the world is absolutely with a young women and men standing with them in iran. thank you very much. that is tonight's read out. all in with chris hayes starts now. ut all in with chris hayes star ts now. tonight on all in, -- >> if that had happened, i would have said, because there's nothing to be ashamed of -- >> the walker defense keeps changing by the hour. >> he said if this did happen, there is nothing to be ashamed of. >> i never said -- >> new reporting that walker's accuser is the mother of his child. new concerns from republicans about what they are defending. and the real world implications of the draconian laws herschel walker wants to inflict on you. then, the head of the oath keepers may have been in contact with the secret service. what we learned today at the seditious conspiracy trial. plus, the under the radar democrat who could pull off a north carolina senate stunner. and why today's federal pardon

for marijuana position is a massive be fd. >> too many lives have been upended by our failed approach to marijuana. it's time we right these wrongs. >> all in starts right now. ♪ ♪ ♪ good evening from new york. i'm chris hayes. the herschel walker story keeps getting worse for herschel walker. earlier this week, of course, the daily beast first reported that walker, the trump endorsed the republican nominee for georgia's senate seat, had paid for a woman's abortion in 2009. the report contains a lots of contemporaneous evidence that has not been reviewed by us here at nbc news. it included the literal receipt for the procedure, that check walker sent to a woman, and even they get well card walker apparently mailed her, complete with what sure looks like his signature. now, as we've said, nbc news is not independently verified the stories, this is a the daily beast or. walker vehemently denied the allegation when it first broke.

he said he had no idea who the woman making the allegation could be. and that seems a little difficult to believe, though, because according to a new report, and that woman who says walker paid for her abortion is also the mother of one of his children. again, nbc news it has also not verified this most recent report. in a statement, walker said and there was no truth to it or any other daily peace report. to be clear, there's absolutely nothing wrong with a woman to choose to terminate a pregnancy, nothing wrong with that person's partner offering to pay for the procedure. the problem comes when the partner in question, herschel walker, is running on with the most extreme, anti-abortion platforms in the country months after the supreme court got rid of roe. walker said he supports a national abortion ban without any exceptions, including for rape and incest. he has compared abortion to murder. it is that crushing hypocrisy with real world consequences that inspired the mother of one

of his children to come forward with this allegation. she told the daily beast, quote, he seemed pretty virtuous to me. he was pro-choice, obviously. going on to say, quote, he didn't accept responsibility for the kid we had together. now he isn't except responsibility for the one we didn't have. that's as so much about how he views the role of women in childbirth, versus his own. and now, he wants to take that choice away from other women and couples entirely. and now, when this story eventually broke, walker put out a statement right away calling the story a defamatory lie, promising an imminent nut lawsuit against the daily beast for its reporting. walker said the lawsuit would be filed tomorrow morning, meeting first thing tuesday. now thursday night, still no sign of any legal action. and by this morning, walker, his story had changed. his argument, if i'm tracking, i'll admit it's hard to, is something along the lines of i didn't do it.

and if i did do it, would that really be so bad? >> is there anything you need to be forgiven for vis-à-vis a woman whose name you do not know. do you know this woman's? >> that's what's so funny. -- because of all the things i did -- with my ex-wife and all that. things i did -- i had my problems with mental health. -- i've been born again, i have a new life. i am moving forward. if that had happened, i would have said there is nothing to be a shamed of their. people have done that. i know nothing about it. if i knew about it, i would be honest to talk about it. but i know nothing about that. >> he was nodding his head

there, tracking better than i was. i'm having difficulty following. but walker goes on -- past allegations of violent, threatening behavior towards his ex-wife, a different women than the woman in question. if that had happened, i would have said there is nothing to be ashamed of their. it's something people do. that, presumably, meaning paying for an abortion. again, as i keep saying, he's right. there is nothing to be ashamed of. other than the fact that walker wants to make abortion illegal across the country, wants to control whether women can get their procedure. control their bodies entirely. -- you will be shocked to hear it didn't go that well. walker seemed to walk back his earlier statement this morning and denied everything despite all the evidence to the contrary. >> you said if this did happen, there is nothing to be ashamed of. >> i never said it. >> you said it this morning. >> i was talking about something totally different. i said, with my ex-wife in my past. nothing to do with what this

