i'm wolf blitzer in washington along with kaitlan collins. this is "america's choice, election day in america" your headquarters for all the crucial issues driving voters to the polls. key races are in mississippi, kentucky and ohio. >> the first polls close in hours from now. these races can help us get a sense of where the voters are. we'll see in abortion rights will continue to be the driving force so clearly in last year's election after the supreme court overturned roe versus wade. in ohio tonight, voters are deciding to enshrine the right to one in the state's constitution. and governors' contests in kentucky and mississippi, along with control over the government of virginia, where all 140 seats in both the house and the senate there are up for grabs. >>. we have live team coverage of it all. jessica dean is in richmond, virginia. kyung lah, you're no franklin county, ohio. what have voters been saying as they cast their ballots today. >> reporter: what you're hearing and what you're seeing here, at least in this one polls place, you're right, this is on populated county. there's a lot of people coming to this polls station. i want you to look at what we're not just hearing, but seeing. you can see the number of people. this is an off-year election at a polls place. this is known as a busier place. they didn't expect it to be this busy. this is the sort of traffic they have seen. people checking in, getting their ballots here at the table, and heading over to the voting booths to cast their ballot. what is motivated people here. what they are telling us is issue one, deeply personal that they have decided to make the time, because they are fueled by it. they want to make their voice heard. when you also ask them about what is motivating them to come out? they also understand that ohio is poised to make a real state leadi ing into 2024. >> that's a big thing that directly affects people's lives. they want to give an opinion on how the law should be. >> this election in how will set the tone for the rest of the country. >> i'm hopeful. i'm really hopeful. >> reporter: both of those voters decided to vote in support of issue one, in enshrining thor rites in the state's constitution. that's not the state across the state. what we are hearing from both sides on issue is, they believe this will be down to the wire. they think it will be very close. wolf, kaitlan? >> we'll be watching closely. kyung lah, thank you. let's head to richmondy governor youngkin is hoping to game cross of the state. what are you looking for, jessica? >> reporter: the republican governor here, glenn youngkin is not on the ballot, he's midterm. he is asking virginian to give him full republican control of the state legislature. up until now, democrats have been control of the senate here, and republicans have been in control of their house. he's been all over the state making the case, asking virginians to give him the full control so he can enact his agenda further. one key issue -- abortion. he had pushed for and offered up a 15-week abortion ban. worth noting, virginia is the only southern state that's not seen further restrictions on abortion since roe v. wade was overturned. youngkin believes a 15-week ban is a bit of a compromise. it's not as far as florida, iowa, and democrats have leaned heavily in, saying the rights should not be curbed at all. it also speak to say youngkin as an individual, as a governor. who will this mean for him if he pushes forward his brand of republican politics. he's serve a conservative, but not necessarily a maga republican. we're looking for things in that regard, to see how well he can do. one more thing to keep in mind here in virginia, a reason we all watch in politics what happens in virginia is because often, what happens in these off-year elections correlates with what we see in the following years. then we saw biden within the state by ten points. and in 2021, the republicans took back the house, and then we saw republicans on the hill take back the house. that's why we like to keep an eye on what happens here in virginia. >> jessica dean, thank you very much. gloria borger, as we look at this in glenn youngkin is successful, tell be the first time their governor had had total control in over a decade. >> if he's able to do that, it would be quite a feat. the interesting thing to me about watching this virginia race is the way the language has changed on abortion. now, karen is shaking her head yes. now republicans are no longer talking about a ban on abortion. that's a bad word. the word now is limiting abortion. what youngkin is saying around the state is, the people who say we want to ban abortion are lying to you. we adopt want to ban abortion. we want to limit abortion in a sensible way, and we'll see if he's making any headway with that. let's listen to the governor right now, the virginia governor glenn youngkin has used the issue to help turn out republicans for the assembly in virginia. listen. >> we've been completely straightforward and clear. i will back a bill to protect life at 15 weeks. this is a choice between no limits and reasonable limits. >> so, what do you think? how is that argument going it go? >> most voters still see 15 weeks as a ban. the conversation has really shifted particularly post the fall of roe v. wade, where people say a woman and her doctor should make the decision. when you put a blanket ban, whether it's 15 weeks or six weeks or however many weeks, that starts to make people nervous. it also makes people nervous in virginia, with a full republican legislature, what else would they do? but gloria is exactly right. the language matters. next, in ohio, there's been a lot of back-and-forth battles about the language that's on the ballot, that is different from the amendment to the state constitution would say. >> but i think the flow through between ohio and virginia is we're seeing republicans try to adjust their strategy. they realize they have lost every single time since the overturning the roe, even in deep red states. now they're trying to say the democrats' position is what's extreme. they're trying to point to it as maximalist. youngkin is trying to carve this lane out. but words have meaning. maybe 15 weeks is reasonable to a lot of people, but it's still setting a ban, with exceptions importantly. >> i think if republicans had a credibility on a 15-week ban thing, there's resume there to -- that that's a happy compromise in the middle for a lot of persons who don't like extremes on either end. the problem i think they have -- tip o'neill, may he rest in piece -- the shelf life of "all politics is local" is over. even talking about prosecuting women and all that, people are thinking about the national brands of these parties in these races. even though i think youngkin is making a plausible pitch here, i don't think voters are hearing he's reasonable. >> youngkin is distill framing this as a ban. the backdrop is a right was taken away from women, so it's women who are charged up to solidify, to codify that right. so the, to your point, it's a national issue but against a backdrop against something that was taken away. 80% of americans favor some kind of abortion, yes, with restrictions in some cases. 