democratic governor, phil murphy. that means it was a split decision last night with republicans taking the governorship in virginia, the democrats holding on narrowly to the governorship in nrj, that now being made official within this past hour by nbc news. we'll see you again this time tomorrow. "way too early" is up next. both virginia and new jersey have a historical pattern of electing governors in off-year elections who are from the opposite party of the sitting president. in virginia it's happened in the last seven of ten elections. it makes sense because people tend to be upset at the time with the person in power right now that's joe biden. it's like leaving a yelp review. you never leave a reply when your soup is tasty.

the question is, would an infrastructure deal have helped the party hang on? we'll show you what president biden is saying about that. plus, former president trump's fight to keep documens secret heads to court today. and green bay packers quarterback aaron rodgers will miss this sunday's game after reportedly tested positive for coronavirus. the question is was he vaccinated or not? it's "way too early" for this. ♪♪ good morning and welcome to "way too early," the show that is glad it doesn't have riders on its fantasy team. it's thursday, november 4th. i'll start with the news. president biden is calling on his democrats to pass on the infrastructure plan to avoid

failure in next year's midterm elections. >> people want us to get things done. people need a little breathing room. they're overwhelming. and what happened was i think we have to just produce results for them to change their standard of living. i think it should have passed before election day, but i'm not sure that i would be able to have changed the number of very conservative folks who turned out in the red districts who were trump voters, but maybe, maybe. >> the president also said that he spoke to virginia east's ter mcauliffe. and turning to new jersey after a much closer race than predicted. nbc news projects incumbent governor phil murphy has won a second term. it gives murphy a 53.3 over

48.9% over jack ciattarelli. the republicans led for most of election night after the majority of polls had murphy winning by double digits. following his comeback, murphy spoke to supporters last night. >> you know, we just had the most new jersey experience. i was on my way someplace and it took us longer to get there than we planned. if you want to know what the future looks like, folks, come to new jersey. if you want to understand where america is heading, look to new jersey. >> new jersey traffic jokes always kill. murphy now becomes just the second democrat from the state and the first since 1977 to win a second term as governor. on the heels of this week's election results, democrats are sounding the alarm ahead of next year's midterms. according to "the new york times," party leaders were caught off guard by the barrage of losses on tuesday. "the times" notes that unless

they address the issue, they're certain to lose congressional seats. they have spent little time explaining to the public. what both moderates and progressives agree on, democrats will be punished again in 2022 if americans do not feel better about the country than they do today. joining me, my soon-to-be colleague, nicholas wu. thanks for being here. democrats as we know are trying to assess the reasons for their defeat. they look to virginia in particular and say voters may be unhappy because of the stalled infrastructure and spending bills. certainly these off-year elections also are considered at times to have to do with the

president at power. what are you hearing? what's the assessment from democrats as to what went wrong. >> well, a lot of democrats i talked to on the hill yesterday, you know, were really concerned about the lack of progress on actually passing the infrastructure bill and the rest of president biden's agenda on the hill, and i think one common thread that came out yesterday was that a lot of democrats hoped that the losses in tuesday's elections would spur them into moving. as we talked about, the bills have been deadlocked into negotiations for months and months. as definitely a lot of democrats see it, americans outside of the beltway don't necessarily, you know, see anything beyond that kind of gridlock and just want, you know, some kind of actual delivery on, you know, everything that democrats have promised here.

whether or not that means this will break the logjam here remains to be seen. >> as i reported more than a month ago, the republicans recognized they had a battle here. they did not have a good job of selling the bill and the president was going to start hitting the road to tout the plan to americans, but that didn't really happen. there was a trip to michigan and one here. there was not that barnstorming to get people on board. there's some hope things could happen in the next couple of weeks, but it's unclear whether the democrats will have this to return upon next year in the midterms. beyond that, as they look toward 2022, election day one year away, what lessons are they learning here beyond perhaps needing to get this bill passed? what are they concerned about? they face historical headwinds keeping power. >> i think the one thing they're concerned about is what exactly

