not a lot of people knew her, she was a state senator. >> on march 25th, joni ernst ad. >> i'm joni ernst, i grew up cast rating hogs on a farm. so when i get to washington, i'll know how to cut pork. >> washington is full of big squeal. >> it went viral. got half a million you fub views, all over the daily show. >> it was mooed and panned all over the state. the audience it was intended for was e.u. conservators. they responded to it wholesale. >> i want to squeal. >> thank you. >> senator joni ernst, you have cut the cam pain add in which you brag about being a farm girl. i'm wondering why in the farm bill it's okay to give farmers crop insurance, but it's not okay for the government to bring individuals subsidies. and you came from the same areas that i do. have you cast rated hogs? >> no comment. >> it will get a little rough out here. that's politics. that's what it's all about. >> most of the negative i'veing you have seen is between joni ernst and jacobs. competition. >> it is a valid point. she's missing 40% of the votes if the iowa senate. that is something that she'll have to an

>> joni ernst came out as a star in the republican party. she was a long shot. she ran this early ad about cast straighting hogs. -- castrating hogs. >> yes. gwen: and immediately then went on her national guard deployment. >> and back to 2016, markoff rubio, the florida senator we think may run, he was in early for joni ernst. speaking of collecting chits as maybe hillary clinton did, and chris christy, i think marco rubio did. gwen: tom cotton in arkansas knocked off a household name. >> he did.

they show ernst over the democrat 51 percent to 44 percent. republicans view iowa as a bell weather state. if ernst wins democrats can kiss control of the senate good-bye. democrats accused republicans of conducting a war on women yet retiring iowa senator doemocrat attacks ernst based on her gender warning voters not to be fooled by her good looks. >> i don't care if she is as good looking as tailor swift or as nice as mr. rogers but if she votes like michelle bachmann she is wrong for iowa. >> some argue democrats are wrong for iowa and wrong for the country. >> they can't argue on the economy or foreign policy. they can't argue on the competence of government. they can't argue really on anything. so they are left to create, to invent the war on wechl. >> let's get back to joanie ernst. ernst is an iraq war veteran a member of the national guard and even democrats acknowledge she has been running a solid campaign. >> lea? >> president obama wrapping up the 2014 election campaign. he made his first and only campaign stop for a democrat stumpi

ernst ?upports life >> no, why else would the american college of obstetrics and gynecology, which takes care of pregnant mothers and babies, say the things in the personhood amendment would do all the things i have just said. it would outlaw all forms of abortion, including in the case of rape and to the tech the life of the mother -- protect the life of the mother. it would interfere with in vitro fertilization. under her amendment she has said doctors should be prosecuted who perform illegal medical procedures. characterizing my position, especially when it comes to birth control, i will always support a woman's access to affordable, safe, and reliable birth control. i don't agree with the supreme court ruling, but that doesn't mean a woman can't get reliable, safe birth control. she can still go to her doctor and receive birth control. it is not outlawing birth control. a ploy to scare women. i will protect their access to birth control. let's make that clear. when it comes to deciding wh

. >>> republican joni ernst and bruce braley are duking it out. harkin interjected issues over the weekend. we have pamela brown with more. >> reporter: john and christine, stakes are high for the senate race in iowa. whoever wins today could tip the balance of power in the senate. it has been a very tight race. extremely competitive. neck and neck. it remains a toss up. in fact, a record number of iowans have voted early this year. the democrats have had a steady advantage, but not as much as they would like. at last check, they were up around 7,000, but to put it in perspective, in 2010, they tripled that lead over the republicans. it is important for the early voting numbers, because republicans have more votes on election day. when talking to both camps, it is very clear that they're conditi confident each side is going to win. the polls have them pretty close, except one this saturday. the republican candidate joni ernst up seven points over her contender bruce braley. the democrat in this race. democrats looked at that poll as an lie and tha

but joni ernst does have a lot of momentum in that race. and this is a state that's trended blue for the last decade. and this is also the state that launched barack obama to national fame, his approval rating there is now dismal. there would be a big symbolic win for republicans as well. >> peter, we have about 35 seconds left. i know tonight you will own the internet on cnn.com. you're going to have a whole bunch of insiders giving a buzzy take on the election. what is sort of the inside word right now in 15 seconds or less? >> the inside word -- i just got off the phone with a couple of people about this -- is that we're going to run off season, both december and january in georgia and louisiana. no one is 100% confident that republicans are going to win the senate. we're not going to find that out until the votes are counted tonight. >> makes it all the more exciting for all of us. peter, thank you so much. if you have questions for peter, you can tweet him. he's going to be on cnn.com at 8:00 eastern on the real life hambycast, well wo

