thank you so much for letting us into your homes during these extraordinary times, especially today. we're grateful. i'll be back with brian williams,maddow, steve kornacki and more for coverage of elections. "the beat" with ari melber starts now. >> hi, nicole. >> what am i going to do in 30 minutes? >> i don't know. step out and back? a little coffee, maybe. i'll see you soon. i want to welcome everyone to "the beat" on this big night of special coverage. we are, of course, one hour from polls closing in this pivotal georgia senate run off. two of them. as two democrats, jon ossoff and
rafaphael warnock are trying to beat purdue and loeffler. the implications for president elect biden's administration are momento momentous. this can control the agenda in the short term and impact biden's cabinet picks and stimulus payments, things that affect our everyday lives in the united states. now the last time a democrat won a georgia senate race was back in 2000. ossoff and wernock talking to voters today. >> we need to pass $2,000 stem l -- stimulus checks for the people and surge vaccine distribution and make testing and vaccines free for every american to beat this virus. >> on the republican side, loeffler with views close to
trump. tonight, is also, of course, a test from trump-ism and whether the president's unusual and on going attacks on our democracy itself will continue to be a political boon energizing his base or also on the other hand, discouraging people from even voting in the first place. let's get to it on this big night. i'm joined by jason johnson on the ground in georgia. so is latosha brown. she's co-founder of the black voters matter fund dedicated to black voting engagement and related issues and a campaign legend for the democrats james carville. great to have each of you here. james, we begin with you on seniority if nothing else, sir. what are you watching for now that we have -- [ laughter ] >> -- experience? as seasoned as cajun food, sir. walk us through what you're keeping on eye on with the
biggerly numbers and a high turnout? >> i'll do something you should never do. i'll rely on election day gossip and i have to tell you it all good. there is one significant thing my co-guests can address. they have exceeded the vote in dekalb county. dekalb county is the most democratic county in georgia. it's majority african american county with a gazillion people with degrees. i know that election day information is notoriously inaccurate but some of it i got is pretty good and i have to tell you, i got to be back on this network at 10:30 tonight, i'm pretty jacked up from this. i'll be totally honest. the decab news -- >> let me follow up with you.
yeah, let me follow up with you, james. msnbc viewers know you to be bullish on blue. are you saying specifically that what you call the political gossip or what other people would call sources and intelligence what you're hearing through your networks is making you more positive about democrats taking one or both of these seats than say, how you felt yesterday as a general blue democrat? >> first of all, i'm a white southern democrat and a lot of my friends are the same. we're not used to good news. we're not bullish people by nature and i got to tell you, brian reid would say james, election night you thought we'd know by 10:30. okay. we didn't. you thought you'd win. you lost. i'm 76. i'll take the heat. i genuinely, i looked at my cell today and i made 4 1 phone calls of quality. i feel good. it's a stupid thing for an old
man to say but what are you going to do? >> what are we going to do? nothing. >> i don't expect to be -- [ laughter ] >> we always like to kick off our big election coverage on msnbc with james carville and i think that's very interesting to hear how bullish you are. i want to get more into the politics with jason, as well, as i mention who is tracking this closely. we are tracking more than one story and the other one is quite serious and la tos latosha, a development late in the day today in that now infamous shooting of jacob blake. the d.a. announcing in charges in the case. viewers may recall an officer shot blake in the back seven times while he was unarmed paralyzing him. the shooting caught on tape. it sparked protests this summer. the prosecutor said in his view, this officer making this shooting you see here had a reasonable belief as he advanced
on blake that his own life was in danger. >> i have never had a moment in my whole life where i had to fear for my safety with either police officers or individuals in authority. it is my decision now that i announce today before you that no kenosha law enforcement officer in this case will be charged with any criminal offense based on the facts and the laws. >> latosha, i want to get your views as a policy and civil rights matter. many of these issues relevant in georgia and relevant to many voters there. your thoughts tonight? >> first of all, he actually said it in the statement, the statement said he never feared as a white man in america he haven't feared the police because he hasn't had the experience we've had. to look at the tape with our eyes and see this man, he's certainly the officer in no way