they'll have to run on next year. as a lot of democrats see it, this will be the cornerstone to the biden agenda. without that, without the infrastructure bill, without the social spending plan, they won't necessarily have something to present to the voters next year. as we speak right now, democrats are counting the votes on the social spending bill to see whether they'll be able to make any progress today or tomorrow. and then moving forward from that, the real challenge for democrats will be actually communicating what's in all of the sprawling legislation to voters, and i think that's going to be the main issue. >> so, nicholas, there are probably a lot of people watching, saying, okay. let's say this does get done in the next few weeks? it's almost a year until the next midterm elections. you follow things and know the realities with the calendar. explain why the window of actually getting things done is pretty small. >> right. there are only so many weeks in the year that congress is

actually in session. the house is gone next week. after that we start with the holidays. and then the further you get into a midterm year, the less likely congress is to act on the legislation because they don't want to try to do too much during an election year, and so this is why in the election years we often see the kicking of the can of major deadlines on things like government funding, for example. and so, yeah, like we said, the window of opportunity is closing here. >> you have valuable time on the road campaigning. politico's nicholas wu, thank you so much. we'll see you again soon, i'm certain. across america 5- to 11-year-olds are getting their vaccine shots not long after the cdc approved the shots for young children. nbc's tom costello has the latest. >> reporter: just minutes after

the cdc approved the pfizer children's vaccine, kids were rolling up their sleeves. >> i can be back to normal in my classroom. >> reporter: with doses arriving by the hour, hospitals and clinics nationwide, were opening them. this boy got his shot with therapy dog barney by his side. since day one of the pandemic, his parents have limited his exposure to other kids. >> we do everything we can to protect our kids, but it's been 600 long days, and things can finally come back to normal. >> reporter: in houston, working through 36,000 appointments to vaccinate 5- to 11-year-olds. >> it kind of hurt, i guess. >> reporter: cameron emmanuel with her mom soja. >> our whole family had been

vaccinated. she was the last one that had not been. >> reporter: a recent study finds that most parents won't get their kids vaccinated, many concerned about unknown side effects. >> this, i just don't trust. >> reporter: but the cdc director, herself a mother, insisted this vaccine is among the most thoroughly reviewed ever. >> we have thoroughly reviewed all of the available safety immunojen isty and ethical data before recommending this vaccine for your child. >> reporter: back in washington. >> how do you feel? >> halfway vaccinated. >> reporter: 8-year-old carter looking forward to his second dose. president biden yesterday called the cdc's authorization of the vaccine a turning point to the pandemic and urged parents of eligible children to get them vaccinated as soon as possible. >> after almost 189 months of anxious worrying every time your

child had a sniffle or started to cough, well, you can now protect them from this horrible virus. children make up one quarter of the cases in this country, and while rare, children can get very sick from covid-19 and some can end up -- few can end up hospitalized, but they don't have to. this vaccine is safe and effective. get your children vaccinated to protect themselves, to protect others, and to stop the spread and to help us beat this pandemic. still ahead, how campaign payments for hotel rooms could affect former president trump's executive privilege fight when it comes to january 6th documents. plus, senate republicans once again block the voting rights bill, calling for a block to the filibuster. those stories and the weather when we come back, the sun not up yet in washington, d.c. up yet in washington, d.c.

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stop cabenuva and get medical help right away. tell your doctor if you have liver problems or mental health concerns, and if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, or considering pregnancy. some of the most common side effects include injection site reactions, fever, and tiredness. if you switch to cabenuva, attend all treatment appointments. with once-a-month cabenuva, i'm good to go. ask your doctor about once-monthly cabenuva. bye mom. my helpers abound, i'll need you today. our sleigh is now ready, let's get on our way. a mountain of toys to fulfill many wishes. must be carried across all roads and all bridges. and when everyone is smiling and having their fun i can turn my sleigh north because my job here is done. rights bill, calling for a block rights bill, calling for a block c that makes more holiday deliveries to homes in the us than anyone else, it's the hardworking people of the united states postal service.

