why can't i love mississippi? ♪ ♪ y'all know the name pyinfamous ♪ ♪ all bets are off i'm through talking ♪ ♪ never gonna fall for my spider move august and september ♪ ♪ block your october so you should be thankful the party's not over ♪ ♪ we won the race 'cause they ran a lame campaign ♪ ♪ i'm over here cooking victory you want a taste? ♪ >> anthony: pyinfamous is a proud son and resident of mississippi. a youth mentor in jackson's church and public school systems, owner of a marketing agency, and hip-hop artist. this town, it feels empty. where is everybody? >> pyinfamous: i think one thing is a lot of people think that you have to leave mississippi to be able to do something great. but i think a lot of it is there's so much bubbling in the undercurrent that sometimes isn't seen. and i think it takes an artist who usually takes something that's blank and creates something that's awesome to be able to see the potential in a place, in a canvas, so to speak, that has been vacated by other

congratulations, mississippi. african-american unemployment has reached the lowest rate ever recorded. african-american youth unemployment has reached the lowest rate ever recorded. and african-american poverty is at an all-time low. remember what i used to say, what the hell do you have to lose, right? , and we have produced will continue to produce. republicans passed a massive tax cut for mississippi families. number ofted a record job killing regulations, and american is now the number one producer of energy on the planet earth. not even close. and that took place pretty quickly, didn't it? we are taking care of our veterans and our military will soon be more powerful than it has ever been before. and because of that incredible power, hopefully we will never have to use it, right? but to protect these amazing achievements, mississippi must defend our senate republican majority. evening andtastic day very recently, the midterms. we got very little credit from the fake news media. they talked about the house, bu

congratulations, mississippi. african-american unemployment has reached the lowest rate ever recorded. african-american youth unemployment has reached the lowest rate ever recorded. and african-american poverty is at an all-time low. [applause] remember what i used to say, what the hell do you have to lose, right? [applause] well, we have produced, and we will continue to produce. republicans passed a massive tax cut for mississippi families. we eliminated a record number of job killing regulations, and american is now the number one producer of energy on the planet earth. not even close. [applause] and that took place pretty quickly, didn't it? we are taking care of our veterans and our military will soon be more powerful than it has ever been before. [applause] and because of that incredible power, hopefully we will never have to use it, right? but to protect these amazing achievements, mississippi must defend our senate republican majority. we had a fantastic evening and day very recently, the midterms. we got

mississippi cannot afford that. i would never support anything like that. >> would you like an additional response? mr. espy: that is not exactly right. she is looking at the vote i made 20 years ago but that is all right. the thing about that particular bill is that all hospitals must give emergency care to whatever -- to whoever comes in. whether they are legal or not. my vote from that respect was making sure the medicaid reimbursement would be provided for rural hospitals when they gave the care to the individual. would you want them to come in and be responsible? >> sorry, mr. espy, time. courtney jackson has the next question. >> senator hyde-smith, the video in which you reference a public hanging has received a national criticism and attention. you have released a statement saying any attempt to turn it into a negative connotation is ridiculous. what is the positive connotation , and are you willing to explain and/or apologize tonight? sen. hyde-smith: at a campaign event, i had the opportunity to visit with

my approach is mississippi first. mississippi over party, over person i do not care how powerful that person may be. anyone run over you. and youre senior --ial security and medicaid we wanted to stay here. infirmed we want to what you you have need. if you have a pre-existing condition we want to make sure you are not at a loss for that. i'm the most qualified candidate in this race. three terms.gress i've served as secretary of agriculture. i do not judge anyone. i work with anyone. it not about party agenda. i will be independent. i will not be with anyone 100% of the time. i'm here. >> senator highsmith. thank you forth: listening to this debate. and thank you for putting this on. two other events next week. on monday, the night before the is cominghe president to mississippi to campaign on my behalf. 8:00 will be on the coast. i encourage you to go online and get those free tickets. tonight you're going to hear a clear difference doing me in my opponent of the most important issues facing our country. throughout