independence was going to ernst. they applaud him for saying don't vote on someone because they're attractive or seem nice. pay attention to how they are on issues. >> you think this might energize democrats? >> if he had made this comment -- if this had been released a month ago, it would have had more of an effect on this race. i think it's too late to have much of an effect. >> it's not like ernst -- she's a lieutenant colonel in the national guard, served in the state senate. she's no light weight. >> not at all. our poll this past weekend showed almost as many iowa voters think she has as much death as braley. many they think she's strongest on. they think she's best on national debt and other really important topics. >> let's just face it. bruce braley hasn't made the best campaign. he's made a few gaps of his own right? >> there was a day in march when republicans released the video of him seemingly saying a farmer from iowa couldn't be qualified to chair the judiciary committee. that has stuck in voter's mind

momentum to ernst and in the lead. jon: what about georgia amount state republicans counted on winning, david perdue is down by a point last time i saw. >> "real clear politics" average as of today is up by 2.2. most recent polls consistently showed him ahead. however, the democrats have done a good job on early vote. if you look inside, they don't keep track of early vote by partisanship but do keep track of it by race and 30% of the early vote is from african-americans who can be counted upon to give a pretty good margin to michelle nun. the we what happens on election day? my sense the state requires winner to have 50% of the vote. libertarian candidate will draw a couple points. this race all likelihood will go to january 6th runoff. christmas and new year's we're glued to the set watching two people campaign across the state of georgia. jon: you could have the same situation, likely will have the same situation in louisiana? >> we will have the same situation in louisiana because again everybody is running in a pr

we hear tom harken going after that hopeful joni ernst. ernst fired back. i want you to take a listen and then discuss it with both of you. >> i don't care if she's as good looking as taylor swift or as nice as mr. rogers. but if she votes like michele bachmann she's wrong for the state of iowa. >> i was very offended that senator harkin would say that. i think it's ununfortunate that he and many of their party believe you can't be a real woman if you're conservative and female. i believe if my name had been john ernst attached to my resume, senator harkin would not have said those things. >> look, i had to look at my calendar quickly to make sure we were in 2014 because this felt like a comment from yesteryear, donna. really. >> i know when male candidates and, of course, i've cautioned male candidates, don't talk about a female's look and i even tell females don't talk about your looks. because we're all beautiful. the truth is, what he was trying to say is look at her record she has a record, he has a record, mr. braley, et cetera. it goes to a larger na

if ernst is elected she would be the first female sent from iowa to the u.s. senate. that's not something she's ever made a big deal about. it's not something she's tried to emphasize. here's what she said when asked about harkin's comments. >> they are offensive because he is a sitting united states senator who should be supportive of any female that is running. ideas, but, you know, he compared me to taylor swift. that's okay. we're going to shake this off. >> i caught up with the democrat in this race today congressman bruce braley, he did have harkin with him. i asked the senator if he wanted to clarify the comments he made. here's what he told me. >> i shouldn't have said that. okay. i know that.dl but, you know, i always regret when someone feels offended by something i said. i don't care who it is.sxh]s >> if there is a gender issue in this race, it's interesting to look at the numbers this way. you referenced that quinnipiac poll. it still shows that women tend to favor braley and men tend to favor ernst in this case. there are two notable things also in ernst

he is vacating the seat and joni ernst. take a listen to this. >> in this senate race, i have been watching some of the ads and there is this sort of sense of joni ernst, she is really attractive. she sounds nice. well, i got to thinking about that. i don't care if she is as good-looking as taylor swift or as nice as mr. rogers. but if she votes like michele bachmann, she's wrong for the state of iowa. >> reporter: so in response to those comments from tom markin last week, joni ernst said she was offended. if she were a man, he would never have said that. just like taylor swift, she is going to shake it off. bottom line, you can feel the intensity heat up. it will be a nail biter. john and christine. >> the senate race in louisiana is tough for mary landrieu. she must get 50% of the vote to keep her seat. rob manus drawing enough votes from landrieu and bill cassidy which could put this in a runoff next month. landrieu is trying to keep the focus local. >> louisiana may determine which party controls the united states sena