38% of republicans approve. >> so he's trying to make this dance, but it doesn't rep -- >> given how radioactive this issue has been for republicans, and we'll learn more tonight, why is youngkin pushing this? >> first of all, he doesn't speak for all republicans. >> but in virginia, why is he pushing it? >> i think we'll see if it motivates people. i don't think a ban will motivate people to the polls in favor of his platform. if anything -- >> that's part of the reason he's not talking about it very much. >> correct. >> here's the problem. it's the candidates, the candidates in a legislative races, they were talking about it. democrats have been on offense on this issue, so youngkin realized he better get ahead of it, because if candidates were saying bans, horrible things, so he's trying to re-claim the narrative. i don't know if it's going to work. >> what he's trying to do is find middle ground here, at 15 folks would say was okay, but he's got a problem, because it's definitional. is it a ban? is it a limit? what is it? right? >> i guess we'll see what the voters decide. speaking of another state where abortion will be a key issue tonight, that's ohio. we're going to speak to former congressman tim ryan. he'll be with us in just a moment with his prediction on the vote in his state and why the democrat is calling for presidident biden n to drop out the e 2024 race.e. that's n next. ohio is the seventh state weighing in on the issue of abortion. joining us now is the former democratic congressman from ohio, tim ryan. he also ran for president back in 2020. thanks for joining us. let's begin with your state of ohio. in all six states before ohio, voters overwhelmingly upheld abortion rights for women. do you expect that to happen once again tonight in the state of ohio? how will results in ohio impact the national conversation about abortion rights? >> well, i think we will win this this how. i think the latest poll had it about 57% before the amendment or issue 1, and i think that probably will hold. i think even more than ten republicans are pro-choice, moderate republicans voting for the amendment. i think it will pass and will send a signal that really in america, nobody wants to get in the whole big conversation every day, but it's an essential right left to the woman. this is a country that respects freedom. women are citizens of this country and should be able to make those very difficult decision. many of thinks ads are full of misinformation. how concerned are you that voters may not not exactly what they're voting for? >> there's always a concern. there have been ads on both sides. i think there's been a ground game on support of issue one, a lot of door knocks, and people on the ground throughout the state. i think that will win the day. you do worry that people get snippets of things that have all been debunked clearly, so i think it's going to pass. i think we'll be good. you know, cutos to all the men and women in ohio running a very aggressive game. congressman, another very sensitive issue, yesterday you toll cnn's casey hunt that you don't think president biden should be running. who do you think should be running? let me be very clear, wolf, if it's joe biden against donald trump, i'll be with joe biden. i think trump is a threat to our country. he's a very dangerous proposition. i would be with president biden 100% in that regard. i just believe that we need generational change in this country. people are so frustrated, and i think the president's message on the economy of telling people that they're doing better than they're doing is not going to work. i wish that would stop. i'm on the ground in ohio. i hear what people are saying. bacon is more expensive. gas is more expensive. grocery is more expensive. rent is more expensive. so lower growth is not matters. we need to focus on their concerns. you know this, when you don't meet people where they are emotionally, they stop thinking you're understanding the challenges that they're going through every single day. that is a very, very high risk. that's why donald trump, no matter the circumstances that he's in, if you're struggling out there, you're going to say i was doing better in 2020 than i'm doing novemw. at least it really feels that way to me. the pitch needs to be you're struggling, we're re-industrializing the country. it's not happening soon enough, and i'm going to bust my rear end to make sure we go ahead your families where they need to be. now telling them they're better. stop with that. it puts us as risk. >> is there a specific younger democrat you're looking at to potential challenge biden for the nomination? >> i wouldn't give you any name that anybody else hasn't talked about. we have talented governors, talented senators. i'm not sure it matters all that much. if you look at the number of trump, i think 55/45, so i hope -- and again, i love joe biden, i will support joe biden 100% if he's running, no question about that, but what i'm saying is, i hope we can get a new generation of leadership. i think the country is ready to move on. we have to start healing. that's the direction we need to move in. i hope the republicans elect someone who has the guts to take on trump. the country's got to heal. we have to move on from this. i represent the frustrations of millions of people in the country. >> former democratic congressman tim ryan of ohio, thank you for joining us. >> thanks, wolf. i appreciate it. karen, what do you think -- >> i knew that was coming to me. [ laughter ] >> i'm listening to him say, what the white house is doing when they hear these concerns, and we'll be watching to see if they have any drag on races ton tonight. what did you make of what he said? >> i think you take polls seriously. clearly we've had a number of polls that have said similar things. we need to understand why people feel that way. that's where the campaign is. you hear me say this. that is where the messaging