lawyers for the select committee on january 6th and for former president trump head to court today in a battle over executive privilege. "the hill" reports president trump is asking the federal judge to block the national archives from handing over documents that would shed light on what role trump played in stoking the capitol riot. the former president is exerting executive privilege over the documents and argues the legislature has no busy asking for them. it involved mark meadows, haley mcenany. it's making it a potential gold mine determining who trump spoke to that day and when. the denial prompted that court action. meanwhile "the washington post"

reports that campaign funds were used to pay trump loyalists who were actively trying to keep joe biden from election. a month before, pro-trump activists were spending their own dollars for travel. the bills began to pile up. "the post" says eventually more than $225,000 were paid including $55,000 for rooms and suites at posh willard hotel in washington that served as the command center for efforts to deny biden the presidency in the days leading up to the attack on the capitol on january 6th. the january 6th select committee has requested all documents relating to the attempt to challenge the 2020 election and specifically named carrick and

giuliani. a spokesman for trump says the former president is making executive privilege determinations carefully based on the laws. still ahead, why the green bay packers will be without their star quarterback this weekend. plus, a homecoming celebration for the atlanta braves following their surprising world series win. sports is next. s next wealth is breaking ground on your biggest project yet. worth is giving the people who build it a solid foundation. wealth is shutting down the office for mike's retirement party. worth is giving the employee who spent half his life with you, the party of a lifetime. wealth is watching your business grow. worth is watching your employees grow with it. principal. for all it's worth.

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that's why inside every miracle-ear store, you'll find a better life. it all starts with the most innovative technology. like the new miracle-earmini, available exclusively at miracle-ear. so small that no one will see it, but you'll notice the difference. and now, miracle-ear is offering a thirty-day risk-free trial. you can experience better hearing with no obligation. call 1-800-miracle right now and experience a better life. time now for sports. the story today, green bay packers quarterback aaron rodgers will miss sunday's game against the kansas city chiefs. he will sit out the game after reports surfaced the quarterback tested positive for covid-19. lefleur did not comment on rodgers' vaccination status, but here's what the quarterback had to say back in august when specifically asked if he was

vaccinated for covid. >> are you vaccinated and what is your status on vaccinations? >> yeah. i think it's a personal decision. i'm not going to judge those guys. >> note the word "immunized," not vaccinated. he reportedly received alt active treatment before training camp that he believed would officially inoculate him against the coronavirus. a homeopathic nasal spray. they consider him unvaccinate and he has to miss the game. now to chicago. the hurricanes taking on the blackhawks. there were two goals, giving them the win. carolina is now the fourth team ever to start a season 9-0, the first since the montreal

canadians did it in 2015. to kalamazoo we go, western michigan taking on their in-state rival western michigan for the battle of the victory cannon. it was a historic night for the central wide receiver scoring three touchdowns in just five minutes, two of them on punt returns, one for 70 yards, the other, a 95-yard dash. that's a school record. he leads them back from a 4-point deficit and sparks a 2-30 win over the broncos. what a night for that guy. the atlanta braves are back home this morning after beating out the houston astros, game six of the world series. with the championship trophy in hand, the team celebrated on the tarmac at hartsfield/jackson international airport in atlanta last night. a championship parade will take place at noon tomorrow with celebrations taking place around the metro area. some local districts are

canceling classes to students will have a chance to watch the world series parade. here's what was said on the tarmac about that and the team's win. >> everyone is excited and giddy. we're so happy to be back in atlanta. >> i'm not sure if you know, but school districts are canceling school on friday for this parade. >> we might have heard that. pretty special. former mlb manager bobby valentine lost his bid to become mayor of stamford, connecticut, his hometown it. was the first political campaign for the 71-year-old. valentine was most famously the manager of the new york mets with the fake muss stack in the dugout, and led the rangers and had a disastrous history with the red sox. time for a look at the weather with michelle grossman. how are you? >> it's looking cold out there.

how are you this morning? >> go ahead. tell us what's going on. it's cold this morningful we're looking at temperatures below freezing in so many spots. we have that november chill. 106 million people at or below freezing, and you can see as we start this day, we're looking at lots of freeze warnings, watches, the hot pink, 39 million under this frost and freeze alert, and that's extending down to the southern plains into the southeast. we're looking at 30 in chicago. that's below freezing. below freezing in cincinnati, 36 in nashville. we're just above freezing in kansas city at 37. so it's cold for november. we're going to see that today. we're going to see it tomorrow as well. 59 in charleston. staying put in the 40s in raleigh. temperatures in the 50s and 60s in the southeast tomorrow. myrtle beach, check that out. 60 degrees.