end for is not going to a more united mississippi, and a mississippi for everyone regardless of race, party, or religion feels their worth. thank you so much. [applause] >> we like mike! we like mike! ♪ >> cindy hyde-smith. go get them. senator hyde-smith: thank you, governor phil bryant, for everything. do we have a great governor or what? thank you so much. this is just an unbelievable night. this has been an unbelievable campaign. god above is the reason we are here and i'm going to give him glory every single day for it. no doubt. i actually brought notes because this is so important, i don't want to miss anything. i want to cover everybody out here. first, of course, i want to thank god for this opportunity. my wonderful family, mike and anna, you both deserve a round of applause. the governor and deborah have been so gracious. he has worked as hard as i have ever seen him work at anything to get me elected. he brought me into the capital that day and said, cindy, i want to make you the united states senator and i want to make it happen because he's got two to beat, you and me.

my approach is mississippi first. that means that is mississippi over party, over person -- i don't care how powerful that person might be -- mississippi each and every time. that means i will not let anybody in the federal government run over you. if you are a senior and you take your -- you think your social security and your medicaid might , if you are a student graduating a mississippi, we want you to stay here. if you have a pre-existing condition, we want to make sure you are not at risk at loss for that. in this race, we have talked about qualifications. servedor congress and three terms four times. i served as secretary of agriculture. i'm accessible because i don't judge anyone. i just work with everyone, irrespective of race, party, gender. i'm going to serve you. i am not going to judge you. i don't vote for anyone 100% of the time. i'm here for you 100% of the time. >> thank you. senator high-smith. yde-myth. here.nk you for being the president of the united states is coming to the state -- to the state to

my approach is mississippi first. that means mississippi over party, over person. i don't care how powerful that person might be. it means i will not let anybody run over you. , it'st gets to the issues when you think your social security and medicaid might be threatened. if you live in mississippi, we want you to stay here. we want to make sure that you have prescription drugs. in this race, everyone is talking about qualifications. i'm the most qualified candidate in this race. and servedngress four times. --e served as the segregated secretary kerry -- secretary of agriculture. i work with everyone. i will serve you, not judge you, and i will be independent. i'm not going to vote anyone 100% of the time. here, and thank you very much. >> thank you for watching and listening to this debate, and thank you farm bureau. there are two other big events that will be coming up next week. on monday night, before the election, the president of the united states is coming to mississippi to campaign on my behalf. i encourage you, right now, to go online at donald j. trump.c

and a man who loves the state of mississippi, and the man that mississippi voted overwhelmingly to make the 45th president of the united states of america, president donald trump. [applause] president trump and i are proud to stand with cindy hyde-smith, because she stood with us. we know that senator cindy hyde-smith is going to continue to be a champion for mississippi and our agenda when you send her back to the united states senate. [applause] you know, when you think about the past two years, it's just amazing. i think there's only one way you can describe the last two years. it has been two years of action. it has been two years of results. under president donald trump, it has been two years of promises made and promises kept. [applause] mississippi and we are just getting started. [applause] think about it. think about it. under president trump's leadership, we are rebuilding our military and restoring our democracy. [applause] we are finally getting our veterans access to the world-class, real-time health care that you earned in the uniform of the united states. [applause] we ar

if you're not okay with that, and you want mississippi to progress, and you want mississippi to be a beacon of light and hope in this country, then you will not vote for her, and it is just still beyond me that we are talking about this, and dealing with this today, but i guess with everything that we've seen, in the last two years, that's what makes it, frankly, not surprising now. >> you know, hyde smith's camp says the democrats are making much adieu about nothing. she called it an off-color, off-the-cuff joke/comment. what do you make -- i was going to say listen to mike espy, a political campaign ad he made addressing this. >> how embarrassing is cindy hyde smith? walmart said hyde smith's recent comments clearly do not reflect the values of our company. we've worked hard to overcome the stereotypes that hurt our economy and cost us jobs. her words should not reflect mississippi's values either. cindy hyde smith, so embarrassing, she's be a disaster for mississippi. >> tina, we talked whether she is considered embarrassing by the majority of mississippians, but alsofor mississip

