net gain of 23 seats. for the democrats to hold onto power they would now need to win all 26 toss-up races. the best case scenario for democrats right now not so great. a small majority for republicans. the best case for house republicans 249 seats to democrats 186. that s the kind of shift which could be very meaningful. it s clear that republicans have the political-momentum one week before election day. biden districts are moving in the lean republican category. the govern majority for republicans. not a squeaker night where then you have to find a couple democrat votes to pass anything. a larger governing majority than speaker pelosi has had for the first two years on the biden presidency. races in georgia, arizona, nevada and pennsylvania for the senate are toss-ups. chief washington correspondent mike emanuel has more from d.c. good morning. the republican map expands significantly in this fox news power rankings forecast. in new york where crime is the number o
suspect with a long gun, possibly from a rooftop in new jersey. the urgent manhunt tonight. the midterm elections just one week away. president biden campaigning in florida, where democrats are in an uphill battle. new hope of preventing rsv, the virus overwhelming children s hospitals as pfizer announces the results of its vaccine trials. after her disqualification sparked outrage, the young athlete inspiring america, by taking on her biggest race yet. announcer: this is nbc nightly news with lester holt. good evening. not guilty was the plea late today from the bay area man accused of beating paul pelosi with a hammer inside his san francisco home last week. david depape making his first court appearance on state charges today after his own words offered insight into his possible state of mind and alleged intentions, that authorities say were aimed at house speaker nancy pelosi. tonight an online trail suggesting depape was drawn to conspiracy theories. the stat
pelosi s attacker to appear in court as tensions escalate over the brutal beating ranging from questionable to downright dangerous. he is just some semblance of humanity. like to see every republican candidate and elected official say that you condemn this attack. that s really basic. say you condemn the attack. plus, with just a week to go until the midterms, a new poll shows skyrocketing pessimism from voters. the impact and the challenge for the big named surrogates blanketing the campaign trail. and devastated family members who wanted to face the gunman got theirs chance today as he faces the death penalty. they wanted him, many of them, sentenced to life in prison. widow of football coach chris hixon joins me later in the hour. the first to speak today calling her husband a hero and telling the gunman that after today he will cease to exist. but we start with the arraignment for david depape. the man accused of attacking paul pelosi with a hammer set to face a j
good to be with you. i m katy tur. it s not just the economy, stupid. today, we re starting with the midterms, but not with the accepted narrative. as you know, there are just seven days to go until november 8th and despite what you might see in polling averages, the results are far from clear and it s not just us. it is the pollsters themselves warning they might not be getting the full picture. that the samples might be skewed. democrats say that is underestimating their chances. one prominent strategist questioning the narrative of a red wave pointing to an influx sponsored by republican or allied groups in critical races across the country while others like the economist say the skew is actually underestimating republicans, arguing democrats are polling best in states where they seem to misfire. those are the predictions. what about the hard numbers? early voting has begun in many states but just like the polls, the numbers coming out of those states are frustratingly mur
family. jesse: that s in addition to the federal charges that came down earlier today for kidnapping and assault. depape could see maximum sentences of up to 50 years in prison just on the federal charges alone. fbi special agent stephanie minor is the one leading the investigation. and exactly what happened on the early morning night of that attack. today she released a criminal complaint. that s really left us with a lot of questions. according to that complaint, police received a call at 2:23 a.m. paul pelosi was allegedly speaking in code. saying there was a male inside his home. police scanners show that paul referred to depape and his friend was david. stated there is a male in the home and that he is going to wait for his wife. he doesn t know who the male is but he advises that his name is david. he is his friend. sounded somewhat confused. jesse: was that paul speaking in code? perhaps. 8 minutes later police show up to the pelosi s house. police know pelosi s