we'll warm up by this weekend, temperatures closer to normal. you need your umbrella in the state of florida, 1 to 3 inches. also the northwest, a spot for wet weather. we could see some high-elevation snow, and i want to end this. we've got a shout-out to bill karins who's training for the marathon. we're looking at a nice forecast for sunday, a picture-perfect sunday. bill and i were texting back and forth. it wasn't looking so good. but the 40s and 50s with this race. we have light winds and a little bit of cloud cover. >> we'll definitely be checking tomorrow again on the forecast. the "morning joe" family well represented. bill karins and willie geist both running. i plan to be out there cheering them on. thank you for that. still ahead, house democrats want paid family leave back in their bill. we'll have the latest on the capitol hill developments. but before we go to break,

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welcome back to "way too early." it's a touch before 5:30 on the east coast, 2:30 on the west. i'm jonathan lemire. it was the third congressional democratic effort

this year that sought to change voting restrictions. trump claimed voter fraud in the 2020 election. they fell short of the votes necessary to proceed. senator lisa murkowski of alaska was the only republican to vote in favor. on the senate vote after the floor, chuck schumer accused them of suppressing the vote. naacp president johnson issued a strong statement critical of all lawmakers saying we're at war for our civil rights, yet a privileged few with competing interests continue to dismantle our democracy. our future depending on the restoration of voting rights for all. those who made campaign promises to the black community must use any means possible to ensure that this congress gets it done. house democrats say they'll add

to their plan four weeks of paid family leave back into the bill. as "the new york times" reports, speaker pelosi said yesterday she will add the measure back into the bill. she is, quote, seeking to pressure senator joe manchin to drop his opposition. he argued the program should be separate. >> it's not being paid for. i'm all for paid leave and i believe people should have the ability -- >> but you believe it should be done separately. >> completely separately. we can do this in a bipartisan way. >> "the times" reports it was the most direct challenge yet, concerned that the safety net bill is overly generous and whose effects has compelled democratic leaders to curtail or remove portions of that. senator joe manchin will be

joining us on "morning joe." you do not want to miss that. joining us, is leigh ann. could the democrats hold a vote by week's end. >> i don't think it will derail the house democrats' attempt to hold a vote by week's end, but it could present challenges in the senate. what we're finding is the senate has different ideas what this could look like. the house is moving forward anyway. speaker pelosi wants to get this done. she's going to glasgow next week. so are a lot of other members. the house is not in session next week. they're trying to get it done. she's making decisions right now on what she thinks is best to be in the legislation, and she's putting them in the bill and she is going to force her members to

vote on it, hopefully, she thinks, this week. now, paid family leave is an issue. it was started at 12 weeks. it was a huge priority for democrats. it got scaled back to four weeks, most likely to appease senator manchin and because of the cost. senator manchin wasn't okay with that. once it comes to the senate, there's going to be a fight. i was speaking with a republican senator yesterday who was talking to senator manchin, and he said that senator gillibrand of new york who has really been pushing this issue has been relentlessly talking to senator manchin and pushing him on this issue, and he is feeling a lot of pressure. there's something else that's a major difference between the house bill and the senate bill and that's the state and local tax deduction as well. there's a proposal in the house bill. senator sanders is not happy. he thinks it gives a huge tax break to the wealthy. he's coming up with a different

plan. ultimately they're going to be different, jon. >> we'll be hearing from senator joe manchin on "morning joe" and congresswoman pramila jayapal, one of the leading progressive democrats. what are you hearing on the hill since the paid leave was pushed back into the bill by speaker pelosi and we heard manchin's pushback. they've certainly given up more than the moderate/conservative senators, but the pressure is on them to get something done particularly in the wake of the defeat of terry mccauliffe. where do you place the relationships between these two camps? >> yeah, jon. there's a lot of pressure. i started to hear that last week as well, that they were really starting to feel it from moderates, from constituents, people who wanted this legislation passed. now yesterday in a closed door

caucus meeting, speaker pelosi suggested that they vote on the build back better, the $1.75 trillion bill before this bipartisan infrastructure bill. this is something that progressives have wanted, and i am told that at this point people don't really care. most house democrats, they just want to get both pieces of legislation done regardless of the order, and they want to get it done soon. now, progressives have given up a lot. they have had to make a lot of concessions. this bill started at $3.5 trillion. they wanted $6 trillion. now we're at $1.75 trillion, $1.85 trillion if immigration stays in it. and, you know, still they are on talking point saying this is still transformative legislation that is going to do a lot. so it's really interesting how they are not knocking what is in the bill specifically even

