steve, there is nothing better than seeing you on election night. give us an update. >> yes. a lot still going on. and let's start in mississippi. and the governor's race in mississippi. 2 now two-thirds of the vote in. republican incumbent tate reeves leading brandon presley by 11 points. two key points i think as you look at these numbers. number one is we've been waiting all night for the largest county in the state that's hines county where the state capitol of jackson is, it's a core overwhelming democratic county. they just started reporting the polls. we're open later there because there were issues of ballot viability. it's 86 to basically 13 for presley. this is a big vote producing county. that's certainly an opportunity for presley to gain and for reeves to fall. in the rest of the state we've been looking to see if there's a pattern because reeves won this race in 2019 by 5 points. we've kind of been using that as a bench mark as results come in. is presley running 5 points better than the democrat in 2017? there are some counties where he's absolutely doing that, and there are some counties where he's falling far short of that. for example, madison county i think it's the fourth biggest in the state, now we're close to 60% of the vote counted in madison county. reeves is leaving this by 13. in 2019 the democrats won this county in the governor's race. it was the first time in more than three decades they had done that, so reeves seems to be outperforming his own performance here in 2019 in a big county. right outside jackson, now reeves grew up here, nearly 80% of the vote in. reeves has a 30% point advantage. presley is overperforming versus the democratic showing in 2019, but you also have some big counties where reeves is overperforming his own share. i think right now if you're the reeves campaign you're feeling pretty good about what you're seeing. hines county how many votes come out of there and how much is that going to do for presley and that brings the wild card into equation here. she has dropped out of the race but she was running as an independent. her name stayed on the ballot. it was too late to get it off. she's drawn 1.5% of the vote. the rule in mississippi is not just having the most votes on election night is hitting 50% plus one. one of the possibilities here with hines county and outstanding it does raise presley a few points, it does bring reeves down. and if it brings reeves down just under 50%, he could still finish ahead by presley by a little bit. but if he's short of 50, then we go to a runoff, and a runoff is held three weeks from now. there's the reeves versus presley race, and in that reeves is probably feeling good. the other major unfinished piece of business we've been looking at tonight is virginia, battle for the state legislature. the republican governor glen youngkin wants to get control of both chamber. start with the state senate, democrats came into the night controlling it 22-18. the associated press has now called 20 seats for democrats. they need 21 because 2020 the republican lieutenant governor breaks the tie, but there is a potential 21st seat where the democrat is leading right now and where what is left to be counted are early votes, are mail votes, are democratic-friendly votes. and so it is a seat that looks very right for democrats to take to get them to at least 21. 21 for democrats equals maintaining control of the state senate. on the house of delegate side, this is the one republicans came into tonight leading 52-48. 846-40 for the democrats. and there are a number of seats that have not yet been called and i just talked about the state senate seat where it's a similar story, where the democrats look well-positioned i think to get up to 50 seats, very possible. and to exceed 50 is in the picture for democrats here as well. if it's 50-50, then they have to enter the two parties into a power sharing agreement. and, again, republicans control the chamber now. if this were to end up 50-50, republicans would lose control. democrats wouldn't gain it. they would have to share it. but, again, that would be a defeat from republicans because they would go from controlling it to having to share it. and on the state senate side there's a very clear path for democrats to retain and win an outright majority there. in terms of what glen youngkin and republicans were hoping for in virginia, they're coming close, but they may not be close enough. >> steve, stay close. we want to know every single update as you get more numbers in. but right now let's bring in our lead off panel. simone sanders townsend is here, host of the show simone on peacock and msnbc. michael steele, joins us, former chairman of the republican national committee and former lieutenant governor of maryland. and former ohio congressman tim ryan. congressman ryan, i turn to you first. what's your main take away this evening? >> well, a huge night in ohio, stephanie, like a big win. we've had steve kornacki break our hearts in ohio more than one time, so it's nice to see him out there with a couple of big wins in ohio on both the abortion bill and the marijuana bill. so, again, we've talked a lot in the past ohio is a freedom-loving state, and today we got the government out of the lives of women, and we got the government out of people's homes to allow them to make decisions. so huge, huge win in ohio. >> simone, president biden posted this on twitter. quote, across the country tonight democracy won and maga lost. voters vote. polls don't. >> i like the tweet that you tweeted. like polls are -- what did you say? >> polls predict, elections prove. >> i think that's what joe biden was trying to say. look, i think it's important that in the lead-up to elections like this and especially on election day that people are talking to people on the state and so folks on the ground. what i was hearing is that voters are engaged. in mississippi in hines county that is the county jackson sits in, the folks on the ground told me they surpassed 2019 numbers. to be very clear only 72,000 ballots were cast in 2019. so surpassing 2019 numbers is a big deal. they ran out of ballots five times in some precincts. in ohio every time abortion has been on the ballot since the overturning of roe v. wade, voters have overwhelmingly voted to enshrine their rights to make decisions about their own bodies. i think this bodes well if you are a democrat or democratic operative looking towards 2024. if you're a democratic governor or aspiring democratic governor, y'all better look at andy beshear who did not shy away from -- i would argue he didn't