joni ernst talks a about it a ton. anyone who has watched her, she's a natural on the campaign trail. so she had a lot of appeal with the voters there. definitely down on the president and really looking for somebody different. she seems to be tapping into some kind of sentiment there. it looks like she's going to end up winning. >> can you imagine a female candidate saying that about a male? i can't, it just wouldn't happen. >> i was degraded because they would always say that about me. because he's so good looking and has such chiselled features. nobody has ever say that about me. it's actually stupid that somebody would say that after being in politics that long. >> e she hasn't put out a campaign that's anything that's serious, humorous and very much in the fight. >> can i ask carol a question? >> i will ask a question. >> isn't this how this game works. donnie was talking about millennials are a snapshot. this could change tomorrow. and we're going to have polling saying millennials are trending republican right n

ernst said it sounded frankly sexist. she says if her name had been john ernst i'm sure he wouldn't have made those comments. martha: louisiana another race that's very close and likely going for a runoff in december. the republican challenger bill cassidy ... both have not hit the 50% mark they would need to avoid a runoff. john, the rules a little bit different there. ex main that for us. >> reporter: in louisiana election day is primary day. jungle primary. anybody who wants to run for the office is on the ballot. there are 9 candidates, a couple from the same party on tomorrow's ballot for the senate. mary landrieu gets 44% compared to republican bill cassidy with 36%. and rob maness with 15%. what happens in that runoff? the numbers flip around and bill cassidy would win that. marchy landriethat. that. mary landrieu has been here before. the same situation shaping up in georgia. the latest marist poll. it looks like purdue will not hit the 50% necessary to avoid a runoff in georgia. that runoff is january 6, two mont

why ernst is saying this today. i don't think anybody watching this program would want us to abandon it in this stage. >> sir richard branson give his first life interview as officials reveal a break in the virgin space crash. >>> brittany maynard, the terminally ill woman who became the face of the death with dignity movement ends her life. up next her final message to her supporters and where this debate is going now. join our conversation online. you can find my team @news nation. you can find me on facebook, twitter and instagram under my maim. you know, check my policy , add a car, ah speak to customer service, check on a claim...you know, all with the ah, tap of my geico app. oh, that's so cool. well, i would disagree with you but, ah, that would make me a liar. no dude, you're on the jumbotron! whoa. ah...yeah, pretty much walked into that one. geico anywhere anytime. just a tap away on the geico app. hard it can be...how ...to breathe with copd? it can feel like this. copd includes chronic bronchitis and emp

if ernst is elected she would be the first female sent from iowa to the u.s. senate. that's not something she's ever made a big deal about. it's not something she's tried to emphasize. here's what she said when asked about harkin's comments. >> they are offensive because he is a sitting united states senator who should be supportive of any female that is running. ideas, but, you know, he compared me to taylor swift. that's okay. we're going to shake this off. >> i caught up with the democrat in this race today congressman bruce braley, he did have harkin with him. i asked the senator if he wanted to clarify the comments he made. here's what he told me. >> i shouldn't have said that. okay. but, you know, i always regret when someone feels offended by something i said. i don't care who it is.sxh]s >> if there is a gender issue in this race, it's interesting to look at the numbers this way. you referenced that quinnipiac poll. it still shows that women tend to favor braley and men tend to favor ernst in this case. there are two notable things also in ernst favor in the l

joni ernst has been outspoken. it came about in her gop primary win she wants to repeal the president's health care law. i saw at rally where terri branstad talked about iowa being the healthiest state in the nation. he put forward the president's health care law on a bipartisan way within the state. take a listen to what she told me about how she sees a full repeal of the law working for iowans. >> governor branstad wants iowa to be the healthiest state. can it happen with a full repeal of health care? >> you bet. we need patient center health care that addresses preexisting conditions. i think it's a great goal and i think we need to continue striving toward it. >> do you support mcconnell? >> i'm not there yet. i have to win an election. >> you heard it right there. does she support mcconnell? listen to her answer. it's a little bit vague. and that's what democrats have been trying to push in the last few hours. that joni ernst is against you on the issues. unfortunately where she's brale more about people like

has ernst pulled away? >> yeah, craig, on saturday night, a just real big heap of bad news for the braley campaign came out in the des moines register poll, showing him down here by seven. there are two things within that poll particularly alarming. you mentioned he's trailing his own congressional district. on the issue of who cares more about people like me, he also trails joni ernst. that's surprising because usually democrats most often win that issue against republicans. ernst leading in terms of medicare and social security. that's something bruce braley put a lot of money on. so that poll, while it's an outlier, is considered the gold standard here in iowa and it's particularly alarming. democrats are saying we can't pay all that close attention to it. there's other polls that show it closer. even if you look at the strength in the ground game democrats have, which is supposed to be good for two or three points perhaps, the seven point margin in the des moines register poll, even if you put the democ