if you pull someone's short from behind seems like you're in any way a defensive posture and acted as the aggressor. all of us saw what we saw. i think we recognize just because people are not in the street does not mean right now work is not happening, and what we're seeing is people rise up all over this country because we're tire today d of this. we're tired of police brutality. nothing will change. we aren't going to continually look at a man that's a father who was shot in the back like he was a dog or someone pulling their t-shirt. they will be held accountable. it not over. while the d.a. at this moment has not filed charges like we saw in breonna taylor, we'll continue to put pressure until we have justice. there shall be no peace if there is no justice. i think that's all indicative of how we allow those to kill the lives, that is why the black lives matter movement exists,
right? because black lives are constantly under attack, and even when we're seeing a video, this man is going walking calmly to his car and is shot and paralyzed for an officer shooting him in the back, this is still no justice. we believe in freedom shall not rest until it comes. >> yeah, appreciate your points there and you think about that in wisconsin and minnesota as i mention, these issues hanging over georgia and facing again, bringing jason and james back into it, facing what the senate wants to do. these are open conversations. you have a new president coming in later this month. what will the senate look like to take up some of these reforms? jason, the president elect biden will be replacing a president trump who has loomed large over this georgia race tonight. take a listen to president
trump. >> i hope mike pence comes through for us. i have to tell you. i hope that our great vice president, our great vice president comes through for us. he's a great guy. of course, if he doesn't come through, i won't like him quite as much. these senate seats are truly the last line of defense. i must preface that saying he just conceded. no, no, no. >> jason, we have lived through four years of references to things being unprecedented. i see james carville hanging his hat in a little bit of sadness and shame for our nation. your view of this unprecedented closing argument from the out going president and how that affects these two races tonight. >> well, ari, all of these
things are connected. what james said and latosha said and the refusal to prosecute and ending with a white nationalist president whose entire campaign and entire administration has been about punishing, abusing and ultimately killing either directly or accepting the murdering of black people in this country. it not so it's not subtle. it not hidden. he can dress it up talking about how much he doesn't like mike pence and elections but donald trump's administration is about white grievance and hatred towards black and brown people. when we get to what is happening on the ground here and the irony is i came to where i am now filming at a tea shop from black lives matter plaza here where you have hundreds of names listed but right next to the names, you see the signs for warnock and ossoff. that's what is at stake for people down here in georgia. they look at the possibility of loeffler and purdue back in the
senate as the end of any possible attempts at having federal legislation that deals with police brutality and health care and having federal legislation that might put $2,000 at least once into their pocket to survive covid. i got to tell you, ari, from the ground here the level of interest in this campaign, in this senate race is higher than anything i've seen in a long, long time in atlanta in particular. it is the talk and donald trump's tape where he's threatening the secretary of state has also been of interest but what i find to be the contrast is republicans i've spoken to are frustrated about the process and say it rigged and their angry and this is our chance for the stuff in the trump administration. i may not be as bullish as james carville but i've certainly seen a lot more enthusiasm on the part of democrats than on republicans down here. >> you know, if i had more time,
i could make a list of the things that you're not as much as james carville. but that's why we hope to stay healthy and have long lives. let me go to latosha -- >> my hairline. [ laughter ] >> that's true. you know what? there is something in common. but you don't have the style. jason doesn't have the fashion sense. >> in new orleans -- >> go ahead, james. >> vanilla lightning and chocolate thunder, two bald headed wonders. [ laughter ] >> there you go. there you go. [ laughter ] >> the polls -- >> you know what? this is what we want. >> go ahead. >> no. >> i do know that these issues are infinitely with warnock in the senate as opposed to kelly
loeffler and a transition will happen. i'll be honest with you. >> yeah, i -- >> let he take that to latosha. we were looking at some of these live pictures and we might put them back up. it darkness has fallen there. it the end of the day obviously. first polls close within the hour but we're looking at some of the lines. we're looking at, again, we have stories and anecdotes and eventually we'll have numbers and data, latosha if you can talk us through the interest on the ground right now. >> so i've been doing this work for 27 years. this is the first election that i've worked in that every single person that i've talked to knew there was an election happening. that never happens. every single person that i've met in the state, every single person i talk to in the last nine weeks are aware there is an election happening. that in itself is significant. the second thing is we've been getting phone calls working all