the mississippi delta, along the mississippi river here. we expect that sort of the late reporting part of the state. i do think when all is said and done it's likely mike espy the democrat will be within single digits in mississippi. just to put that in some perspective for you, lawrence, if espy -- he's at 45 now. if he were to get to 46, 47, something like that, look, hillary clinton got 40% here in 2016. very red state. barack obama, this is like the the high r hiwater mark. barack obama got 44% in 2012, 2008 he got 43%. basically what happened here for democrats is they're getting huge support as you'd expect in black areas. they made some inroads, a very interesting thing tonight, suburban memphis right here, giant county compare this. look, mike espy got 41%, hillary clinton only got 31% here. so you do have some of these sort of college-educated white voters who flipped over. what saved hyde-smith is, look, these sort of rural, heavily white areas. she's getting trump numbers as you can see this these places. no slippage there. we l

this is about the people of mississippi and what is important to the people of mississippi. this win tonight, this victory, it is about our conservative values, the things that mean to all of us mississippians. it is those things that i will , that iwashington, d.c. want to represent all of mississippians with these values and i will fight for it every single day. i am your warrior. it is a wonderful place, a special place to live. i want everybody to know, no matter who you voted for today, i'm going to always represent every mississippian. i will do my very best to make mississippi very proud of your u.s. senator. the people of mississippi, you deserve that. you deserve our best effort. you deserve every else -- every ounce in me to go there and make sure i make the best decisions for every mississippian that calls this state home. you have handed me your vote, handed me a victory, you have put confidence in me. i'm not going to let you down. i've got a flight in the morning. i've got to be at the airport at 4:30. i'm going to washington, d.c. first thing in the morning. t

today, of course, election day in mississippi. espy is fighting to become the first african-american senator from mississippi since reconstruction. he's talking with reporters right after voting, presumably casting a ballot for mihmsehimst state. up against cindy hyde-smith. i want to bring in the mayor of jackson. i appreciate you joining us on the show. >> thank you for having me. it's a pleasure to be here with you. >> just to note, there's a little bit of a delay between us. we will power through that, mayor. let me start with the question that mike espy was just getting around to answer about when we dipped out of there, about the nooses found hanging at the state capitol in your city. signs left at the scene indicate whoever did this felt like they were calling attention to mississippi's racial injustice with a sign that said on tuesday, thousands of missippians will vote for a senator. we need someone who respects the i loves of lynch victims. do you believe that was the right way to send that message? >> i would definitely

mississippi. republican senator cindy hyde-smith has the lead over the democrat there, who is mike espy. there are still a lot of votes to be counted. you might be wondering why all eyes are on this mississippi race tonight a full three weeks after election day. well, the answer -- three words. the blue wave. the blue wave that swept democrats into power in the house, and it stands right now -- as it stands right now, democrats have picked up 39 seats in the house of representatives. that is the biggest gain in the house seats by democrats since watergate. but even that fact doesn't really capture what happened in these midterms. the cook political report has been keeping a tally of the votes cast for either party in house races across the country. and according to their latest count, democratic house candidates got over 9 million more votes than republican candidates. that is the largest margin in the history of midterm elections. democrats lead republicans by 8.1 percentage points. that's a bigg

thank you for stepping up, mississippi. [applause] said all-smith: i have along this is not about me, this is about the people of mississippi and what is important to the people of mississippi. this win tonight, this victory is about our conservative values. it is about the things that mean the most to all of us mississippians. our faith, our family. it is those things i will take to washington, d.c. i will look to represent all mississippians with these values and i will fight for it every single day. [applause] sen. hyde-smith: i'm your warrior. it is a wonderful place. it is a special place to live. i want everybody to know, no matter who you voted for today, i'm going to always represent every mississippian. i will work very hard, do my very best to make mississippi very proud of your u.s. senator. the people of mississippi, you deserve that. you deserve our best effort. you deserve every ounce in me to go there and to make sure i can make the best decisions for every single mississippian that calls this great state hom

