strained relationship between china and the united states. and on capitol hill, kyrsten sinema is in the spotlight. the arizona senator is staying sigh leapt on whether she will support a major bill for her own party. good morning and welcome to way too early on this wednesday, august 3rd. i m jonathan lemire. thanks for being with us. we re going to begin with that major victory for abortion rights. voters in kansas have rejected an effort to remove the right to the procedure from the state s constitution. this marks the first time abortion rights was put to a vote since the supreme court overturned roe v. wade back in june. with the november midterms coming up, the kansas vote signals that abortion could be an energizing issue. according to an associated press estimate, turnout for yesterday s primary far exceeded other recent contests with about 900,000 kansas voters casting a ballot. president biden celebrated the win, writing in part, this vote makes clear what
and with august recess approaching, senator sinema under pressure to support her party s manchin backed bill. suing over related to the shootings. his hearings slated for tomorrow. we begin with the key primary results and the implications for november. voters proved donald trump s support still matters but roe s defeat could upend the midterms. in missouri it was the battle of the ericks in the republican race for senate. in the end state attorney general eric schmitt defeated missouri s disgraced governor eric greitens. in kansas, abortion rights sailed to overwhelming victory with voters voting down a constitutional amendment that would have eroded rights in the state. it was the first statewide vote on abortion since the supreme court overturned roe v. wade and the implications of last night s results have democrats hopeful about the potential midterm impact. our team is covering both results this morning. nbc news correspondent and moderator of washington week on pbs
votes which is one more than we have because we won the state. still remarkable to hear him. that was georgia s secretary of state brad raffensperger on the receiving end of that request. he and his deputy gabe sterling will be the witnesses along with two recent recipients of the jfk profile and courage award for their actions and courage during the 2020 election. georgia elections worker andrea shea moss who also came under pressure. the testimony doesn t stop there, we ll hear what one federal judge described this way, a coup in search of a legal theory. that is the way trump and his legal team in the days following his historic defeat latched on like sea urchins to a radical, unconstitutional effort to leave him in power in key swing states. in advance of that line of questioning, there is brand-new reporting in the washington post this weekend with an inside look of what john eastman was saying to his colleagues that they knew the plan was baseless and pursued it anywa
whirlwind visit to taiwan, meeting earlier today with the island s democratically elected president, in defiance of provocative live fire drills from china s military. and also this hour we ll talk to kentucky governor andy beshear about the search and rescue efforts as the death count rises from this week s historic floods. i ll speak to senator kirsten gillibrand about the passage of new medical benefits for burn pit victims finally. and we are on sinema watch, waiting for that 50th democratic senator to signal whether or not she will support the democrats new compromise bill to cut prescription drug costs and combat climate change. but we begin with politics. joining us now, nbc s dasha burns in kansas. nbc s vaughn hillyard in aarizona. and nbc s yamiche alcindor in st. louis. the dream team. dasha, first to you. this amazing turnout. the defeat of the amendment, the kansas state constitution. it s now becoming a rallying cry for democrats and abortion rights supporters
also on the ballot today, reproductive rights in kansas. a referendum there would strip women of their rights to choose unless enough people vote no. and we all know speaker nancy pelosi is a bad ass. she arrived in taiwan today even though china is furious about the trip. plus, trevor reed the former marine who spent three years behind bars in russia and is now speaking out for the release of brittney griner and paul whelan. he joins me right here tonight. we begin with a huge night of primaries in some key battleground states. voters in five states are casting their ballots setting up critical showdowns for this november, and the stakes could not be higher. the choices voters make could very well determine whether or not this country remains a democracy, and that claim is not made hyperbolically. we saw how our democracy was pushed to the brink in 2020 with the twice-impeached former president pushing the lie that the election he lost was rigged. of course it wasn t, an