congressman, the issues we're all watching besides trump is issue of the confederate statues. 3 of 5 people in virginia including all races and genders were for keeping the statues the way they are, don't want changes, yet that was position of gillespie the republican. position of the democratic candidate northam was get them all down. that's how he started anyway. >> says to me, voters said that's where i am on this issue, didn't vote on this issue. >> it was not the issue. but gillespie and trump. gillespie didn't know who trump was in northern virginia but ran a television ad campaign that absolutely invoked worst of the trump campaign. >> southerner ? >> this time it didn't work. >> catholic guy who grew up in new jersey running down there waving the flag of stonewall a controversial president in by-election. >> anybody with any problems with the government party, any problem they lay on you. right? >> absolutely right. >> you take all the hell with trump's name on it. >> and historically that's how virginia performs. election year after presidential election and almost always vote for other candidate. it's corrective. >> transgender person was elected this week. >> virginia is more midatlantic than southern state. like new jersey or anyplace else. i think it's becoming harder for republicans. saw that in last two presidential races. yes we're going to compete in virginia and we did. >> single women together with a strong minority population and growing highly educated population and more college grads voting this year than last, that's tough. >> but ralph did well for democratic candidate among white men. >> carried white women. talk like south africans in this thing. you're not laughing. did you win or lose tonight. >> didn't lose, here's how i look at it. still got a supreme court justice, that's like six or seven governors. >> either way, you say you won. >> not tonight. >> john, thanks for being in the barrel tonight and congressman, congratulations. you were on the program and predicted whole thing. i don't like being outpredicted. joined on the phone by rising star in the democratic party, congresswoman cheri bustos. does this victory make you feel more aloft? going to be optimistic about something we're seeing tonight, but also want to say, hey, we got a lot of work to do. november of 2018 is still a year off. don't want to lose sight of the fact that we have to keep track of what people are talking about, jobs, economy. and as we saw in the exit poles tonight in virginia, lot of it was about health care as well. people are very concerned about health care that donald trump and paul ryan are sticking on people. >> what happened in virginia, had until tonight a conservative legislature, said no expansion of medicaid up to higher percentage of the poverty level, in fact above. apparently that's one of the pressures congressman connolly. >> we saw a referendum on this in maine and passed. >> what is particular aggravating point on health care? threat to obamacare? >> you and i have talked about how i go back home and do supermarket saturdays, walk the aisles and ewhat's on people's minds. health care is dominant. biggest concern i hear is people who have seen family members live through cancer and heart attacks and preexisting conditions and what's going to happen with them. what paul ryan and donald trump is doing on the cost of health care, we're going to continue to see this go up unless they decide to work with democrats and address the rising costs of health care and prescription drugs. we could do that if they're willing to work with us. >> when you walk through the supermarkets, counterclockwise or clockwise? i think it's better clockwise because then the people are coming at you. most go around to the right then -- i'm just kidding. anyway. >> chris, ever since you advised me, i'm going counterclockwise, thank you. >> something i learned at 20 years old. it's great to have you on, cheri bustos of illinois. coming up, issues that sent democrats tonight and voters wanting to keep the confederate monuments but not voting on that issue. big night for democrats, but wouldn't say this night. huge night. coverage will continue on this special edition of victory. first big night of victory since trump was elected president. first time. "hardball" back after this. welcome back to special edition of "hardball" after midnight. what pushed trt ralph northam from over the top, exit poll that tells us more. joined by steve karn eky. what made it happen? >> exit poll asking what issues motivated you. see the national issues intersecting. talking about health care, big story nationally with the republican push to repeal obamacare and ongoing issue trying to expand medicaid. 