woman said. i said this here, the abortion thing, is false. it's a lie. that's what i said. anything happened with my -- what christian was talking about, i don't know. but, as i said, nothing to be ashamed of. -- best of friends. that's the things i've said. i said nothing about if it happened. i said that's a lie. >> okay. we won't go sentence by sentence. here you can decide for yourself if you think herschel walker is telling the truth. it is undeniable he's had a real credibility problem, a track record of lying. he lied about his experience working with law enforcement and his supposed work supervising hospitals, and about charitable donations his company claimed to be making that never materialized. he even lied about the number of kids he had. when the daily beast, in fact the same reporter of these latest stories, called him on that, walker had to admit, they're reporting was accurate.

even as he tries to claim every story the outlet has ever written about is untrue. you can make up your own mind about who you believe here. i will just say, i don't think it would be unreasonable if you concluded herschel walker is not telling the truth. but this pivot to walker's family history, the idea forgiveness, has been something of a recurring themes for the candidate since the allegation broke. he's conflating with the al -- now saying he behaved in a violent and threatening manner, where he held a gun to his ex-wife's head and threatened to blow her brains out. -- walker says he has been forgiven, he's been saved, reborn. a struggle with mental illness. he claimed it caused the violent incidents. as when he was asked about abortion he pivots again to the religious rhetoric of personal growth without -- which he sort of denies. if the strategy is not working all that well. even some georgia republicans like this states sitting

republican lieutenant governor are clearly getting a little nervous. >> even the most staunch republicans are rattled at the continued flow of information. every republican knew there was baggage out there. and the weight of that baggage is starting to feel a little closer to unbearable at this point. some of this death could have gotten cleaned up in the primary if we would have given him an honest look at an honest primary. if we looked hard at somebody's leadership skills. if we're being intellectually honest, herschel walker won the primary because he scored a bunch of touchdowns back in the 80s. he was donald trump's friend. now we moved forward several months on the calendar. that's no longer a recipe to win. >> ouch. that man is not running for reelection, does not share a ballot with walker, which is why he speak so candidly. behind the scenes, he's definitely not the only one thinking that way, i can tell you. here's one example. one anonymous opponent strategist also laid the blame for walker on the ex president, quote, since president trump hasn't spent a penny thus far to help his slate of flawed

endorsed candidates, he could have at least spent a few bucks to vet them first. it was have saved trump from the embarrassment of what's shaping up to be -- and donald trump is personally responsible for many of the terrible candidates republicans are running in otherwise winnable races this cycle. but it's too late to do anything about it now. elections and 33 days. what are you going to do? -- a reporter for the atlantic journal-constitution who has been covering herschel walker's campaign. tim miller is a former rnc spokesman, author of why we did it, a travelog from the republican -- both join me now. greg, let me begin with you. as an atlanta-based reporter, i saw someone last night reporting from atlanta who said this story wasn't really breaking through on local news. i don't know if that has changed. what is your characterization of how much this is a present story in the georgia media? >> it's an enormous story in the georgia media. it's all over the websites, local news. there's probably 30 or 40 reporters out at the small town

in east georgia where herschel walker has his first major campaign event since the daily beast reporting. it's a major story. the questions will impact it will, have we don't know yet. as we heard from the lieutenant governor, others have spoken publicly and privately, republicans are very nervous right now. >> tim, we could talk about impacts for a second, first. this is gonna be a close race. i don't think anyone -- i'm certainly not expecting he's gonna drop ten points in the polls -- a race like this is gonna be lost in the margins. the question is, are there 5000 votes are people who don't show up to vote that might have otherwise voted? that's your sussman. >> absolutely. it's gonna make a difference, chris. i think a lot of people have a broken brain over the access hollywood situation and believe. nothing matters now because of donald trump. a lot of unique things that were happening that race that made that workable for him, one of them was the voters on the issue of abortion for example