shy away from the biden agenda. he talked about -- >> that is from mitch mcconnell's backyard. michael steele, what did you think tonight? >> well, you know, i'm just kind of laughing at the gop right now, because apparently this whole concept of individual liberty has prevented them from having yet another big gop night. i mean at what point do you learn that you are on the wrong side of the argument with the american people? at what point do you begin to understand that the individuals that you're pushing out as the standard bearers for the republican party are not individuals the country wants? in red state after red state, you're losing. in states you have a chance to set a narrative like virginia, you can't. this is a very instructive night for republicans. i look at the democrats and i go, y'all, need to get a pen and pad, and my good friend simone has just laid out the lesson to be learned by democrats. and looking at the state of kentucky, i don't know how complicated you want to make this, but don't. okay? run the race. just run the damn race. you've got a president who's laid out the narrative. use it. talk about shovel ready jobs. that's the reality. shovel ready jobs, that's infrastructure, job creation, lowering inflation, gas prices coming down. you've got the narrative. in red kentucky, guess what, the democrat that was supposed to have been ousted, that was supposed to have been like, okay, we're done with them, now we return to maga, they said no. in ohio, red ohio, right? what happened? on abortion citizens that would include republicans said, no. so the reality is there's a new landscape being shaped. both parties need to understand it better than they currently have because the voters are setting the table. and it's going to be important that going into 2024 whether or not candidates like simone said, like my buddy tim ryan said, understand exactly what's in front of the american voter right now. >> steph, i would also argue in kentucky it was a forceful defense of abortion from governor beshear and a forceful rejection of anti-trans record. he vetoed the anti-trans bill and everyone said this is going to cost him the election. and he talked about freedom and parents being able to make decisions for their children. >> congressman ryan, i don't know. i've seen you on television in the last 24 hours, and you were very concerned about these polls out there that weren't looking great for president biden. you said that the idea of biden running for president, quote, scares the hell out of you and people want someone different. does tonight change that opinion? >> well, i think tonight was about issues, and i think tonight is about how candidates matter, brands matter. look at kentucky. andy beshear, a very empathetic candidate. he was talking about how do we get through covid together, how do we build the economy together? even on the issue simone just mentioned on trans, how do we protect freedoms? and my issue with the biden messaging people aren't feeling good and you can't tell them you're feeling good. this was an election about issues. and i think what's really important here, stephanie, is that people, republicans, democrats, independents, just like michael steele just said agree with the democrats on the issues. our brand isn't great, but when it comes down to these issues, and we've been seeing this for years where they don't agree with democrats but they agree with where we stand in the polls, that is something we have to be honest about and we have to fix, but i think tonight was an affirmation of we were align would the american people on the issues they care about most from ohio to kentucky to virginia, and if we can get the message right, we can empathize with people, we can understand they're still not feeling the economic boost that the macro economic numbers are showing, then we can continue to win these elections. >> tim brings up amazing points. here's the thing. president biden has helped us avert a recession. we -- the majority of economists out there a year ago predicted we would be in recession right now. we're not, which is great. however, life is still really expensive and people don't feel good about it. this is a hard message for the president to convey. so after tonight should democrats look at something like abortion rights and make it even more central to their campaigns? >> yes. i mean i think abortion rights has been very central to campaigns since the overturning of roe, if you look at what happened in 2022. and i do think from what i have seen from this white house but also the biden-harris campaign they've been going out talking about freedoms and couching it under the banner of freedoms. but i think the congressman makes an important point. it is the issue, it is the message, but we cannot negate the messenger. my one criticism of the whole messaging situation is branding it bidennomics because i don't think people understand what bidennomics is. and what they do understand is just telling them what they're given. that's what joe biden did today, when he announced the $16 billion for rail, that is bidennomics but they didn't call it biden noms. and that's what andy beshear did tonight, he talked about bidennomics, prescription drug prices, all those things. i think a lot of people owe joe biden an apology today because i watched the news. the people had very critical words for the president. he needs to drop out -- i don't know. >> mr. steele, do you think the biden campaign and other democrats can use tonight heading into 2024 especially when it comes to campaigning in red states, what can they learn from tonight? >> they can learn a lot. they really can. honest to god they can. i just wish they'd get off stupid. this is not complicated. you're running against a guy who has 91 federal indictments against him. you're running against a party that husband embraced that, that has said, yes, we will support him even if he's convicted. and you're tripping up over the age of your candidate, who, by the way, his opponent is, what, three years younger than him? look, you've got narratives upon tearatives that you can relay to the voters. it's not hard. just tell them what you've done and show them how it's impacted them. yes, you know, we still feel a bit of pinch here and there. but by and large i think what ultimately happens in this election cycle has proven this in states like virginia where you've got youngkin, for example, who laid out this really kind of glossy narrative that had a lot of appeal with a lot of folks two years ago, well, things have settled in now. and, yes, things are