around the state and i've been getting phone calls where people are standing in line and not standing in line like they're in patient, they are termdetermine cast their vote. people are determined today they will cast their vote and there is a certain energy, there is a certain kind of energy, unlike my friend james carville, i'm quick to say i don't know, do i feel the wind in the air? of course i want to see those votes count and those -- but there is something about this charged energy that something different is happening and so at the very least, you know, i think there is an element that this is a race and at one point, wasn't seven supposed to be close. this is a race, two senate seats? most folks in america don't know who the u.s. senator is. what is really significant, the fact there are more black voters to vote in the run off than the aga general election in a particular process created to literally disrupt the negro voting block. let's think how extraordinary
that is in itself. >> we've talked about so many issues. the way the run offs were created in georgia was the product of a racist system to quote unquote limit or cage, what they would call caging african american voters in america. an important point of living history. i have to fit in a break. thank you jason and latosha and james carville comes back. stay with us. coming up, the trump effect on georgia. whether it's backfiring as we preview this race and nicole, rachel and the whole team coming up. shortly after this break. m comig up shortly after this break 1 in 2 kids is under hydrated. if your child doesn't seem themself at times, they may not be hydrated enough. ♪ ♪
plant-powered creative roots gives kids the hydration they need, with the fruit flavors they love. and one gram of sugar. find creative roots in the kids' juice while. ♪ birds flyin' high you know how i feel ♪ ♪ breeze drifting on by you know how i feel ♪ [man: coughing] ♪ it's a new dawn, it's a new day... ♪ no matter how you got copd it's time to make a stand. ♪ ...and i'm feelin' good start a new day with trelegy. no once-daily copd medicine has the power to treat copd in as many ways as trelegy. with three medicines in one inhaler, trelegy helps people breathe easier and improves lung function. it also helps prevent future flare-ups. trelegy won't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden breathing problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it. do not take trelegy more than prescribed. trelegy may increase your risk of thrush, pneumonia, and osteoporosis.
call your doctor if worsened breathing, chest pain, mouth or tongue swelling, problems urinating, vision changes, or eye pain occur. it's time to start a new day. ask your doctor about once-daily trelegy. and save at trelegy.com. we live in the mountains so i like to walk. ask your doctor about once-daily trelegy. i'm really busy in my life; i'm always doing something. i'm not a person that's going to sit too long. in the morning, i wake up and the first thing i do is go to my art studio. a couple came up and handed me a brochure on prevagen. i've been taking prevagen for about four years. i feel a little bit brighter and my mind just feels sharper. i would recommend it to anyone. it absolutely works. prevagen. healthier brain. better life. [ fizz ] joini[ coughing ] [ gasping ] skip to cold relief fast with alka seltzer plus severe power fast fizz. dissolves quickly, instantly ready to start working. ♪ oh, what a relief it is so fast.
state of the art technology makes it brilliant. the visionary lexus nx, lease the 2021 nx 300 for $359 a month for 36 months. experience amazing at your lexus dealer. lease the 2021 nx 300 for $359 a month for 36 months. see every yikes...... and even every awwwwwwww... wait, where was i? introducing self protection from xfinity. designed to put you in control. with real-time notifications and a week of uninterrupted recording. all powered by reliable, secure wifi from xfinity. gotta respect his determination. it's easy and affordable to get started. get self protection for $10 a month. you might think you were born with a slow metabolism.d to lose weight, that's exactly what these people thought. (woman) i lost 75 pounds with golo. (announcer) nambu lost 48 pounds. hannah lost 60 pounds. and graham lost 131 pounds.
how? they went to golo.com. now it's your turn to lose weight quickly and easily with golo. head to golo.com now. that's g-o-l-o.com. we're tracking the voting in georgia continuing right now. polls close in just about 40
minutes. this critical vote comes against the backdrop of donald trump's closing argument, which is involved in increasing bout of conspiracy theories and authoritarian theater discussing a rigged election. both republican candidates have gone overboard trying to back donald trump on all of this including the objections that are doomed to fail to tomorrow's certification of biden's victory. many republicans are worried and saying so that trump's antics in his visit may depress some turnout or pack fibackfire on o both races. as promised, james carville returns joined by cecil richards the former president of planned parenthood. thanks to both of you for being here. cecil your thoughts on this big night? >> well, it's exciting and it great to see the general election are returning out