who are pro-choice voters thought donald trump was pro-choice. right? he was able to do this thing where he appealed to christian voters and secular voters. herschel walker doesn't have that, right? he has this way, as you said in the intro, the abortion issue, the democracy of him pushing the most extreme antiabortion views while allegedly paying for this abortion. the other thing is, i talked a lot of voters in the state and these atlanta suburbs, the ones who went out of town with greg in an event a couple weeks ago. the types of owners and have put biden over the top last time in what has been a red state. a lot of these people who said they are -- this was before the most recent slate of allegations. one of them said to me that walker's candidacy was fundamentally insane. -- the ads running already about his ex wife were just too far gone. this person can't run a senate office. if these are real people, former republican voters, people that crossed for joe biden, and they could cross

over again for raphael warnock. and the more the news talks about herschel workers eliza, his extremism, the more likely it is to nudge some of those voters across the aisle. >> greg, you did reporting yourself a with voters about how they are seeing this. you found a range of views, including people sticking with him and those who were finding this intolerable. >> yeah, there's three general pockets. republicans who don't believe this reporter at all. they don't believe -- they call it fake news, they don't care. there are republicans who believe it but also believe ends justify the means. they are willing to vote for herschel occur despite the issues because they believe he'll vote with mitch mcconnell for a republican controlled senate. -- split to get voters that were already present in the election before the daily beast stories, that might be more intense now. these are the voters that could swing the election. in georgia, two years ago, 12,000 voters decided that joe biden was the first -- states first democratic presidential nominee since

1992. just a small fluctuation, just a small change could really affect this outcome. >> to your point, tim, to, that line about fundamentally insane, i've tried to find the words that describe this. with the whole thing, when you step back, is so ludicrous. i bear herschel walker no personal -- whose faith is extremely genuine and has had troubles and does feel like he's come around. there's no reason for him to be a senator. there's thousands and thousands of people in the state of georgia across the ideological spectrum, across lines of race and class, whatever, you could pull out of a hat to be the second nominee that aren't herschel walker, who is literally just there because as the lieutenant governor said, he was a famous football player and donald trump was his friend. at a certain point, you might have to pay the piper for that. >> they should pay the piper. that lieutenant governor, jeff duncan, is doing the right thing during donald trump's attempt to steal the election has been cast aside because of a gop cult.

everyone wants to go along with what donald trump. wanted they should have -- yes herschel walker should be spending time in therapy, not running for senate. i have to feel kind of bad for his family, right? his son is a far-right maga tiktok influencer. that is who is speaking out. it's not a ron reagan junior liberal kid situation. they went on fox news together to argue for stop the steal back in december of 2020. you have to feel bad for this family. herschel walker revealing secret kids, with his maga son is learning about secret siblings he doesn't know. no wonder he is mad. no wonder he's angry at his father. he got pushed -- donald trump and mitch mcconnell off the hook. the other republican leaders who didn't want to have a real -- i don't think it should be surprising that the very same voters that said no to donald trump and in georgia in 2020 a looking at this and saying, come on, guys, give me a break. >> one follow-up, i was

thinking about tim murphy from 2017 who was a pennsylvania congressman who had a mistress, whose abortion he had facilitated. she sent him a text. you have zero issue posting your pro-life stance all over the place when you have no issue asking me to abort our unborn child just last week when we thought that was one of the options. or he had asked her to secure an abortion. he ends up resigning after that. it's interesting to see five years later where the line is. >> we saw it with roy, there is no lie now. this is the way -- >> there is no coming back from that. >> there is no coming. back he was a pedophile and everyone went along with it. the rnc did it. that is the lesson the party has learned in the trump era. there is nothing that can be done. -- >> greg bluestein and tim miller, thank you gentlemen both. appreciate it. coming up, as a republican