. >> i'm joni ernst. i'm scott brown. >> i'm determined to bring decency to washington. >> i want to serve as the people's governor again. >> i really didn't want to do this. >> and i approve this message. >> i approve this message. >> i approve this message. >> it's all tied up. and the results will come down to one thing -- turnout. >>> they call it election day tomorrow, but it is really vote counting day. in an election where some, in some states early voting started six weeks ago. we have a final round of polls of today. in colorado, a new quinnipiac poll shows the race there in a virtual tie with the republican at 45% and incumbent democratic senator udall at 43%. a new nbc poll shows mitch mcconnell polling ahead of allison grimes by nine points, despite multiple visits from bill and hillary clinton. in kansas, independent candidate greg orman is locked in a tight race with three-term incumbent senator greg roberts. orman was asked once again which party he was caucus with if he was elected to the

joni ernst made a big splash as she went on. she was little known in this campaign early on, but made a big slash with the ad, and that shifted a lot of balance. braley's relations with federal affairs. that pushed the momentum. coming into the election day, we saw a dead heat. and now she's taken the senate seat. >> let's turn to mike viqueira in washington. an rejection of democrats across the board, do you agree? >> yes, there's a tendency on the part of the base, the true believers, whether you are republican, liberal, to say look, if they only adhered to the core principles of the party, everything would have been better. you face up to it, own it. people come along and they see it your way. i'm not sure that that is the case. i think that this is a rejection of president barack obama. whether he showed up to campaign with you or didn't. i want to echo. dave was talking about pat quinn, president obama's home state. look no further than maryland. i have to come back to the race. it's stunning. anthony brown, the governor. 2

. >> joni ernst, she's really attractive, and she sounds nice. i don't care if she's as good looking as taylor swift or as nice as mr. rogers. but if she votes like michelle obama, she belo's wrong for sta iowa. >> and earlier today ernst, a combat veteran and a mom, was on fox & friends responding. take a look at this. >> i was very offended that senator harkin would say that. i think it's unfortunate that he and many of their party believe you can't be a real woman if you're conservative and you're female. if my name had been john ernst attached to my resume, senator harkin would not have said those things. >> here with reaction are larry sabato from the university of virginia center for politics. co-host, andrea tanteros is with us. i can't believe that and you have this other guy using the word -- and laughing about it. about nicki haley. >> it is so stupid. you remember when kirsten gillibrand from new york is talking about how these older senators made comments about her weight and she got a ton of press. the media was all over this. the me

the "des moines register" had a poll with ernst up by seven points. democrats have said they believe the poll is an outright lie. but what's clear here is that both sides feel like they have a good chance of winning this tomorrow, crossing the finish line as a winner. right now as we speak, volunteers are fanning out across iowa, knocking on doors, trying to get last-minute early votes and get those outstanding ballots. that's key for democrats because they don't have the lead that they really need heading into tomorrow. it's razor-thin margin, up 7,000 votes in early votes. they want more going into tomorrow. that's a big focus for both parties. and the stakes are very high here. you can really feel it on the ground. people know whoever wins the senate race could tip the balance of power for the senate. jake? >> iowa, pivotal state. let's go now to brianna keilar who's live in louisville where the senate republican leader is fighting for his political life. over the weekend, cnn learned that republican strategists have already told the republican lea

. >> joni ernst, she's really attractive, and she sounds nice. i don't care if she's as good i don't care if she' taylor sw nice as mr.riç rogers. but she's no michelle obama. she's wrong for the state of iowa. >> and earlier today ernst, a combat veteran angñ a mom, was n fox & friends responding. take a look at this. >> i was very offended that senator harkinq)ña" d would say. i think it's unfortunate that he and many of their party believe 1(ou're conservative and you're female. if my name had been john ernst harkin would not have said those things. >> here with reaction are larry sabato,a5 center fors7 politi frank luntz, co-hostñr andrea tantaros isvgfc with us. i can't believe that and you have this other guy using the word -- and laughing about #m#(. about"$ra nicki haley. >> it is so stupid.32iq you'll remember when the comment about older senators madeÑi comments about her weight and she got a ton of (4&press. the media was all over this. the media's barelyçó touching ts one. it's like tom harkin would have said that in the se