they have to say to mississippi. 300,000 people in mississippi who do not have health care. so, mike espy is hitting her hard on pre-existing conditions. the affordable care act. democrats only want to focus if we could get some young voters and progressive voters. no, you have to tell broke, white people you're broke. if you guys want to keep voting for your guns, go right ahead, but your health care is jacked up. your education is jacked up. your economics are jacked up. so, i really hope that democrats get the message. they have to go into the south and go into these poor areas and not just talk to black voters, but talk frank to white voters and say, will you vote your economic interest? >> so, donald trump made this argument to black voters in 2016, not with remarkable success. he kept saying, hey, you vote for democrats and you're not getting enough out of it. you're saying democrats have to go to white voters, poorer white voters. you vote republicans, you're not getting enough out of this. >> donald trump kept saying that, but donald trump won't go sit down and, sure

the mississippi delta, along the mississippi river here. we expect that sort of the late reporting part of the state. i do think when all is said and done it's likely mike espy the democrat will be within single digits in mississippi. just to put that in some perspective for you, lawrence, if espy -- he's at 45 now. if he were to get to 46, 47, something like that, look, hillary clinton got 40% here in 2016. very red state. barack obama, this is like the the high water mark. barack obama got 44% in 2012, 2008 he got 43%. basically what happened here for democrats is they're getting huge support as you'd expect in black areas. they made some inroads, a very interesting thing tonight, suburban memphis right here, giant county compare this. look, mike espy got 41%, hillary clinton only got 31% here. so you do have some of these sort of college-educated white voters who flipped over. what saved hyde-smith is, look, these sort of rural, heavily white areas. she's getting trump numbers as you can see this these places. no slippage there. we look

the former chair of the mississippi democratic party who went to public school in ellisville, mississippi, in the mean '70s and '80s told the jackson free press that he recalled, quote, making fun of the kids in town whose parents drove them 26 miles to a white academy and back, more than 100 miles a day, just so they could have a substandard education with teachers who often had little more than a high school diploma. he added, quote, the only reason people of my generation went to segregation academies was to keep the white kids and the black kids apart. segregation academies, that's what those schools were called, colloquially, of course. and we learned over the weekend from some fantastic reporting from ashton pittman at the jackson free press that one of the white students who was moved into a segregation academy in the 1970s was cindy hyde-smith, mississippi's junior united states senator, who is running to be elected to her post in tomorrow's runoff against democratic mike espy. it is the last remaining race of the 2018 midterms, a contest that has become unexpectedly competitive i

the former chair of the mississippi democratic party who went to public school in ellisville, mississippi, in the mean 70s and '80s told the jackson free press that he recalled, quote, making fun of the kids in town whose parents drove them 26 miles to a white academy and back, more than 100 miles a day, just so they could have a substandard education with teachers who often had little more than a high school diploma. he added, quote, the only reason people of my generation went to segregation academies was to keep the white kids and the black kids apart. segregation acad miss, that's what those schools were called, colloquially, of course. and we learned over the weekend from some fantastic reporting from ashton pittman at the jackson free press that one of the white students who was moved into a segregation academy in the 1970s was cindy hide smith, mississippi's junior united states senator, who is running to be elected to her post in tomorrow's runoff against democratic mike espy. it is the last remaining race of the 2018 midterms, a contest that has become unexpectedly competitive in

a lot at stake in mississippi. we will have the president talk more about the borders, mueller's investigation i'm sure will come up. we will carry it live right here. ♪ >> sean: thanks for sticking with us as we go back to life, alexi mississippi, the president holding a rally for cindy hyde-smith ahead of tomorrow's special election. big deal, it's either going to be 53-47 or 52-48. this election is important for the u.s. senate confirmations. back to the president. >> president trump: climbing those walls would be a very painful experience right now. republicans are committed to halting this incursion and defending the sovereign borders of the united states. we are sending a simple message to the lawless caravans and to the illegal trespassers marching towards our border. it's very simple, turn back now, go back home, we will not let you in. we are not going to let you win. turn back now. illegal immigration is also deeply unfair to american workers, including african-american workers, people don't realize wha

mississippi. republican senator cindy hyde-smith has the lead over the democrat there, who is mike espy. there are still a lot of votes to be counted. you might be wondering why all eyes are on this mississippi race tonight a full three weeks after election day. well, the answer, three words. the blue wave. the blue wave that swept democrats into power in the house. as it stands right now, democrats have picked up 39 seats in the house of representatives. that is the biggest gain in the house seats by democrats since watergate. but even that fact doesn't really capture what happened in these midterms. the cook political report has been keeping a tally of the votes cast for either party in house races across the country. and according to their latest count, democratic house candidates got over 9 million more votes than republican candidates. that is the largest margin in the history of midterm elections. democrats lead republicans by 8.1 percentage points. that's a bigger lead than republicans had