charade collapses with the support of herschel walker, there are real people across the country who have suffered from that -- its successful crusade. jessica valencia has been an indispensable resource covering day in and day out this beat -- he joins me next. keeps attacks away over time. qulipta is a preventive treatment for episodic migraine. most common side effects are nausea, constipation, and tiredness. ask your doctor about qulipta. shingles. some describe it as an intense burning sensation or an unbearable itch. this painful, blistering rash can disrupt your life for weeks. it could make your workday feel impossible. the virus that causes shingles is likely already inside of you. if you're 50 years or older, ask your doctor or pharmacist about shingles. this... is the planning effect.

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and keep it off. who loses 138 pounds in nine months? i did! golo's a lifestyle change and you make the change and it stays off. >> what's your reaction to (soft music) people so close to you, your son, mother of your kids saying you are lying? people so close to you saying they don't trust you. >> like i said, the democrats

are desperate. they are very desperate for this -- i love my, family i will always love my family. i'm going to win this race. i know i'm going to win this race. >> what is strange about this latest scandal with georgia republican senate candidate joe herschel walker is that the substance of the accusation is not scandalous. the l.a. bc's reporting walker paid for a girlfriends abortion in 2009. something he has denied. also something nbc news has not been able to verify. according to the report, they had a relationship. she had an abortion. he financially supported her through that. that's not scandalous behavior. in fact, it's perfectly normal, something millions of americans do. it would normally not be anyone's business. except that herschel walker is trying to make abortion illegal. this is not just an abstract exercise. abortion bans and restrictions are already a lived reality for millions of people across nearly 20 states. a woman whose abortion walker reportedly paid for put it to the daily beast, quote, this

was a decision i had to make twice, about my future and a potential child's future. i was able to make it both times. herschel was able to have a say. the fact that he now thinks it's okay to just take that away, i just can't understand. that decision walker made is not available to millions of americans today. it will be taken away from millions more if walker and the republican party get their way. joining me now, someone who has -- central in tracking the story of abortion rights in the post roe era. jessica, columnist aunt -- all in her head. jessica, first, i wanted to get your reaction to watching this play out on one screen. documenting, as you have been doing on your substack, which has been indispensable, the daily beat of stories of what it means, tangibly, to have in post roe america. >> it's been really fascinating. i think it's probably been less shocking to me than other people because i feel like i

see that republican hypocrisy day in and day out. and, so what walker is saying feels actually very much in line with the entire republican agenda, when it comes to abortion. this has always been about controlling women's choices, controlling women's bodies, and not very much about caring about what men do when it comes to abortion. but it is really frustrating to see someone like walker take advantage of a right that he wants to strip from so many people and not really understanding, or understanding and not acknowledging, the real, and dire consequences of what this does to peoples lives. >> you, know that part of it, i struggle with, this i think i grew up around people who -- i grandparents, particularly -- were very anti abortion in what seems to me as a child fervent and earnest away. this was catholic teaching. they really believed, it right?

what is striking to me is that casualness of all this. walker seems to be casual about it. today you have carrie lake who's running on a pro-life agenda. like, yeah, i've always wanted abortion to be safe and rare. wait a second. you guys waged a 40-year battle that culminated in success in june. what happened here? >> i think it's both that they are very confused and very scared. you are talking about a lot of people who actually don't know that much about abortion at all. they don't know the medical details. we know republicans have said some of the most ridiculous things when it comes to women's bodies. then you're dealing with a lot of candidates at the moment who can see the writing on the wall. they can see the polls. they are terrified. and they know that abortion bans are extremely, extremely unpopular. and that tying their names to those bands is a real mistake. >> yes. that's exactly what it is.