generally young people, black voters. the real story here is sort of what you eluded to this donald trump and regardless of what happens, when you have leffler and david purdue, they are demonstrating they can be bought and sold by donald trump and it's a party whose base will stink and not appealing to women and young people and people of color. regardless of what happens tonight, although i'm very optimist optimistic, republicans have a long-term problem on their hands because donald trump is in control. >> yeah, you say that and james, there was a lot of forecasting about what would happen if or after trump lost but the grip on at least the bulk of the party is there. we have seen interestingly some local officials push back more starkly than senators who of course, have all the political
ammunition to do so by self-interest with six year terms if they are current senators. listen to some of the push back trump has gotten about blatant lies, james. >> there is a claim that 66,248 people below the age of 18 voted. the actual number is zero. they say there is 2,4 23 people who voted without being registered. let's be clear about this, you can't do it. there is no shredding of ballots going on. that's not real. no one is changing parts of pieces out of voting machines. again, this is all easily provably false. yet, the president persists. >> james, we know this matters and will hang over the united states senate tomorrow. as a political matter, do you think any of this does hurt georgia tonight or is this a part for the november election
which is the pandemic stupid, is the recession stupid, it's all this kitchen table issues. >> of mike tyson, an income bent says he hits you so hard it changes the way you taste. it going to affect everything. do i think we're going to win? yes. will i be profoundly disappointed if we lose? yes. if we win, everything is going to be different. it's going to change. it's kind of like covid. it going to change the way people taste. entire political world that wakes up where i think it's going to wake up to tomorrow morning will be profoundly different than the one that exists at 18:30 eastern time or whatever we are. that i'm certain of. i'm pretty sure i feel good about where we are and if we win this, we're just living in a new
universe. we really in ways that you and i and cecil as long as we've been around we can't imagine the effect this will be. >> cecil? >> well, i think it's also been really wonderful to see that of course, a lot of folks thought once donald trump wasn't on the ballot that that had been the motivating factor for a lot of democrats but the unity we've seen in this run off election obviously at the top of the ticket with joe biden and kamala harris repeatedly showing up in georgia with a very clear message, the grass roots mobilization of both low donors, of people across the country, i've been phoning women voters in georgia and everyone i know is doing that and that to me shows the staying power of what started this november that it wasn't just a one shot thing, and again, i think it shows what i'm really excited about in georgia is the power of what
sta stacyey abrams has built and organizing and the power of black voters and what she has built. this is long term infrastructure and i agree with what james says boy, we win these two seats, everything is different tomorrow but regardless, georgia is now a battle ground state and that is something that you just can't deny and is i think everyone should be incredibly proud of the work they have done in the state to make that happen. >> yeah, you remind everyone that -- we have 30 seconds, james, go. >> i want to single out a group of people and that is democratic donors, small donors, big donors, every kind of vote they have. what they just fired away, we had a night on november 3rd and they kept writing checks and my hat is off, tip of the hat to
democratic voters around the country. you've really shown how much you love the united states. that's generally people -- >> interesting. well, interesting point, james, as you remind everyone, so much riding on this. hundreds of millions of dollars in one state race and cecil reminding us georgia wasn't a state donald trump was supposed to lose if he lost the rest of the map. my sincere thanks. i'm signing off with a quick break. don't go anywhere, msnbc special election coverage continues with brian, rachel, nicole, joy and a special sbemguests and exerts r after this quick break here on msnbc. quick break here on msnbc. stay restless with the icon that does the same. the rx crafted by lexus. get 0.9% financing on the 2021 rx 350. experience amazing at your lexus dealer.
got it. get 0.9% financing on the 2021 rx 350. it's slippery. nooooo... noooo... nooooo... yeeeesss... quick, the quicker picker upper! bounty picks up messes quicker and each sheet is 2x more absorbent, so you can use less. hey look, i got it. bounty, the quicker picker upper. fine, no one leaves the tablefine, we'll sleep here. ♪ it's the easiest because it's the cheesiest. kraft. for the win win.
