He was born in topeka, kansas. His father was white. His mother was of mixed kaw, osage, and frenchcanadian backgrounds. Eventually curtis became a lawyer and joined the republican party, running for congress in 1892. Curtis ran against hoover for the republican president ial nomination and lost. But hoover tapped him to be Vice President. And thats a little bit of Vice President ial history to ponder. Thats it for this edition of matter of fact. Im Soledad Obrien and ill see you back here next week. Listen to matter of fact with Soledad Obrien on apple podcasts and spotify. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] today on Asian Pacific america as we enter a new era soon in the political world, we talk with ash kalra as we talk about programs we believes needs to be top priority. The ucsf care registry and apis, get more involved in Research Programs to find out what impacts our communitys Health Concerns and how to solve them and traditional and Classical Music from the bay area group. Hello, im