still a bit at the margins for folks. but when pressed on the point of where do we go next and who needs us there, you know, i think joe biden has a case he can make if the democrats will get out of his way. >> tim, what do you think in virginia tonight says for glen youngkin and his national aspirations? if he doesn't get full control of the state, which is what he setout to do tonight, whispered under that we've been hearing for months this guy's got president written all over him. if me doesn't gain control, will that change the narrative? >> oh, i think so. you know, i think he was planning on making announcements tomorrow if he -- you know, he probably has a shadow press conference planned that's going to get deep sixed tonight. and again he's out of step with the virginia voters especially on the issue of choice where he was clearly even hedging his own language there at the end because he didn't want to talk about bans. i can't even remember what the goofy word he tried to use to sauce it up a little bit. but the reality is he's not going to be running for president now. i think he's going to be stuck in virginia. and hopefully when the governor's race heats up next we can take him out. and i think that's -- again, we are align would the people on the main issues that they are thinking about today. we've just got to make sure we can communicate that with the way andy did in connecticut or in kentucky. >> all right. glat to see you all. when we come back, we're going to talk with two doctors about ohio voting yes on the ballot measure symone was just talking about. and the entire statehouse up for grabs. an expert on virginia politics is here to break down what you need to know. "the 11th hour" just getting under way on a very important tuesday. under way on a very imp tuesday. is it possible my network could take my business to the next level? it is with comcast business. powering all your devices with gig-speed wifi. and you get fast downloads and uploads. pick it up! pick it up! oh we got this! because it's powered by the next generation 10g network. more speed for your business? it's not just possible. it's happening. get started for $59.99 a month for 12 months. plus, ask how to get an $800 prepaid card with a qualifying internet bundle. comcast business, powering possibilities. hello. it is so fantastamazing for me to see other trolls. is this how people feel when they meet me? yes. poppy, i'm your sister. my what? whoo. did you just braid my hair? tonight, we've spoken and stand here united in a historic victory. across the state we're going to bed knowing we own our own bodies. the impact will be felt across the state for generations and generations to come. >> this evening ohio voters have approved the right to abortion across the table. let's bring in the executive director of ohio physicians for reproductive rights and my old friend dr. kavita patel, a clinical physician and former senior physician during the obama administration. you fought to protect rights after roe v. wade was overturned. what is this night like for you? >> this night is incredible. it's such a relief knowing that the voices of ohioans, for of our patients came through. and we were able to put into law what we all knew was the right thing to do, which was that we needed to make sure our patients were in control of their own health care and that our patients, ohioans were making their most personal decisions and that the government wasn't standing in the way of those decisions being made. >> dr. patel, you and have spoken about this very line before so i want to bring in it up again. in dobbs vs. jackson, quote, women are without electoral or political power. ohio responded to that quote tonight. what's your reaction to those results? >> i think it's incredible, stephanie. this is not just ohio now. if we think about all the states that we've been talking about over the last month, it's michigan, it's vermont, it's california, it's kansas, it's ohio. and this is just a preview of all the other states. and i think dr. bean has kind of really underscored something probably not appreciated by many people. this is where doctors don't like to put into the political limelight. it's just not something we're comfortable. we love being intimate with our patients. thatli for women to tell us what's happening and for her to act what's in her best interest, that's where we have to draw the line, and i think you're seeing that. and i think it's incredible the obstacles the doctor and her colleagues have had to overcome and they exceeded that tonight. >> talk to us more about the abortion debate in ohio. how has that affected your patients? >> oh, so, you know, when the dobbs decision came down and our trigger ban went into effect seven hours later on june 24, 2022, with no warning suddenly abortion was illegal after the point at which cardiac activity could be detected in fetal heart cells, which is approximately six weeks. and that led to what was really a medical disaster in our state. for the 82 days during which that ban was in place, people were not able to get reproductive health care. there were women who were recently diagnosed with cancer who also found out that they were pregnant. those women were not able to start chemotherapy because they were pregnant and they weren't able to get an abortion in ohio, which was absolutely horrendous. there were people who had to leave the state because they were carrying pregnancies that were nonviable and were only placing a risk to the woman's health to continue carrying those pregnancies. but they couldn't get the care that they needed in ohio, and they had to leave the state. as a general pediatrician, i had conversations with my patients and their mothers and fathers who were scared for their children. you know, what does this mean for my children and their safety and their future? should we be starting our children on birth control to protect them in case they're assaulted sexually? i mean it was just horrible. and those days in ohio when the six-week ban was in place was so traumatizing for everybody in our state. people -- patients and doctors included, that -- that really setoff a real movement in our state, a grass roots movement that has culminated in us being able to actually put into our constitution protections for reproductive health care including abortion but also including contraceptive care, ivf, miscarriage management, controlling your own pregnancy. and tonight when they announced that, when we knew that we had been successful, it was so, so incredible and overwhelming and powerful to see that yo