he's since apologized to ernst. she had fun with it, quoting taylor swift, saying, i can shake it off. all that being said, not what bruce braley wanted to talk about the day that he was trying to move turn-out in his way in eastern iowa. >> thank you. joining me is suzi kemp. now we have a tricky situation down there in georgia, which i hate because it complicates things. but is this any reason to believe that if michelle nunn, the daughter of the former senator from georgia, if she can't win the 50 points now, any reason to believe that she could win them later on in january when they have the run-off? >> well, it's interesting. i actually was walking around with michelle nunn earlier today as she was out canvassing for votes in decatur, a suburb of atlanta. i asked her that very question. and she said, we've defied the prognosticators before, which suggests that i think they know it would be really very much an uphill battle. the wild card here is that libertarian candidate amanda swafford who you haven't heard m

ernst is beating braley. people haven't taken a real liking to braley because he's typed with the washington lawyer negative. he insulted iowa farmers by saying for he were to lose chuck grassley, the popular senator here would be senate judiciary chairman. don't insult farmers in iowa. >> thank you so much, luke russert. once the dust settles in the senate races could a potential shift in power change business as usual in washington? if the republican for example, take the senate, there's questions about the leadership and the agenda. who will be in charge. what direction will the party take. and flip side what happens if the democrats maintain control? representative luke messer is running for the position of republican policy their. he joins me now. >> jose, great to be here. >> as a potential letter leader what does the direction and brand of the gop need to be after tonight? >> well, if the election goes our way, obviously in the next few hours we've got get busy working for the american people. we have

and this is all part of ernst's strategy. she was never trying to overcome the gender gap, to end women's voters by her too being a woman. as she told "the new york times," i'm not running on my gender. back with me is maya harris, a senior fellow at the center for american progress. joining us now also is keaton dawson, a former south carolina gop chair and kristina beltron, associate professor of culture analysis at nyu. so katon, is it that republican women just make more sense as midterm candidates because they're running on a kind of like being a woman that defies sort of narrowly defined femininity? and after all, more men are going to show up to vote in this election. >> i think joni is probably one of the most authentic candidates you have in the country. what you see is what you get. the big point about men is joni hit the entire target when she was shooting the gun pretty good. she was on target, on message. i tell you what i did find out about republican primaries especially, melissa. in south carolina, very disapp

one reason we'd like to knock out joni ernst. i mean, just think about what she could do when she gets to washington with those credentials on the presidential level. it'll be a fascinating thing to watch if it happens, alex. >> you bring up a good point, as always. thank you so much. >>> well from iowa we head south to georgia where two close races are grabbing a lot of attention. let's go to atlanta and casey hunt for us. first up to the governor's race. is there any sense of clear momentum? >> hey, alex. i think at this point, it's pretty clear that nathan deal is in pretty good shape heading into his re-election. he's facing of course jason carter, who is the grandson of jimmy carter. and jason carter has performed better than anyone really expected a democrat to be able to perform, especially in this environment, and especially against incumbent. nathan deal did have some ethics issues, but they don't seem to be sticking to him in a major way at the end. and jason carter is getting some support from his grandfather, jimmy ca

so you just talked about iowa, perhaps joni ernst wins out in iowa. perhaps tim cotton wins in iowa. that gets them to 50/50. and you need to go one more state to get to 51. maybe colorado depinnending on polling that's coming out of there. if you take iowa off the map, you're back to 50/50. so, again, republicans have a lot of ways to get to 51, democrats are a couple of ways to take it away. even if the republicans were to win in iowa, let's say, they would have to defend a couple of states. like kansas, where pat roberts is in a big race, georgia which may go to a runoff two months from now or even chokentucky. two things i think you can key on for tuesday night, the closing at 7:30 in the evening, north carolina, if republicans are in for a way, tom tillis will beat kay hagan. if she beats out tom tillis, that's one way that democrats can stop republicans from taking back the senate. that new hampshire poll has jeanne shaheen up for an average of 2 1/2 points right now. we might be able to call it at 8:00 on tuesday night. but if shaheen hangs on,

ernst won men by a whopping 18-point margin. but she nearly won women, too. and those all important independents, also in her corner. now, washington waiting to see if ernst will really make them squeal. >> cecilia vega tonight, thank you. >>> and wall street so often reacting when elections are over. that republican landslide delivering a jolt. the dow closing up 100 points, when it closed, well above 17,000 late today. >>> now, to philadelphia tonight, where there is a major new development at this hour. authorities now revealing they have found that woman alive. it is breaking at this hour and it comes after that terrifying abduction caught on tape. that young woman dragged down that city street, gone in seconds s and this evening, pole ve said they want to speak to this man, seen here in this grocery store, calling him a person of interest. abc's mara schiavocampo with the late breaking details. >> reporter: tonight police releasing new surveillance images of the man they believe may have kidnapped carlesha freeland-gaither. asking the public for help. po