30 34iminutes to go before polls closed while in the midst of a pandemic, people are turning out for the georgia senate elections. the last time voters went to the polls that may seem like decades ago, donald trump lost the state of georgia and lost the presidency. in just 15 days, joe biden and kamala harris will be sworn in as president and vice president of the united states. tonight, the good people of georgia will decide whether the biden harris administration will spend the next four years somewhat ham strung by mitch mcconnell and senate republicans. good evening. brian williams here with you from our global headquarters in new york kicking off our special coverage of these georgia senate runoffs. joining me at the far end of our expanded studios, my friend and colleague rachel maddow. good evening. >> good evening, brian. good to see you all the way over there. tonight, of course, is the final
cliff hanger from the november election, which party will control the united states senate? jon ossoff and the reverend rafael w rafaphael warnock are facing against purdue and kelly loeffler. there are reasons for democrats to be optimistic tonight. early voting cracking the 3 million mark for starting but also reasons for republicans to be optimistic. their track record of winning nearly every single statewide run off in georgia in the last three plus decades. the poll haves been very close. the turnout thus far is very high. the stakes of course, are tremendous. the national cross winds, particularly those on the side are intense and weird so basically, there is nothing to extrapolate from in terms of past experience. be humble tonight. anything can happen. the hardest working man in news
steve kornacki is itching for first results and going through early exit polls. we'll talk with steve and talk with stacey abrams that deserves a ton of credit for why democrats are in the fight at all. >> the x factor here is how the president's attacks on the legitimacy of the election have played with republican voters in the state of georgia if they brought the president's argument forward that the november election was rigged, if they believe in that, did they bother to vote this time around? we are about to find out. lucky for us, nicole wallace, joy reid, both back with us tonight. all of us in separate studios given the aformentioned uncontrolled pandemic after all. we want to get started with steve core knackty. steve, what will tonight look like as it maplays out? >> here is the map we think in less than half an hour will start to fill in red and blue. let me give you a sense of what
we're looking for tonight. some of the key areas, key dynamics we'll track as we start to get results and by the way, before i go into that, i should say i hope and there is some reason perhaps to be optimistic that it might be at least a little faster than it was back in november. remember, georgia took five days back then perhaps some of the counties talking to them this week have learned a few lessons about how to do this a little quicker. one of the things we'll find out is the speed. what are we looking for tonight? a couple angles. for democrats, there is a core democratic area in the state in atlanta, fulton county and immediately around atlanta and fulton county this area right in here and you're talking about more than 40% of the vote for this entire state is going to come out of this block of counties that i've kind of put in some green right there. these have all become a nine county zone right here. a lot of them used to be republican counties as vently r as five, ten years ago. they are core democratic
counties. nine counties that collectively back in november joe biden won by nearly 40 points. nine counties where you go election after election the last few years, the democratic margin is bigger and bigger and bigger. so how big is the democratic margin in these core sort of atlanta metro countries tonight? that's one of the things we're looking for. one of the other things we're looking for is another tier of counties, sort of just on the fringe of the atlanta metro area where i'll give you an example here where republicans have high hopes and where democrats think they can make an unexpected dent tonight. cherokee county is normally the single highest plurality producing county for republicans in the entire state of georgia. we were showing you shots all day today on msnbc of the in person voting taking place in cherokee county today. this one is huge for republicans. they want to run up the score with same day voters in cherokee county. so this county and others like it, we're asking ourselves what
is the turnout like on election day? do republicans get what they want but what kind of margin? let me show you what is happening in cherokee county. this is the story on the atlanta metro. trump won this by 40 points. it's a landslide. look how that changed from 2016. in 2016, trump won by 50 points. so that was a ten-point drop a little more than a ten point drop. go back to 2020 with mitt romney the margin was 58 points. so republicans used to be able to win cherokee county. that's the biggest county. they used to be able to win it by 60. trump couldn't even carry it by 40 on election day back in november. here is a question. trump's behavior since the election, does that help democrats keep it down under 40? can they even cut into that more? can they deny republicans the kind of margin in cherokee county that republicans have come to expect or can republicans get the same day turnout certainly they are
hoping for? we're keeping an eye on that. one other dynamic we'll be talking about tracking all night. we talk about early voting. democrats said they feel good about the early voting numbers. why? because in a lot of counties, the share of the electret that is black is higher than the early voting period in november. where is that a particularly true southwest georgia, columbus down the valley. you go over where the city of albany is right here. a lot of small rural counties here, small cities, columbus, albany, making this area can go to augusta outside augusta. the democrats get more votes out. this are some counties with large black populations here. the democrats did well back in november. do they do even better? have they succeeded in early voting in increasing vote share and increasing turnout in some of the democratic counties with large black populations? something else we'll be looking for again do republicans on election day, are they able to
turn out some of their voters in these counties? >> steve, i have a followup question for you. thinking back to november when we were watching the results come in. one of the things that you explained so well that sort of burned into my brain was that there was a very tighty partisan divide between early voters and election day voters and it wasn't the same in every state but in a lot of places, it was basically democrats who were voting early and it was republicans who were voting same day and it was a really stark split. have we seen that soften at all between november and this election or is georgia one of those places where that split isn't as pronounced? >> well, there is -- it's not quite as extreme as it was. we landed in november. the state we all kind of stared at was pennsylvania. in pennsylvania we talked about the early vote being processed late. remember, the difference between a state like pennsylvania and a state like georgia is pennsylvania had mail in voting. they had extensive mail in