what is so evident to me is the the skin deep commitment of many professional republican politicians to this. which is, you are a republican. you are running in the primary. of course you are pro-life. you say, i'm pro-life, i'm proudly pro-life. that's it. i think in the pre-dobbs era, it was more of a thought experiment. not to say there weren't a barrage of abortion restrictions being pushed, at the state level particularly, but now it's all on the table. they seem completely unprepared -- like they never even thought. >> it's pretty wild. they have had decades. >> decades. >> decades of work. this is the world they created. they have to own it. all the stories that we are seeing come in day after day of raped children having to travel for abortions, likely going to be forced to have children in the future. women being forced to carry

dead and dying fetuses, forced pregnancies, these are happening every day and we are only getting a tiny, tiny glimpse of the actual number of experiences happening. these are just the people who feel comfortable enough going to the media. >> that is such an important point. again, year substack has been probably the best place to aggregate these stories. i've learned so much from it. i think about that as well when i read. it i think about the case of the woman who came forward in this case. it should not be something you want to tell reporters. it's not anyone's business. it's a personal decision you made. all this is none of anyone's business. we are only getting that tiny bit at the top. and yet, already that is horrifying. we know there's thousands and thousands of more stories. >> and there's thousands and thousands of more stories. republicans are really depending on the idea that americans and voters will just see these asked this takes, or see these as anomalies, right? they keep saying these are rare

stories. these are anomalies. they don't want voters to see these women as human beings who are really suffering every single day. we all know someone who's had an abortion. we all know someone who's had a tragic story. these are not rarities. these are not anomalies. these are every day experiences. >> jessica valencia, author of many books, a substack on her head, where she does abortion to. that you should check that out. thank you, jessica. appreciate it. >> thank you. >> still ahead, shocking testimony today in the seditious conspiracy trial of the former gang that stormed the capitol. a member claims the group's leader was in contact with a member of the secret service? the implications of that claim, next. at claim next

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for not letting anybody in. another reason, likely the primary reason, is because he wanted full -- he was angry we weren't letting people take the mags with weapons. our weapons. when we were in the offstage announcement tenth, i was part of a conversation. i was in the vicinity of a conversation where i overheard the president say something to the effect of, you know, i think they have weapons. they are not here to hurt me. take the effing mags away. let my people march to the capitol from here. let the people in. take the mags away. >> that was trump white house

aide cassidy hutchinson's explosive testimony to the house january 6th committee that donald trump knew many of his supporters brought weapons to the capitol and he did not care. trump was even pressing the secret service to get rid of the mags, the magnetometer's, that screened for weapons, so that all his supporters, including those armed, could join the rally. and we know that on january 6th, mike pence did not appear to trust the secret service and refused to leave the capitol with them. >> the vice president had refused to get into the car. the head of his circuit cvs detail, tim, had said, i assure you, we won't drive out of the building without your permission. the vice president said something to the effect, if tim, i know you, i trust you. you're not the one behind the wheel. he was determined that we would complete the work that we had set out to do that day that was in his constitutional duty.

>> the secret service deleted their text messages on january 5th and sixth. the chief watchdog of the department of homeland security scrapped investigation to recover them. we got explosive testimony from the seditious conspiracy trial members of the far-right oath keepers militia. in the months leading up to the insurrection, the group's founder, stewart rhodes the third, had contact with a member of the secret service. tonight, this ukraine service responded to the testimony releasing this statement. get this, they don't appear to deny the allegations. they have been in contact with the oath keepers in the past and that it's not uncommon for groups to contact them about security restrictions for events. i'm joined now by someone who was in the courtroom today for the oath keepers trial, rachel minor. she's a legal affairs reporter for the washington post. rachel, thank you for joining us. first, give us context for this testimony today about this connection between roads and the secret service.

who testified to that? but what was the context for that testimony? >> the context is this is a former member of the oath keepers who's testifying that when he was a member he, talked about the secret service contact and that he heard rhodes on the phone with someone talking about a rally, which appeared to be, could be, a secret service agent. that could be in line with what the secret service is saying now. basically, listen, anytime anyone is coming to d.c., planning to protest, we are interested in talking to them and basically letting them know what the rules are. this is someone who broke away from the group that had three people testify today that broke away from the group because they no longer felt comfortable with their direction rhodes was going in around the election after the election, talking about violent, armed resistance.