40% who said this were democrats voting for ralph northam, then gun policy in the news with tragedy in texas, split. half the people saying guns were issue, voting for gillespie, half voting for northam. different motivations. taxes, bread and butter issue. and immigration, what gillespie was playing up. republican voters here, gillespie voters. and interesting result. gillespie ran on the issue of heritage, he called it, confederate monuments, shouldn't be torn down, asked this question, confederate monuments on government property, what should be done? 38% remove, almost 60% with gillespie on that. leave them in place. gillespie was trying to build a winning coalition out of that percent but didn't materialize, biggest issue wasn't in the exit poll, might just have been donald trump himself. >> i wonder about the statues, reasonable to assume good turnout in african-americans in the election, only 18% of white voters for getting rid of the statues, historically, wanted to keep the history despite its moral mix to put it lightly. >> and while gillespie ran aggressively on the issue, northam didn't take opposite position, kind of punted on it. municipalities, you decide. not doing culture war stuff from the other side. >> and started out as complete get them out of the way, then said leave it to the locals. i don't think that's right issue for democrats. i know they have to do it but better put it on the back burner for a while. that's where it belongs. as steve mentioned, removal of the monuments became a hot gsh here ease what i, deadly protest in charlottesville, where the alt-right were pushing it. joined by -- mayor, like it or not, issue made virginia, sort of became iconic issue. because everybody else could identify with health care and guns and immigration. no other state has got the history that virginia has in terms of fighting the civil war. >> this is true. we have a special, unique and rich history here in the commonwealth of virginia, particularly in my city of richmond. but saw at polls that issues matter more than bronze and granite, the living, health care, and combatting gun violence. lot more important. >> not moving to middle east where they fight over every piece of ground with historic and religious meaning to different communities. not reached that point now going to war over the statues. but you're the expert larry. >> i think there was a backlash to what happened in charlottesville. and what later happened in richmond, and the mayor handled that very well. long story short, i think both parties are going to back off from this to the extent they can, leave it to localities. that's probably the way to handle it. some may want to have referenda, may be a way to deal with it. as statewide issue, democrats were very worried this was going to hurt ralph northam, concerned would stimulate another racial issue. already had gillespie harping on ms-13 and immigration and crime and football players taking a knee, all this kind of stuff. but what was really interesting, chris, this boiled down, not to those issues that steve just mentioned, though he's correct, that's what was asked on the exit poll. boiled down to trump and trumpism. it's not referendum on trump but a public backlash to trump and some kind of repudiation i think of trumpism. that's what this election ended up being about. >> yeah, mayor you know this as well, run for office, get elected mayor, i have a sense that voters only have a crude tool in voting booth. can't write a letter or essay, they've got to vote, yes or no. this time they voted no. what is it about your community, your voters, be honest here, what is it they most dislike about donald trump? >> i think they hate the divisive and bigoted rhetoric coming out of his mouth. i mean you heard some -- the way he -- i think it all began, look back at what he said about african-americans during the presidential campaign, like what do we have to lose. now we saw and came out in full force. in my city alone, 70,000 voters came out to vote this time around. won 81%, ralph northam. last time, 58,000 came out to vote. see the difference. not only african-americans but young white voters came out and said in resounding way, this is the sort of politics we don't want in commonwealth and beyond. >> tell me what it means that millennials did what you said, not ethic or racial thing among millennials but young people really did vote against trump and trumpism. mayor first. >> yeah. i would say this, i look at my city, it's young, between 20 and 29 years old, 23% of the population made up of those individuals. we want a progressive style of politics that's inclusive and welcoming. what you hear out of washington, d.c., and what you heard from ed gillespie, didn't embrace donald trump but ran on trump playbook, fearmongering, talking about statues et cetera. ran with the trump playbook. >> is this going to disabuse the republican candidates in '18 they can win as trump? mimicking his issues? >> it ought to if in purple competitive territory for blue. how could a republican get elected by being associated with trump personally or his issues? if you're from deeply red state in north dakota -- >> alabama looks purple right now. you're laughing but even in the polls. >> pretty extreme. that's why. >> one thing i want -- i'll add, may take back the house of delegates as well. looks like 50/50 seat. if i were a house republican in congress, i'd be scared. add this as