voting in november like three quarters democratic. biden was getting 75, 76% of that. what they didn't have but what georgia does have is the in person early voting. and of all the different voting options they have in georgia. that's the most popular one. going to a polling place a week ahead of time, two weeks ahead of time casting your ballot like you normally would on election day but doing it early, those voters are not nearly as democratic as the mail in voters. so to answer your question, there is a divide. the folks that will vote before election day, the folks i should say who have voted before election day, we suspect that's going to be a much more democratic group than the folks who turnout and vote today but probably not nearly as extreme as we saw in pennsylvania and that is one of the questions do republicans have -- are they getting more than 60% of the same day vote today or does it come down under 6 0 and would be good news for democrats if it does? >> we'll have different counties count things at different rates. some counties will count today's
day first. some counties will count the in person early vote first and so we'll have to watch county by county as they come in. >> i was calling around to county election officials this week hoping there would be uniform. i'll give you an example of this. in fulton county biggest in the state, here is what we think will happen tonight. we think sometime in the 7:00 to 8:00 hour, we're going to get the bulk of the mail in vote from fulton county. probably not all of it but a lot of it we think in the first hour. they will do mail first and follow from there but then i talked to folks in colombia county, this is one of the places like cherokee county, republican counties less and less republican. they're not going to do the mail vote until the very end of the night, midnight, 1:00 a.m. again, i absolutely crucial i'll be saying over and over tonight. as we look at partial results from counties, the key question is what are we looking at? are we looking at early vote, mail vote, the same day? how you interpret them depends
entirely what the vote is. >> exactly. and clarifying as usual. steve, thank you. the name of the game is attorneyo turnout. republicans as steve was explaining are hoping for a big showing in the same day vote after democrats are very happy with the numbers they were seeing and the demographics they were seeing from the early vote, let go to shaquille brewster in canton georgia, the seat of republican heavy cherokee county we've been talking about and recently had a cyvisit from president trump. shaquille, what are you seeing? >> reporter: that's right, rachel. we learned from the secretary of state's office in three specific counties, lines are approaching about an hour long. one of the counties here cherokee county where we've been spending much of the day and here at this polling location, rachel, we've seen lines consistently 30 to 45 minutes long wrapping around this building here and election
official told me in just the past couple of minutes that they are nearly double what they saw in terms of election day turnout here at this one precinct. so that is definitely a positive sign for republicans who have wanted to see that election day turnout but i also got off the phone with the senior warnock aid that said this is what they expected and focused on early voting and absentee voting to balance out what would be an election day surge. we also have been talking about the tone and those messages of fraud that were coming from the president and whether or not that would trickle down to republican voters across the state. i want you to listen to some of the conversations i had with the voters who expressed doubt in the results from november election but still came out to vote. here is what they told me. >> i've lived here my entire life and i've never once thought this is a blue state. >> reporter: but you're still here today. >> nope. >> reporter: why not? >> because the only way to
actually show who the true winner was was to go and vote. >> i don't feel like anything was done fairly, but i think it been like that in the past, too. it just hasn't come down to something so controversial as this election has been. this time i've really felt different about voting and i really felt good about, you know, being an american and being able to vote and have my say, i just hope that it used. >> reporter: that was the message you consistently head from voters here at this polling location. again, we're seeing turnout early from democrats, more in person election day from republicans. the question is which one out weighs once we get the results? again, steve mentioned cherokee county a republican stronghold in the state. >> shaq brewster in canton. let's go to priscilla. >> reporter: well, brian, we're
seeing a contrast to what shaq is seeing there in cherokee county here in cobb county. no long lines. we saw a lot of long lines during early voting here particularly on the last day of early voting when the line here was wrapped around the block with folks waiting in the rain to cast those ballots. we've seen a steady stream of voters coming in today but certainly not those lines. and i should point out that the voters that i've spoken to for many of them this wasn't necessarily an easy decision. a number of the voters i spoke to talked about how they liked one candidate on the republican side and perhaps one candidate on the democratic side and i think that's very indicative where we are. this is cobb county. it used to be part of newt gingrich's and 55% of the vote in november we saw that tick down to 43% of the vote. it is one of those atlanta suburbs that has become more diverse and younger in recent
years and as a result started to trend blue and so democrats here obviously feeling very hopeful about the early voting turnouts they saw today or in previous weeks and so it will be interesting to see sort of how this all lays out in the grand scheme of things. we've spoken to republican sources that feel very confident in the places they see high numbers and democrats are saying it's a little too early to say. you know, we have sort of this data but we won't know until we see results roll in, brian? >> priscilla thompson, thank you. we're urging viewers to get comfortable and settle in. we're expecting a long night. we'll fit in a first break. on the other side, waiting to talk to us, the woman of the hour stacey abrams will be the next live guest as our live continuing coverage of the endless election night 2020 now 2021 continues.