though programs have been cut or scaled back. >> leigh ann, one more quick one for you. let's circle back to voting rights. obviously republicans blocked it. what's next? what course can democrats chart here to try to get something done, and is it simply something about the filibuster? >> it is about the filibuster. senator schumer said the democrats are going to have to fight and perhaps go it alone. that was some hint into the fact they might alter the filibuster. there won't be an elimination, but maybe they'll reform it. real quick, jonathan, i will say the naacp and other rights groups put out scathing statements after that vote last night, not only republicans but democrats and the president, too, because they think democrats are not doing enough. jonathan. >> that's exactly right. it seems like the pressure from

the civil rights groups, activists on the left, yeah, they're mad at the republicans, but they seem to be interested in the white house. still ahead, a stunning new claim about the deadly shooting on the set of "rust" and that it was no accident. attorneys involved in the case suggest a live bullet was purposely planted. we'll dig into that ahead. we'll dig into that ahead.

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explosive claim from the attorneys representing hannah gutierrez-reed, who suggests the live bullet was planted with dummy and blank rounds that resulted in the death of the cinematographer. >> are you suggesting this is a case of sabotage? >> the answer is unequivocally yes. >> reporter: she did check the gun for ammo but she could not easily tell the difference between blanks and real bullets in the chamber. >> dummy round looks very, very similar to a live regular round it. ooh is got a projectile tip and a primer. >> reporter: on the set the gun sat unattended on the cart for 2 1/2 hours. >> she tried do her best. there were supposed to be other

assistants watching the weapon when she could not be. >> reporter: with no proof of allegations or charges filed, the sheriff said gutierrez-reed and halls remain the focus of the investigation. >> i went to work every day playing the game unrussian roulette. everybody right now is trying to reach for answers. allegations like that, they just seem irresponsible and shortsighted and lame and, quite frankly, offensive. >> reporter: the production company has not responded to the new allegations. new accounts of the deadly shooting as those at the center of the investigation shift blame. los angeles mayor eric garcetti is isolating glasgow, after testing positive. a spokesman for the mayor said

he had been taking rapid antigen tests daily, which is standard procedure, and they all came back negative. but the pcr test he took before he came back home is the one that came back positive. he said he's not experiencing any symptoms. the federal reserve is working to end its pandemic-aggressive stimulus. later this month it will start scaling back bond being by $15 billion each month a plan that's expected to end by next june. jerome powell said fed officials moved up the time frame. he expects it to start to pull back around the middle of next year. still ahead, virginia's governor-elect may have kept donald trump at arm's length others embraced him. some were in washington at a

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welcome back. it's now one year and one day since the last presidential election, an election donald trump lost and then used as fodder to incite his supporters to storm the capitol back in january, and yesterday at least seven people who attended the pro-trump rally in washington on january 6th that immediately preceded the insurrection, those seven people were elected to public office. as "the washington post" reports, none were charged with crimes and all denied being part of the mob that actually ransacked capitol hill. joining us now to discuss this, the former ohio democratic party chairman david pepper. he's the author of a new book. "laboratories of autocracy: a

wakeup behind the lines." welcome and congratulations on the new book. the fact that they were elected, that voters chose to overlook these things, how do you interpret this? is this a sign of things to come for the republican party? >> it's actually already happening. we know a lot of state reps around the country were at january 6th or stop the steal or a part of other groups. the book is all about these state houses have basically become in many states like ohio a non-democratic institution, but they have immense power over the drawing of district lines, over the setting of rules, and so as much as we watch the january 6th and are appalled by it and should be, these states are more dangerous. they can actually change the

rules of democracy or undermine the democracy and it looks a lot more legitimate than storming a building. it's something we should be alarmed about and not a lot of time to address it. >> the book also emphasizes the heart of dysfunction and political ways. that's not new. you always said it's become a place where extremist politicians have taken over. tell us what you mean by that. >> in these state houses, you basically have a generation of politicians because of the 2011 gerrymander, who have essentially risen on power and are maintaining power, almost without any connection to democracy in their own personal ride. they're scared of democracy. they know democracy would actually mean the end of their power, and now they're the same people who draw the line, who set the voting rules, and so everything they do is to keep democracy from really coming to their state because they know they would lose power. we are for the first time really