. >> in iowa joni ernst with 52%. >> and in mark shapiro, tom cotton easily defeating incumbent mark prior 57-39. >> and to georgia republican david perdue over michelle nunn. 53-45. >> corey gardener taking down mark udall. and steve daines beating amanda curtis 58 to 40%. south dakota easily going to the gop. 51 to 29. >> and senate minority leader mitch mcconnell leading with 56%. grimes with 41%. >> so west virginia republican shelly moore capito winning 62-34. >> and in alaska ballots are still being counted at this hour but republican dan sullivan holding on to a five point lead over mark begich with 73% of the votes being reported. >> virginia is still too close to call. incumbent democrat mark warner holding on to a small lead. separated by just over 12,000 votes. 95% of ballots have been counted. >> and louisiana heading to a run off. a lot of folks expected this. neither candidate getting the necessary 50%. incumbent democrat getting 42% with bill cassie getting 41. >> and a tight race there. winning 52-48 over scott brown. well as we have said it was a landslide victory fo

what have they got joni ernst to do in the last few weeks? sort of tamper down those comments about abolishing the department of education, abolishing the epa, getting rid of the federal minimum wage. so we're starting to see sort of a repackaging, if you will, of joni ernst in the final weeks, making the race about personality and charisma, something that's beneficial to her over bruce braley who is not able to match her on those traits. >> maybe less talk about impeaching the president. luke russert, thanks as always. good luck to you out there. >>> the fight here in new hampshire is getting downright nasty. here is the chair of the new hampshire gop. >> this is our time. we need to crush it. we need to grab it, run with it, push their heads under, over and over again until they cannot breathe anymore. >> more on the granite state, including what the candidates told me today, just ahead. wethey were a littlehorizons to mbit skeptical.ss, what they do actually is rocket science. but at ge capital we also bring expertise from across ge, like

now, washington waiting to see if joni ernst will really make them squeal. cecilia vega, abc news, cedar rapids, iowa. >> cecilia vega tonight, thank you. >>> and wall street so often reacting when elections are over. that republican landslide overnight delivering a jolt. wall street soaring tonight, the dow closing at a new record high. up 100 points. when it closed, well above 17,000 late today. >>> now, to philadelphia tonight, where there is a major new development at this hour. authorities now revealing they have found that woman alive. it is breaking at this hour and it comes after that terrifying abduction caught on tape. that young woman dragged down that city street, gone in seconds and this evening, police have said they want to speak to this man, seen here in this grocery store, calling him a person of interest. abc's mara schiavocampo with the late breaking details. >> reporter: tonight, relief as police reveal carlesha freeland-gaither, whose violent abduction was caught on tape sunday, has been found alive. >> carlesha freeland has been rescued

>> joni ernst in iowa. the consultant types, were more fonder of mark jacobson who could self-finance. more money. she was the somewhat obscure state legislator. ran a good primary. and has run a terrific general election campaign. looks like she'll win in iowa. >> you and cokie agree on a candidate. >> michelle nunn. she's a first time candidate. normally, can't find their groove. she's been able to campaign throughout the state. very little mistakes. i think she's run a terrific campaign. >> you said john kay sish? >> thetest of a race, it's a swing state in mid western state that's key, i had to look it up this morning. >> but he's been a total disaster -- >> for john kasich to win in ohio by 25 points, amazing. >> i would say cory gardner in colorado. down double digits. run a new near-flawless campaign. aside from michelle nunn, gardner. >> the worst campaign? >> the one i did name was -- which candidate was the democrat in ohio, fitzgerald. but i think mark udall has run a terrible campaign. >> colora

independence broke for ernst by 12 points. lou. lou: shannon thank you. >> a reminder to join us tomorrow night, for special election coverage here beginning at 7 p.m. eastern, neil cavuto and i will be here with the whole fbn team until the last vote is counted. fox business' special elect coverage tomorrow night. >> homeland security officials today announce that united states is boosting screening procedures for folks traveling into this country on western passports that move done out of concern some of the more than 3,000 europeans who traveled to syria and iraq it fight, with the islamic state, may try to carry out terrorist attacks in the west. travelers from 38 nations including most of europe. now have to provide more pass ports information, contact information, and any aliases before they can travel to united states. >> to latest on effort to stop an outbreak of ebola in this country, the new york doctor who became infected with ebola while treating patients has been upgraded from serious to stable conditions. >> and a sta