(customer) hi? (burke) happy anniversary. (customer) for what? (burke) every year you're with us, you get fifty dollars toward your home deductible. it's a policy perk for being a farmers customer. (customer) do i have to do anything? (burke) nothing. (customer) nothing? (burke) nothing. (customer) nothing? (burke) nothing. (customer) hmm, that is really something. (burke) you get a whole lot of something with farmers policy perks. see ya. (kid) may i have a balloon, too? (burke) sure. your parents have maintained a farmers home policy for twelve consecutive months, right? ♪ we are farmers. bum-pa-dum, bum-bum-bum-bum ♪ (burke) start with a quote at 1-800-farmers.
♪ got my head ♪ got my hair ♪ got my brains ♪ got my ears ♪ got my heart ♪ got my soul ♪ got my mouth ♪ i got life want to sell the best burger add an employee.ode? or ten... then easily and automatically pay your team and file payroll taxes. that means... world domination! or just the west side. run payroll in less than five minutes with intuit quickbooks. who've got their eczema under control. with less eczema, you can show more skin. so roll up those sleeves. and help heal your skin from within with dupixent. dupixent is the first treatment of its kind that continuously treats moderate-to-severe eczema, or atopic dermatitis, even between flare ups. dupixent is a biologic, and not a cream or steroid. many people taking dupixent
saw clear or almost clear skin, and, had significantly less itch. don't use if you're allergic to dupixent. serious allergic reactions can occur, including anaphylaxis, which is severe. tell your doctor about new or worsening eye problems, such as eye pain or vision changes, or a parasitic infection. if you take asthma medicines, don't change or stop them without talking to your doctor. so help heal your skin from within, and talk to your eczema specialist about dupixent. if your financial situation has changed, we may be able to help. if your financial situation has changed, just washed laundry doesn't smell... just washed.our that's because there's hidden sweat and body soils that cause odors on your clothes. but there's a solution for those secret stinks: gain flings laundry pacs! gain flings has more freshness ingredients compared to bargain liquid detergents. they have 3 super powered ingredients that fight stink: oxi boost, febreze odor remover, and concentrated detergent. just toss in a couple of pacs. gain flings works in all wash cycles, even in cold water. try gain flings and smell the difference
or we'll give you your money back. - hey, kaleb, what's up? how you doing? - hey, i'm good. guess what. i just had my 13th surgery. - [alec] really? - how are you doing? - i'm doing good. i'm encouraged by seeing how people are coming together to help each other during times like these. - kinda like how shriners hospitals for children is there for us. - i know my shriners hospitals family will continue to take care of kids like us who need them most, all because of caring people like you. - like me? - (chuckles) no, the people watching us right now at home. we hope you'll call the special number on your screen right now. - you'll need making sure our amazing doctors and nurses can keep helping kids like us who need them now and in the days to come. - with your gift of $19 a month, we'll send you this adorable love to the rescue blanket as a thank you and reminder of the kids you're helping with your monthly support. please, call now,
or you can go to lovesshriners.org. we are just moments moments polls closing in the georgia senate run off. if you are in georgia right now if you are within the sound of my voice and you are waiting in line to volt. know that if you are in line when the polls close at 7:00 p.m. you must be allowed to vote. even if the line is long. stay in line. polls close in just a few minutes. if you are in line, you're good. democrats in the state of georgia are hoping that they'll double up tonight on the political feet they pulled off in november when joe biden became the first democratic presidential candidate to win the state in 30 years. who gets credit for that upset victory and georgia shift in juts the few years from deep red to purple.
there's one name one person who almost everybody agrees has been out front leading the charge to make georgia into the swing state it is tonight. that person is stacey abrams. she's the former democratic leader in the state legislature. governor candidate. founder of fair fight that fights voter suppression. great to have you with us. >> thank you. >> we spoke last night about your expectation and democrats expectations for election day today. i have to ask you, how has it been? have there been problems or concerns today? >> there have been a few hiccups. they have been all steadily and quickly remedied. steady turn out across the state. strong turn out in areas that lean republican. we have seen turn out in areas that have strong democratic leanings. it really will come down to those final numbers.