>> yeah, my understanding is that testimony was at a rally in north carolina and september, if i'm not mistaken, where rhodes was on the phone with the individual who identified as a secret service contact, where the security parameters are. i didn't know the security service people talk to them about stuff like that. their statements tonight is kind of news to me. that bears more investigating. tell me about the three individuals today that did testify and what that testimony -- the basic contours of that war. >> all the secret service, first of all, just to tell you, they are saying we don't know about any contact with him. if the contact happens, basically, it sounds like it was this sort of thing. that doesn't mean that something also could come out later. that sort of where the secret service is right. now this is a normal thing that they do even though it might not be -- in terms of the rest of the testimony, it was sort of -- some of the former of keepers,

there will probably be more, the ones that will be most critical to a potential conviction are the five oath keepers on trial are the ones who were with the group at the capitol. they pleaded guilty to the seditious conspiracy and planned to testify that they we're conspiring to stop biden from being able to be certified as president. the people who testified so far, what they are trying to build is the case that rhodes and the people close to him were actively calling for violence and that the violence was not defensive because the defendants are saying we were just preparing for antifa. what we got from witnesses today and what i'm sure we will get likely for more witnesses is people saying, no, -- the conversation went beyond that. it was not just prepare yourself or we -- this activist. we want those people to come

out as because we want violence. we are going to respond with violence. we were sort of hoping to agitate and create a violent situation. one of those people was concerned enough that he recorded this conversation. he shared it, actually, with authorities in the fall. he was sort of -- one of the people he reached out he was senator ted stephens, who's been dead for sometime. no one really took it seriously. maybe no one even noticed, it frankly. he sent it in as a tip. it was ignored, basically, until after the capitol riot, where he just sent it again. of course, it was of much greater interest. he immediately got a call from the fbi. >> we heard from the individual who made that recording. it was freaked out enough to make it and send it along. final thing for you, ted stephens, that's not gonna go very far. -- >> unfortunately, no. >> there was another play today, that first proud boys leader to plead guilty to seditious

conspiracy. jeremy bertolino, 43, belmont, north carolina, became a potential key witness for the justice department against other proud boys leaders, some of whom had ties to donald trump. i had to remind myself today that's a whole other case and then the oath keepers seditious conspiracy case. >> it is, yes. it's very similar. there are connections between them. the most interesting of which is roger stone, who has come up on the very first day of this trial, in d.c., that stewart rhodes was texting a group called friends of stone right along the election, a signal to our group, talking about resistance. another person in that group was enrique tarrio, the longtime chairman of the proud boys. what jeremy could say about this stone and stereo situation will be interesting. what we hear in this of keepers trial about the roads stone relationship will be interesting. prosecutors have already indicated some convergence

between those two groups. stone has been sort of a connector between them. there could be more overlap and we know about right now. >> that is fascinating. thank you so much, rachel weiner. really appreciate it. >> thank you. >> still to come, unleashed the dark branded memes. president biden revolutionizes marijuana in the united states, or begins. to announcing the largest federal pardon in 45 years. details next. u level up u won't take a time-out one dose of ubrelvy works fast it can quickly stop migraine in its tracks within 2 hours without worrying if it's too late or where you are unlike older medicines, ubrelvy is a pill that directly blocks a protein believed to be a cause of migraine. do not take with strong cyp3a4 inhibitors. most common side effects were nausea and tiredness. migraine pain relief starts with u learn how abbvie could help you save. ask about ubrelvy, the anytime, anywhere migraine medicine.