well. had a great four years of terry mccall's leadership. i think ed gillespie made the case they were tied at hip and you saw what won out. >> for mccall for president? >> he's going to run. >> think he would make an excellent president. >> will you be with him if he runs? >> i'm going to be mayor of richmond. >> mayors can endorse presidents. i love doing this. you don't want to say you're for terry or not. he'll call you tomorrow. >> if he runs for president, he has my endorsement without a doubt. >> man who makes decisions on a dime. thank you mr. mayor. thank you. larry, what do you think of this as representative of united states coming next year? lodestar for 2018 politics? >> it's going to help democrats raise money, recruit candidates. what this legislative vote in virginia showed is, democrats have to recruit candidates to run everywhere. you never know where you might win. incredibly northam's coattails picked democrats from 34 to 50/50 split and in recounts might go over. key is having lots of candidates to catch on to a wave. could be a wave next year. don't know yet. it's too early. >> taught something important to those watching tonight. in elections next year, may run in seat that's never gone democrat and you may win. in 1964, 1974, 1990, all kinds of year where's the people who -- teachers just announce i'll run for it last day. tom foley ran last day. howard in maryland or new jersey ran the last day, he got elected. it's the year to put your name on the ballot. thank you mayor and larry sabato. up next, president trump is in south korea but mind is on virginia, he lost and tonight he blasted his supposed guy, saying he lost because he failed to embrace, his word, the trump agenda, and maybe the trump manner. you're watching a special edition of "hardball." i just called lieutenant governor ralph northam to congratulate him on becoming governor-elect ralph northam. as i said throughout the course of this campaign, governor-elect ralph northam is a good man and appreciate his service to this nation and our commonwealth and wish him success. obviously wish it had gone the other way but appreciate those who voted and cast votes even for those who won today. >> that's harder than you think. ed gillespie was walloped tonight. conceding to ralph northam, didn't mention in the whole speech donald trump. but as i mentioned president tweeted earlier that ed gillespie worked hard but did not embrace me or what i stand for. republicans won four house seats over the years and economy -- that's trumping to his usual. about face, tweeted that quote, gillespie will totally turn around the high crime and poor performance of virginia. vote today asap. that was before the votes came in. this is a pattern for the president. tweeted against alabama senator luther strange after he lost to roy moore. dumped on him and deleted previous tweets in support of strange. joined by politics editor at root, and msnbc contributor. unfortunate human nature here to scamper away from defeat when you did partner with the guy politically. >> not just leaving the prom date you weren't happy with -- >> nobody does that. that is worse than i can imagine. >> exactly. tweets just earlier in the day, saying this guy is wonderful. now saying he's not. but other problem is this, every republican out there, every other tweet that trump sends, seeing this now. he's not going to have my back. i didn't believe it until i saw what was happening on state legislative level. that's where it's worrisome for republicans. if you see a state legislature flip in off-year election and if that level of enthusiasm continues, you have real problems. >> ask you about the decision by mr. gillespie, decisions are not accidental or casual. go out to give a plaintive -- difficult moment. difficult to give a concession speech without crying or showing emotion. got to show strength. decide as he was composing thoughts and emotions and words, i'm not going to mention the s.o.b. >> better man than me. >> i'm not going to say i want to thank the president for all his help. didn't do that. >> i don't think he ever wanted to. pence came down there, gillespie was never going to embrace donald trump. and i think -- >> why? he's establishment figure. former rnc chair. >> exactly. and trump would have caused more trouble than helped. >> 7,000 miles away and still felt he had to dump on this guy. sadism for all of us, new jersey governor conceded to phil murphy, running on the opposite of coattails to governor christie in the low teens in respect and popularity. best she could make of it tonight. >> about 10 or even five minutes ago, i called phil murphy and congratulated him on a fabulous race. stop. it was a great race. we left no stone unturned. we left no stone unturned. and we would not have done anything differently. i want to congratulate him on the win and you will too right now, give him congratulations on the win. this is not the end, this is the beginning of a good fight. we will keep up that fight. >> i'm sorry, i know she's a woman, but i love the phrase jersey girls. got the