ernst won men by a whopping 18-point margin. but she nearly won women, too. and those all important independents, also in her corner. now, washington waiting to see if ernst will really make them squeal. >> cecilia vega tonight, thank you. >>> and wall street so often reacting when elections are over. that republican landslide delivering a jolt. the dow closing up 100 points, when it closed, well above 17,000 late today. >>> now, to philadelphia tonight, where there is a major new development at this hour. authorities now revealing they have found that woman alive. it is breaking at this hour and it comes after that terrifying abduction caught on tape. that young woman dragged down that city street, gone in seconds and this evening, police have said they want to speak to this man, seen here in this grocery store, calling him a person of interest. abc's mara schiavocampo with the late breaking details. >> reporter: tonight police releasing new surveillance images of the man they believe may have kidnapped carlesha freeland-gaither. asking the public for help.

we talk about joni ernst, that will be a big win. working in congress for a long time. we've been a big fan much cory gardner. what he has done to reach voters, especially hispanic voters - one of my passions - we'll see a great night for those two and the republican party. >> david, the numbers as you look at the balance of power in the state what is happening now. >> first the governors, i'm interested in what betina has. the information i have suggest that the republicans may lose a couple of governor races. the senate, yes, it's territory. >> if you average all the states up, president obama won about 66% of the vote compared to mitt romney's 53, 54 in 2012. it's a republican part of the country. >> we have known that for a while. >> michael, the last word? >> i understand why betina is excited about iowa. if the republicans won iowa, it would be the biggest story tomorrow. a lot of the other races are tough sledding for the democrats. but iowa, in and of itself would be a surprise. >> betina, good to see you, get on the plane and get up here. we want to see you tom

using joni ernst's looks. the interesting part of the whole thing, harken wasn't talking about bruce braley talking about being a good candidate, they have nothing to go on. >> she's going to win and iowans like her because of her candidacy, because of what she stands for, and she doesn't have tired talking points, they're choosing her in the because she's a woman, because she's the best candidate. >> don't elect somebody because he's charismatic, or don't elect someone because of his race. is that what harken was trying to say or was he sexist? >> i don't know where his taste in women are a little different than mine. but i think she's run a very good campaign, a substantive campaign, the real problem here is, you keep talking about my man bill clinton, the fact of the matter is, among blacks in this country, if the republicans would spend just some time, just some time trying to engage with the black community, it would not be as much of a wall between them. >> what happens when they -- >> rand paul did it i

ernst she's really attractive. and she sounds nice. i got thinking about that. i don't care if she's as good looking as taylor swift. or as nice as mr. rogers. but if she votes like michele bachmann, she's wrong for the state of iowa. >> so yet the exhaustion and ad negativivity things may not be settled by wednesday morning. as we look what mary landrieu is going through. she's leading in louisiana's primary by eight. if she doesn't win outright she's trailing bill cassidy in a runoff. that state is likely headed for a runoff in florida. in georgia runoffs go nine weeks and purdue is favored in that. democrats have struggled to win in overtime. >>> over the weekend president obama campaigned with michigan senate candidate gary petters. that's rare sight in this cycle. he went to pennsylvania where tom wolf is expected to upset the incumbent republican governor tom corbett. the democratic challenger up by double digits. the president standing side by side with daniel malloy who is in a tighter race than expected. a

the polls suggest joni ernst as having the lead. it's been a long and bruising campaign, almost $80 million spent so far and four more days of attack ads filling the waves here in the hawkeye state. joni's campaign began with the ad, ad with the castration of hogs. that's how it's been dubbed. >> i grew up castrating hogs on an iowa farm, so when i get to washington, i'll know how to cut pork. >> her opponent is democratic congressman bruce braley. he got off to a rather rocky start when he was going to a fundraiser in texas and started talking about his history as a lawyer suggesting that it was really important that democrats win the majority and keep it otherwise chuck grassley, the republican senator from iowa would end up being the chairman of the judiciary committee. and braley made a bit of a slur. >>> this is a fox news alert. a mexican judgef jailed u.s. marine andrew tahmooressi. it's been more than six months. he maintained he got lost on a california freeway ramp that sent him across with no way of >>> is it the ad? the