starting to see how warped our system of government has become when you essentially have an entire jen rag, not 20 or 30, but 60 out of 99 who have never really been in an election. they've been appointed, re-elected without any kind of competitions. they happen to be the one. a presidential election and congressional line and they can pass all sorts of laws. when i watch the debate in washington and the debate of filibuster from ohio, i am watching, you guys don't see how bad it's gotten. and how if we don't all rally from the local level to congress, the filibuster should not stand in the way of protecting democracy. if we don't wake up to it quickly. these could undermine our

democracy very soon. >> we just discussed about how federal efforts having voting rights could fail. right now it does not seem momentum there. >> we cannot take filibuster off the table. the lesson of this country is clear. if the federal government does not step in, what undemocratic constitution can stage, those attacks will succeed. it's what happened in jim crow. the federal government pulled back. they did resist. we had jim crow for generations. they must do it, there is no choice and you know other cities the same thing. that's not enough. it's necessary. you have to start rethinking politics all across this country. republicans went and fought for

our state that they lost for ten points and they won the governorship. those who fight for democracy have to think the same way. it's not right to have a lack of democracy in any state, we have to redefine the map and fight for democracy in all 50 states. we have to fight for it every year. we have to fight for it in state house offices and school board offices, every level all the time. too often the fight for democracy, we fight every four year, if the other on offense in all 50 states and fighting every levels, who wins? they do. my son plays soccer, we learned if one side is all offense and the other is defense, the side on offense will win. do we have to use politics as a

national fight for democracy? the federal government must step up and every individual citizens have to add to their own statement. how could they fight for democracy? stacey abrams is doing it. we can't wait abrs of the world. >> david pepper, thank you very much for that. earlier in the show, we asked this question. "why are you awake?" bonnie is up early catching the sun rise. >> dan, what do you got? >> that's probably right. debra tweets this. this is my only me time, i choose to spend it with you and msnbc team.

debra, sure you have better options than that but we appreciate it. up next, axios one big thing. did democrats lose virginia because they did not have an infrastructure deal? when negotiation stands on capitol hill? i can't miss "morning joe," it's moments away. "morning joe," its moments away this is wealth. ♪ ♪ this is worth. that takes wealth. but this is worth. and that - that's actually worth more than you think. don't open that. wealth is important, and we can help you build it. but it's what you do with it, that makes life worth living. principal. for all it's worth. people with moderate to severe psoriasis, or psoriatic arthritis, are rethinking the choices they make

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joining us now is elena treene, tell us what's axios' one big thing today? >> good morning jonathan, happy friday jr. today is about republican do nothing strategy. the big question about after tuesday's election was for democrats. how are they going to recalibrate after the big loss of virginia. the closer call in new jersey

but for republicans at least, they're saying that their strategy is to continue on the path they are on and doing nothing to change. i spoke with the house and senate campaign arms for republicans and both of them told me that they do see what happens on tuesday as a validation of their strategy so far. they're going to step down what they are doing. we really see them focusing on the same size issue of the beginning of the year having to do with inflation and the rising cause. border security and immigration, the president's handling of afghanistan and then school mask mandates and what they claim are democrats sighing with teachers. they're going to continue to hit democrats over these five issues and really, you know, stick with

the strategy they have been dealing with so far. >> you have a reporting on the bill that hopes to standardize for and closing a finance loopholes, tell us about that. >> yes, i think it's really interesting, it's an odd group. they're going to be introducing a bill like you said to fully standardize and digitalize kind of the process that we have now for registering for an agent and the group includes senator sheldon whitehouse and republican ken buck, they all have said they agreed the current process is lack of transparency and making it really hard for the government to check on a lot of these things. it really allows a lot of groups

and firms and people who use foreign individuals who work on foreign government to kind of slide under the radar. they have been calling for the justice department to fully make this electronic system and standardize it properly. we saw some calls from senator marco rubio and gillibrand who wants to close the loophole as well. this comes after the scoop the other day that there is a new, basically they ruled that you know in referendum elections foreign agents can donate money. a lot of this coming in scrutiny over the work of foreign agents and governments. >> our friend, thank you very much. tomorrow will be friday. thank you all of you for waking up way too early with us on