attitude and spunk. i'm sorry, little bit of joan rivers there. >> fantastic. >> toughed it out. >> see people walking around like already beginning to sweep up. she was going to do this. be brave. i'm sure done this too -- >> i've been in n there, trash all over the familiar and balloons going up. >> kept to it. didn't give up. >> must have known from day one she wasn't -- republicans don't get elected that easily in new jersey and to have to ge -- what are the opposite of coattails? millstones? >> that's it exactly. >> this had that big governor on her shoulders. even through the bridge in and she had nothing twaud it. millstone, bridge too far. just not going to be able to do it. >> cornelius ryan wrote "a bridge too far." up next, big morale boost, will have afterglow for weeks what happened in virginia. what does it mean for 2018? means a lot of people will run for office as democrats who wouldn't have run otherwise because think they can win now. democrats stand a real shot of winning senate races in states. watching a special edition of "hardball," big night for the ds. see how much you can save with sofi. the leader in student loan refinancing. ♪ wipeout >> virginia we have witnessed yet another democratic sweep today. >> it was a wipeout for republicans at hands of ralph northam and the democrats tonight. wipeout indeed. but ed gillespie wasn't the only loser in the wave. former trump chief strategist steve bannon told the "new york times" that gillespie closed enthusiasm gap by rallying around the trump agenda, do you think? voters rejected trumpism and may have cost the republicans entire state legislature. openly transgender democrat danica rome won against incumbent who called himself virginia's chief homophobe. battle of differences. bring in round table, "new york times," democratic strategist and republican strategist. down the line, i think this is big, going to change morale across the country of democrats who haven't won since last november and lost that one. >> and choices couldn't have been more clear. someone calling himself chief homophobe and transgender woman sayi saying going to usher in new phase. >> she's 34 and he's 74 by the way. >> exactly. not a nuance, clear choice. either want confederate status to dominate the conversation or progressive ideals to dominate. see the numbers of people who say they want the statues up but don't care. number one issue is health care and they're trusting democrats. >> i like to put that issue aside for a while. let it calm down, benign neglect on the statues might be good. i don't like the pictures of the big cranes. this is trouble. steve, seems to me when you look at numbers, they wanted to vote no right? >> absolutely. it was pent-up outrage directed at donald trump and this was opportunity for voters to go out and really take a stand. and ed gillespie was unusual campaign because it was like invasion of the body snatchers. caricature of ed gillespie that ran was not the man we have known a long time. chamber of commerce establishment republican who beat trumpism in the primary and became trumpism in the general election and came back to bite him. everybody in capitol should be worried about it. we're -- assume african-americans voted against trump. then the white electorate in southern accent part of the state. northam is pretty much a centrist, a medical doctor. i think the republicans would have have to run up a ridiculous percentage among white voters to win because of the statues versus trumpism. how do you win if you're republican? >> they didn't. look at turnout, northam did a lot better. >> white women voted for northam. >> better than anyone thought. >> and suburbs was catastrophic for the republicans. wiped out in the suburbs. if you're barbara comstock or republicans who make up majority from suburbs around the country, you have to think about how the heck do i get reelected. think about that right now. first getting things done in congress. >> people around the better offsuburbs like delaware around philly or fitzpatrick getting shaky? they're on the leaning list. >> i don't think they really like trump to become with. lot of them voted against trump and now the worry is not only vote against trump but republicans trying to ally themselves with trump. >> voting against property tax deductions in the tax bill and high property taxes and comfort themselves like a normal person, at least can write off federal income tax. not now. >> they're going to find a deal on that that's more acceptable. >> take away the property tax deduction to guy or woman who owns a house in the suburbs -- >> they're going to get it but not state or estate. that's the rub. >> no. >> that's not sufficient. what is interesting about tonight. look at suburbs of washington where ed gillespie ran and did quite well, ran against mark warner. 