comes in. why are people feeling that way? and why is the message not actually moving voters toward president biden. clearly, what they've been doing isn't working. i agree with the congressman on that. there needs to be some kind of change in terms of the messaging, and also probably how we're reaching people. >> but he showed why he remains one of the best communicators in the party. he said, stop talking about macro economics. there's a lot of good statistics that the team can point to, but you need to meet people where these live. he's making a case from northeast ohio, you know, talking about manufacturing, meet people where they are, like a human being. that kind of common-sense perspective is what democrats need more of. >> i think the fear is among democrats, that they're losing democratic constituencies. they have to figure out a way to get them back. they're not doing as well with minority voters. >> biden's really don't. >> younger voters are bleeding. >> when the polls are like gloria is caking about, my experience is not change up the messaging, but change up from the top. this is coming from the top. you can't communicate differently about biden, or george w. bush after katrina and the iraq war. people have formed opinions. here's where i disagree. it's called the informed vote, you poll, ask the direct question, and ask, did you know a, b and c? and then you ask again. that tends you to see what moves people for or again clearly they need to do something, but -- >> it's the way they feel. >> but he should. >> you talk about younger voters, which i've been looking at. it's astonishing to me that they're -- the economy, trust donald trump on the economy more than joe biden by 28 points. >> that's one poll. let's be clear, they also, though, care about reproductive rights, climate change, and when we talk about the economy, it means very different things. for black voters, racism is the economy. if i'm dealing with racism, i'm not getting a raise, i'm not getting the job opportunities that i think i deserve. you've heard black voters say they're concerned more hasn't been done. similar with women and reproductive rights. so understanding voters and how they deal with these issues. >> none of the democrats running are talking about supporting joe biden. they're not talking about a link with joe biden. they realize that he's a deadweight on them in these races. that should tell you something about what sets up for the 2024. we're going to continue this conversation down the road. will the deep red state of kentucky oust its democratic governor? will elvis presley's second governor turn the governor's mansion blue? we'l'll hahave details, coming . c'mon, we're right there. c'mon baby. it's the only we need. go, go, go, go! ah! touchdown baby! -touchdown! are your neighbors watching the same game? yeah, my 5g home internet delays the game a bit. but you get used to it. try these. they're noise cancelling earmuffs. i stole them from an airport. it's always something with you, man. great! solid! -greek salad? exactly! don't delay the game with verizon or t-mobile 5g home internet. catch it on the xfinity 10g network. this election day, we are following two key governor races with high stakes. in kentucky, andy beshear fighting to turn his race into a referendum on abortion rights versus daniel camden. and tate reeves amid questions about his involvement in one of the biggest public fraud scandals to ever happen in the state's history. his challenger, brandon presley, is related to elvis. dianne gallagher is standing by in jackson, but first to eva mckenn. >> reporter: we have seen abortion really become a potent issue even in this state. governor beshear has elevated this conversation. we were at the polls this morning and spoke to one woman, and she said that was the key issue she was voting on. she she was concerned about the future of reproductive rights in this country. beshear has this searing ad that's played time and time again by a woman of the name hadley, a victim of sexual assault. she also joined him on the campaign trail. he uses her story as a way to basically call out republicans who do not support exceptions for rape or incest. this is something that's been heavily elevated here. if governor beshear is victorious, we could see democrats use the say playbook, but daniel cameron is a serious competitor here. he's work overtime to try to tie beshear to biden, who is not popular here in kentucky. >> a democratic governor in a red state. thank you, eva. now to mississippi. cnn's diane gal better joins us now from a canvass event for brandon presley, the challenger. why is this race all of a sudden so close? >> reporter: i think the question right now for people in mississippi, can this state election a democrat as governor. i have brandon presley here. this is the democratic candidate. this is your final event. you have crisscrossed the entire state. can mississippi actually elect a democrat as governor? >> i think we're going to win tonight. i've been in all 2 counties. the energy has been amazing. we have knocked over 260,000 doors throughout the state and we have more people ready to knock on more doors. >> reporter: i know you run on a populist message, how do you convince them to go? people say they have a hard time voting for someone who isn't a republican. >> we've got proud to get republican support throughout the campaign. i think this election is as much a referendum on saving our hospitals, ethics reform, and that reeves knows he's out of touch with them. i would be a governor in touch with mississippians, and this campaign has never been about national politics. he's trying to mick it that way. it's about issues in our state. >> reporter: has it been difficult to be attached to national politics, national democrats, running in this state for you? >> we have kept this centry to the state of mississippi. this is whether or not our hospitals already open the next four years, whether or not we end the corruption of tate reeves, with the largest scandal until his leadership. this is not about national politics. i've disagreed with the national party plenty. this is more about mississippi than anything else. i think that's why we're going to win tonight. >> reporter: you talked about expanding medicaid, one of the few remaining states that's failed to do so. i've talked to people who said it's the idea of cutting taxes. is that what's going to push you over the finish line? this would be an upset if you won. >> look, i'm a populist. i said that clearly. the issues in mississippi are not right and l