mississippi. the vote is coming in right now. this is the final senate race of the 2018 midterms, and it will be decided likely on our watch. the big question, can republicans keep a crucial seat in what is certainly a ruby red state? or is there going to be another historic update tonight? and we'll going from that story and you'll see on the bottom of the your screen what the vote is. however, we're going deep on this other story. new information and reporting from cnn that shows new pieces in the robert mueller puzzle. what we now know about one of trump ally roger stone's -- i don't even know how to put it right. i'm going to lay it out for you how this jerome corsi fits in with roger stone could wind of you shedding light on wikileaks. it's complicated, but we can do it. so let's get after it. >>> here's what we know for sure on the election front. democrats picked up yet another seat house today. that's a significant swing of power. it went along with a huge popular vote pounding for the pre

mississippi is at the top. only district of columbia, so as far as states it is the most african-americans and only the district of columbia and virgin islands have more by percentage but a combination of voter suppression and white racial anxiety is effective for republicans. >> mississippi didn't ratify the 13th amendment until 2013. so that tells about what is going on there. but it is also -- cindy hyde-smith will need massive african-american turnout as well as north jackson, upper class whites to vote for mike espy in order to lose. it is a demographic problem. yes there are other combinations factoring in here, but i think that mississippi is behind where other states are on race relations and we need to move forward and quickly. >> john pierre, let me bring you in. here is cindy hyde smith speaking about the definitive turning point for her in this case and it is trump and here she is promoting his visit. this is cut six. >> i also recognize that this comment was twisted and it was turned into a weapon

the fact that it is so close and it is mississippi and we know that mississippi, this was the epi-center of lynching. this is the epi-center of domestic terrorism for generations. the fact that mike espy is close should say something about the political moment and what investment in the south could mean going forward. but i don't think that this is -- this is like an apples to steak comparison. >> i'm puzzled by the way this is being covered, as if these are all terrible gaffes for her constituency. not just the fact she went to a segregation, but worse that she sent her own child to one of those segregation. i'm not sure it is. >> it is about white supremacy. so appropriate. alabama got me so upset. tennessee made me lose my mind and everybody knows about mississippi. the song is called mississippi god-damn. in florida they were subtle with the monkey sounds against gillum. and in georgia they didn't let black people vote. so that's old school. but even older school is what's going on in mississippi, where the image is black men swinging from the trees and the candidate can't even bring

this is important in mississippi. the outcome there will determine we will take you like tonight, president trump's rally is coming up in a few short minutes. first it's time for our breaking news opening monologue. ♪ as you are watching our monologue, think about these three simple questions. do we, as a constitutional republic, do we have the right to sovereignty? do you believe in borders? do you believe we have a right to protect those borders, protect our sovereignty? for weeks we've beenht warning about the looming crisis on the southern border, now at least 5,000 migrants have already arrived in the mexican border city of tijuana with thousandsey more still on the way. they are all demanding entry into the u.s., most under an asylum designation. but over the weekend we saw several hundreds of these t so-called asylum-seekers, look at what they're doing, they are rushing the u.s. border. they are hurling rocks, bottles, other objects over the fencing. three border patrol officers were struck. we have broken wi

in mississippi. remember there is a special election here. cochran left the senate. cindy hyde-smith, republican got elected. the top two you see it's hyde-smith versus espy. the establishment republicans said, look, we will be fine in this race in this runoff as long as we nominate cindy hyde-smith and not chris mac daniel. she makes it oo the runoff and then she's started stepping in and made several inflammatory comments there, questions whether she's handled them in the aftermath. the bottom line, we don't have much polling here, but we have democrats getting a little hopeful about this, republicans getting a little bit nervous about it, and next tuesday of course that will be the runoff. a couple of things to keep in mind here why republicans still hope i should say to win this thing. it's mississippi. it is the last time a democrat won a senate election in mississippi you have to go back to 1982. mississippi is one of the most polarized states when the comes to racial voting in the country. to