>> stacy, it's joy. quick question. for a moment to take a zoom out, which we shouldn't do. everyone is tense about what's going to happen tonight. i worked on the 2004 election for america coming together. we coveted georgia. it was the thipg that democrats coveted more than any other state. can you talk about the long term consequences of what you have been able to build. of the work that you and people have been doing. what does that mean that georgia becomes big picture regard he is of how tonight turns out? >> if you look at the work done by helen butler and working early in the korean and asian community. gonzalez doing work with the latino community. what we have seen in a decade is a steady change in demography.
electoral politics always lag behind. what we have been able to do in the state is really acknowledge, harness and invest in the demographic change. the reality is the trend is not going to reverse. we will continue to see the diversification of the state by the end of decade we assume a lot of the projections say georgia will be a majority minority state. any party that want to be competitive in the state has to reckon with the issues of healthcare, jobs and justice. those are the conversations we're having in the election. and those are the confers that will continue until we come to a resolution that serving all of the people of georgia. that why we know we are competitive and will continue to make gains. >> i have to tell you every person that comes on my show, reporters and former elected officials, heaps praise upon your work in the state.
the hard and years long work. i have to ask a question about that work. is it made at all easier by the brazen and gross nature of republican efforts to disenfranchise voters? i hope you didn't listen to trumps recorded phone call from sunday. first of all you were in his head. second, he makes clear he doesn't want the votes of the citizens of georgia to count. he just wants the republican officials there to go fabricate a fake count. does the brazenness and ugliness of that kind of disenfranchisement and voter suppression make your work stark and easier or harder? >> yes. i will say it's both. we know in 2018 when voters turned out to vote, when they attempted to vote they ran into the failings of voter suppression. perfected by kemp. and continued in some measure by
brad. that blocked access to the right to vote and animated voters. georgia realized a power they should hold has tlarted by someone to protect them. we saw extraordinary turn out in 2020 voters saw in 2018 they couldn't be heard and redoubled efforts. we worked through fair fight and organizations and they turned out. every time trump disparages the millions of georgia voters who decided they want to participate, it renews the commitment to being a part of the politics. they want to be seen and heard. and they will be. >> let me piggy back off what joy asked. the idea of the bigger picture about the kind of change that happened in georgia. for those watching from a national perspective it's been quick. you felt every single one of the steps. and every inch of progress. it's been so hard fought.
i wonder if you feel like there's a message from what you have accomplished in georgia. from taking it from a deep red state into what is a swing state a purple state. that other states should learn from. not every state in the country. but a lot are heading towards increasing diversification. demographic change that mean a less red state future for them. what needs to happen to translate demographic change that trends towards electoral results? >> i'll get into a shameless plug. i wrote a book about it. fight for fair america. the first half is about acknowledging voter suppression is real. it's not pure will the south. in every state especially states from red to blue, we'll have to fight hard to make republican legislatures don't reinvest in voter suppression.
as the method of victory. the second half is acknowledging the legitimacy of identity. race and marginalization and sexual orientation and gender identity. poverty and lass all matter. people make decisions on lived experiences and we have to acknowledge it. center it and run on it. one of the things we did differently we stopped hiding from the people we were trying to serve. and talked to them and we asked how can we help. that is how we do it across the state. it will take longer in some places. particularly the sun belt that is the path we have to follow if we want to fully harness the demographic changes and convert to permanent victories. >> stacey abrams. democratic leader in georgia. national voting rights leader. democratic leader. it's great to have you. we're two and a half minutes from polls closing. thanks for being with us. good luck tonight. >> thank you.
>> we are heading towards poll closing. i want to note -- on these election nights in the past you have seen us within two arms lengths of one another. we have taken that to a further extreme tonight. we are all in different studios. my friend it's nice to see yo all. >> great to see you. we miss you. >> it feels like the right thing to do. we're in new york city. and washington d.c. the numbers are heading up everywhere. if we're more careful tonight this is the right time to do. i want to express i miss being able to throw spit balls at you guys. >> some day. >> as we head towards this poll closing -- joy, what your gut feeling is tonight about democratic prospects. i feel like it's down the
middle. close night. >> coin flip. i feel like what we have seen in the early vote is democrats we should argue probably won the early vote. democratic voters are especially black voters tend to be early vote people. tend to want to get in early and. now it's absentee. republicans don't trust because of trump absentee voting. it really depends on whether or not democrats were able to build up enough vote in places like fulton county and steve kornacki point out the fulton county suburbs to with stand what trump was able to do in the end. took him a while to get there. he finally fully endorsed perdue and loeffler and urge people to get out there. they are his people. if he was able to equalize that and you had -- i watched your interview with stacey abrams. very important point she made