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enormously consequential announcement issuing the largest federal pardon in more than 40 years. >> as i said went when i ran for president, no one should be in jail just for using or possessing marijuana. first, i'm announcing -- federal offenses. for the simple possession of marijuana. for thousands of people convicted for marijuana possession who may be denied employment, housing, or educational opportunities as a result of the conviction. my pardon will remove this burden. >> the pardon will affect over 600 -- none of whom are currently in prison. the president called on governors to make similar actions for state offenses. last time we saw anything like this was back in 1977 when jimmy carter pardoned vietnam war draft dodgers. in addition to the pardon, president biden announced a review into how marijuana classified by the federal government which helps

determine charges and penalties. >> the federal government currently classifies marijuana as a schedule one substances. the same as heroin and lst, and more serious than fentanyl. it makes no sense. so, i'm asking the secretary of health and human services and the attorney general to initiate a process to review how marijuana is scheduled under federal law. >> rescheduling marijuana -- for years. this would be the beginning of looking at the process so it's truly a historic day as the. president takes a big step towards making good on his campaign promise to decriminalize marijuana. it's been a remarkable evolution we should say for joe biden. who is very much pro -- earlier in his career. in 1989, he delivered the next democratic response -- anti drug policy and argue to didn't go far enough. >> i think the president needs to join us and making a significantly greater commitment to the six areas to stem the rising tide of violence in america and that's

what it is violence. first, we need to join together to make sure that drug dealers or punish swiftly, surely, and severely. in line what the president is calling for, we need to halt every -- drug user accountable. if there is no drug users, their new appetite for drugs, to be no market for them. >> wildes, right? biden came to his prime position quite slowly, gradually over the decades as -- and importantly, as the politics around drugs have changed. according to gallup polling, the percentage of americans who think marijuana you should be legal has exploded from 23% back in the mid 80s to 68% as of 2021. so, with just over a month ago for the midterms joe biden has achieved the rare's thing in politics, a win-win. it's good for people, good on americans, good policy, and good politics. policy, an good politics. with the right balance of risk and reward.

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california, so you can enjoy more of...this. mountains, oceans, natural wonders, diverse and creative people. but when the out-of-state corporations behind prop 27 look at california, they see nothing but suckers. they wrote prop 27 to give themselves 90% of the profits from online sports betting in california. other states get much more. why is prop 27 such a suckers deal for california? because the corporations didn't write it for us. was just 33 days last into the they wrote it for themselves.

midterms. we have a good sense of the key races that will likely determine the balance of power in the senate. all eyes are on pennsylvania, where democratic john fetterman has a real shot at flipping a republican seat, if he can beat new jersey resident met mid oz. in less conson, -- tight race between ron johnson and his democratic challenger lieutenant governor mandela barnes. ohio wasn't expecting to be competitive, but it's a toss-up

between tim ryan and jake vance. of course herschel walker's been getting a lot of attention in georgia where he's trying to oust the incumbent democratic ralph warnock. and rounding out the top tier of competitive races in arizona, democratic senator mark kelly is being challenged are the far-right blake masters. but then there's too kind a sleeper races that are bleeding in opposite directions. one -- but basically -- first, the senate race and nevada, which right now looks like republicans best chance to flip a democratic seat, currently held by catherine cortez master. the other, is the race to replace retiring richard burr in north carolina. the race political professionals have been paying much attention to, but now it looks indisputably tied. trump's republican ted budd's neck and neck and pulling with former chief justice of the

north carolina supreme court democrat cheri beasley. who now has a rare opportunity to flip a republican seat in that state. and former justice cheri beasley joins me now. it's great to have you on the program. we first asked if you are surprised or not by where things stand in this race right now? >> hi chris. we're really excited about where we are. we said all along, even as we're starting this race and we are prepared to win regardless of what a challenge it will be. we now know it's ted bide who has been very much -- in washington. and we're really excited as we fall across the state it's a pretty big state. with 100 counties listening to folks, talking about constructive issues that really feeling a sense of energy and engagement in this race. people are really excited about where we are. we're really thrilled. >> congressman bides one of the co-sponsor for the house