joni ernst -- haitian american. joni ernst is an interesting one. she's someone as many people saw as a version of sarah palin. she was able to broaden her appeal. she's the first woman to win the sena senate in iowa. i think what she was able to do was speak to the voters. they felt like she was one of them. she talked about spending and what the race came down to is people are so frustrated with washington that they're frustrated with government. they feel like government has failed them and they took it out on democrats. that was huge help for many republicans across the board. >> and crystal, so much is to be made of hillary clinton getting out the female vote over the next couple of years. what do you think she can learn from last night? >> i think you have to have a clear agenda and you have to be bold in what you stand for. all of these democrats across the south who try to temper their positions allison lundergan grimes, mark pryor, even michelle nunn. it doesn't do enough to get your folks out if you're saying you don't support the democrat

it's not about bruce braley, it's about joanie ernst. if they can drive out traditional democratic base, which is always a challenge then kay hagan has the advantage. tillis has the advantage, that is something that has gone very badly for the state so they're more motivated to vote for hagan and against tillis in that race. >> al jazeera america will air a marathon on tuesday all three episodes will air starting at 1:00 p.m. eastern. joining us now to talk about all the closely watched races and what we can expect to happen on tuesday are lynn sweet the washington bureau chief of the sun times and here in new york we're joined by patrick murray and al jazeera political correspondent michael shore. lynn i'll start with you. earlier we heard lynn wong say seven states a tossup and others eight states in the tossup? new hampshire, north carolina, what burr your neighbor iowa, democrats think it's essential to hold the state. will it go with ernst? >> that's what every poll shows. congressman bill braley has run a campaign where he's had un

joni ernst and bruce braley. he is in the lead as we look at the percentage reporting. still very slow when it comes to candy votes out there. this is one of the most fascinating races you will find. roberts versus orman. been on the who has health since 19 96 -- on the -- in the senate since 1996. is the independent. he has yet to say who he will caucus with if he is elected. the democrats or republicans? that is where the shift of power could occur as you get down to the drama of d.c. politics. we will take a look at some other races up for grabs and when we come back in a little bit. for now, nailbiter. >> we are running out of nails. thank you for that. >lots of races across the area and we are watching all of them. you can get up to the moment results on wjla.com. and facebook and twitter. >> let's go back to maryland. new numbers in the race for a negovernor. let's take a look. anthony brown, 46%. larry hogan, republican, 52%. brad bell is live. what is going on there? >> nailbiter here. a lot of field lingers -- fingernails littering the carpets. refreshre hittin

. >>> iowa, bruce braley ver venus joanie ernst. >> joanie ernst is a hot ticket. let me tell you. as a candidate she has pizazz, big smile. i have to believe if it is a republican night, that joanie ernst is going to be a winner and she will be a sensation if this town if she comes here. >> eleanor? >> she has managed to hold some very conservative positions, but at the same time reach out and appeal to moderates. and she smiles. she is likeable. i think she wins and you're right, she would be on the stage with the republican leaders whenever they have a chance to put her forward. >> two magic words for her? hog castrater. that is her ad that caught national attention. so if she wins with that reputation ahead of her -- i think she pulls it out. >> mark? >> i agree. i think it is fairly unanimous. i think this is going to be -- she is a dynamic campaigner. she will do very well. >> mclaughlin says joanie ernst. 5-0. iowa goes republican. >>> pat? kansas incumbent republican pat roberts versus independent. >> if the republicans are going to lose one it will be georgia or this one a

>> joni ernst came out as a star in the republican party. she was a long shot. she ran this early ad about cast straighting hogs. -- castrating hogs. >> yes. gwen: and immediately then went on her national guard deployment. >> and back to 2016, markoff rubio, the florida senator we think may run, he was in early for joni ernst. speaking of collecting chits as maybe hillary clinton did, and chris christy, i think marco rubio did. gwen: tom cotton in arkansas knocked off a household name. >> he did. he's not as charismatic as joni ernst but he's impressive, highly intelligent, blue-chip resume. so i would expect he would be a force. it's going to be interesting whether this -- what is this new crop going to add up to? we had a tea party revolution in 2010. we had something different this time. gwen: on purpose. it's like these candidates recruited to be not tea party. >> right, but many of them are very conservative. but how do they evolve and define themselves? >> did the establishment beat the tea party, or did the tea party co-opt the establishment? that's the