20 points less in the vote in this election than he did when he ran against warner. that was true in prince william county, fairfax, the ed gillespie that ran last time was establishment republican. >> republican running for election in reasonable state, not far right, reasonable state. have donald trump's face on your literature? >> probably not. not only because trumpism lost tonight but there's this idea that republicans have always been kind of not in donald trump's corner. >> he beat them to win, not join them. >> he did. but there's this issue where republicans for a long time before he run didn't want to run as donald trump and now feeling the pressure because he had surprising win. i think now they're like we can go back to our corners and not be donald trump. >> will he let them? >> you're going to have national effect no matter what happens. i think the republican -- >> if we talk about donna brazile that will be all we can talk about. big in the news. >> democratic problems, we've entered stage where things are national in general. >> question. bernie people still hanging on, donna didn't help that what she said, not sure what she wanted to do. but republicans may have a real split. john, trump and untrump republicans next year? >> first of all it depends on the economy, and if trump's popularity gets up to 40% or 42% -- i do think won't run with trump. localize the elections. >> what at 40%? >> approval rating. got to get up. below that, republicans in big trouble. >> that's where he was in virginia, 42%. >> that's why we lost virginia. >> wasn't good enough. >> generic ballot for democrats is 11 point advantage. donald trump is one-man wrecking machine and republicans on the hill are starting to figure to t out. >> better off passing tax reform? >> i don't think they get that much by giving tax breaks to corporations and rich people. >> round table is sticking with us. another major victory, new jersey voters overwhelmingly elected democrat phil murphy for governor and buried the legacy of chris christie deep. special edition of "hardball." i, and you can too. build a better website - in under an hour. with gocentral from godaddy. of the republic. christie was known for colorful and confrontational style of politics. example of that today. leaving polling place, confronted by constituent, this is jersey, wanted him to merge two municipalities. that's a reason to go at it. >> easiest thing is to stand where you stand on the sidelines and critique. >> i have relatives. >> you're critiques. you want to merge the townships run for the committee and -- run for the township committee and be the voice to do it. that's too hard. >> it's not hard, just that nobody cares. >> easier to sit here and complain. easier to sit here and complain. that's the joy of public service. serving folks who -- >> you were the one. >> move along. >> serving folks like you is such a unique joy. it really is. >> i think he loved it. more of christie's colorful moments. >> did i not say on topic? are you stupid? next question. i'm sorry for the idiot over there. >> people that raise their voices and yell and scream like you that are dividing the country. what's her name? >> real quick as governor is talking. >> gail. >> first of, it's none of your business. don't ask you where you send your kids to school. unbeknownst to everybody i was the guy working the cones out there. you're really not serious with that question. if what you want to do is put on a show and giggle every time i talk, i have no interest in answering your questions. tom you must have thinnest skinned guy in america. if she wants to get an plane and examine me, i'll have a conversation. until that time she should shut up. until that time, sit down and shut up. >> we're back with round table. he had his come uppance today, new jersey rejected him. put in replacement nowhere like him. lieutenant governor courageously ran and got nowhere, now playing the hall of fame against him. >> went from person people were talking about possibly running for president to somebody with so many gates. bridgegate, beachgate. this election was clearly about rejecting -- people don't want a governor who acts like that and governs how he did. >> steve, you and i have similar backgrounds. certain kind of philly guy likes that and south jersey, showed lip and attitude and if someone pushed him into corner where his kids went to school, had right to defend himself but went on taer. >> it's like i jumped the shark. some authenticity is good, tip o'neil, ted kennedy. >> frank inougsynough sinatra h >> it's fine line. >> your thoughts? >> could have been a contender. chris christie was the trump before trump, authentic, battler, able to take on the media. problem was bridgegate, started a long terrible path down. took away the authenticity. >> during the 2016 presidential campaign, last year, christie focused most of his contempt on marco rubio. let's watch. >> senator rubio, the boy in the bubble gets here, i hope you ask him some questions. get the boy in the bubble out of the bubble, see if he'll answer questions. >> jumping on him after the ridiculous performance by guy that got brain frezen and repeated same neocon line six times in a row. rubio repeated it. let's put rubio on the barrel now. bad night for republicans. >> let's dispel once and for all