version of the national abortion ban. it would allow abortion palace to 15 weeks, would you support such a ban? >> congressman biden is leading a charge on this national abortion ban. she and other politicians like them are fully out of step with folks are here in north carolina and across the country. what we know about this absolute ban on abortion that congressman bug supports, is that there is no exceptions for rape or incest, or risk to a mother's health. what that means for women who are sexually assaulted, will have to carry these pregnancies to term. for women who have miscarriages, their bodies -- or atopic pregnancies, or -- women will not be able to get the lifesaving treatment that they need, which is an abortion, and women will die. that's absolutely unacceptable. i will fully support and fight to make sure that roe v. wade becomes the law of the land. >> i think several months ago,

it seemed unlikely the democrats could possibly retain both the house and senate. i still think it's not the most likely outcome. but it seems a possibility. which would mean the possibility of actually unified democratic governance again. if you're a senator, i democratic senators serving with a senate majority for the democrats, and democratic president in the house, what legislation will be top of mind, top priority for you to pursue? >> as i'm traveling across the state, what's top of mind here in north carolina's folks are making sure that they have the jobs they need to take care of their families. they're deeply concerned about rising costs. they want to know that the next senator is gonna fight hard to lower costs. my opponent, ted budd, -- in his service and in the last six years in congress to fight in order to do that. he'd much rather complain about it and do something about it. what we know is that he voted

against lowering prescription drug costs while taking corporate -- drug companies. he voted against lowering the cost of gas while taking corporate pac money from oil companies. he's not at all invested in trying to make sure people have relief and lowering costs. he's really more consumed with his own interests, and not the interests of people in north carolina. what i would ask, for your viewers for more information to go to cheri beasley.com to know more about my candidacy and a successful race that were running. >> richard burr, voted against the inflation reduction act which passed on a party line vote. would you have voted for the invitation reduction act if you are serving in the senate? >> well, i certainly would have. we know that it is legislation that would allow us to focus on our made in america economy. to make sure that we are focusing on manufacturing --

which need to bolster our made in america economy. and to make sure that good, talented folks here in north carolina can produce the goods we need here in our everyday lives. it will certainly help to bring the cost of goods down. we certainly know in so many ways inflation has been caused by rising prices, -- and supply chain problems. it's important that congress and the senate take constructive action to get a handle on this. this is what people in north carolina want. >> you were a justice on the state supreme court in north carolina. it's interesting, judging electoral politics tend to be parallel pursuits. there's not a ton of cross pollination between the two. what did you learn as a judge and justice on the state supreme court that qualifies you to go serve in the u.s. senate? >> i've served as a judge, and chief justice of the supreme court of north carolina for over 20 years. i've had a really respect for the law. and for upholding the constitution. i know it's important to make

sure that folks -- apply the rule of law. that we have congress people and senators who are working hard to make sure we passed legislation that works for folks in north carolina. the i.r.a. also allows medicare to negotiate drug prices down. and it does for seniors. a caps insulin. so many folks in north carolina need that kind of relief. -- as we well know has taken drug money and not voted in favor of making sure we lower drug cost for folks here in the state. >> final question, roy cooper is very popular in north carolina. he's a democrat, in a closely divided state, is approval limiting is 60%. what have you learned from his popularity? >> i'm thankful that he's been supportive of my race. but i also know that i've been a tough races before. and north carolina judges run and contested statewide elections. i've been elected -- statewide. i know that we can do this,

we're seeing a lot of energy and and more than a diverse state. we're urban and rural, it's important to be in every single one of our 100 counties, it's exactly what i've done to make sure -- and really make a commitment to understanding who we are as north carolina ends, and my commitment to fight for all. of us >> cheri beasley, -- democratic nominee before the senate in that state, thank you so much. >> that's all in on this thursday. night alex wagner tonight starts right now. thursdaywe live in this extraory moment where one senate seat is the sort of basically determines the balance of power. every senate race in the country is the most important senate race. >> i forget what vote it was. it was one of the votes during the bush administration. or something passed by one vote. so, everyone who voted for it could be like, he was the deciding vote. i remember a bunch of ads in the midterms, i think it was 2006. the deciding vote. but every race --