is mississippi a race? >> no. she will win. >> bill: a lot of attention going down there. >> whether she wins by 51, 55, 60, she is called u.s. senator. she will win tonight. look at the elections results. you take the two democrats together got 45% of the vote. that's what espy will get tonight. 44 or 45 percent of the vote. she wins 55/45. >> sandra: how has it gotten to this point? >> the runoff election in mississippi and how these occur. but tonight she is going to win. >> you sound very confident there, david. look, i do think the republicans have a slight advantage in this race but it has become very competitive for a lot of reasons including some of the things that hyde-smith, the republican candidate, has said publicly about attending a public hanging. it has become very divisive. if mike espy can turn out the african-american vote he may pull out a strong win here. i don't know. winning a race in mississippi statewide would be huge. it hasn't happened since the 1970s. they have a democrat attorney genera

mississippi. the vote is coming in right now. this is the final senate race of the 2018 midterms, and it will be decided likely on our watch. the big question, can republicans keep a crucial seat in what is certainly a ruby red state? or is there going to be another historic update tonight? and we'll going from that story and you'll see on the bottom of the your screen what the vote is as it comes in. however, we're going deep on this other story. new information and reporting from cnn that shows new pieces in the robert mueller puzzle. what we now know about one of trump ally roger stone's -- i don't even know how to put it right. i'm going to lay it out for you how this jerome corsi fits in with roger stone, could wind up shedding light on wikileaks. it's complicated, but we can do it. so, what do you say? let's get after it. >>> here's what we know for sure on the election front. democrats picked up yet another seat in the house today. that makes 39. that's a significant swing of power. it went

you will be seeing her at an event in northern mississippi with donald trump as well as in southern mississippi, which is expected the help the republican candidate and surge republican turn jouout, which is what she needs. there was concern from the republican campaign b about republicans here in the state staying home or voting for mike espy. particularly there's a group of voters, about 140,000 voters on november 6th, voted for a different candidate. chris mccan yell. the question what were they going to do in tomorrow's run up? there's hope that donald trump coming here saying we need you u to turn out for smith, the conservative, the progun, the pro-life candidate in this race is ultimately going to lead her to victory form. when you're talking to espy, they're looking here in the jackson area, he's going to be over at a faith event here this oemevening and essentially, the big focus is turning out the african-american voters that make up about a third of the electorate. they're hoping if they can get up to 40%, that would be a significant number for them in tomorrow's run off. >> thank yo

of mississippi, columnist daniel gardner. good to have you with us. let me ask you first how the race is shaping up in your judgment. what you think the decision is for the good folks in mississippi. >> i appreciate you have a meal. i think that cindy hide smith is probably going to win. it's very close between her and espy in the race but chris mcdaniel pulled a lot of votes away from cindy. he he was the third party candidate. >> lou: that impact leading to the runoff, the president is there. give us your judgment of how important his appearances there today. two appearances today with the election the next day. the crowds look enthusiastic. >> is paramount. he has a very loyal and loud following here in mississippi. everywhere he goes people love him or hate him. but i would say the majority of mississippians love him. his appearance here will help kober over cds verbal full pause. >> she is talking in the lingo of average people and that's difficult to do in this day and time when you are a politician. people will grab an

this is the challenge democrats have in mississippi. this is about where they can get to and then they start hitting a ceiling really quickly, really fast in mississippi. here's what it looks like, that 41% compared to hillary clinton in 2016, she got 40% in mississippi. how about barack obama, you just heard his voice, 2012 he got 44%, 2008 he got 43%. that 2012 number, that's about as good as it gets these days for a democrat in mississippi. why is that? there's one particular reason -- we also need to show you this too, how is the poll looking, 54/44. right in line with that number. why is that ceiling right there in the low-to-mid-40s for democrats? it's this, the electorate in mississippi is more racially polarized than probably any other in america. check this out. this is probably the last time they had an exit poll in mississippi. they didn't take one in 2016. the last time we got that kind of read on the electorate, look at this divide among white voters, mitt romney, remember running for president in 2012, 89-10 beat barack ob

the president was in mississippi yesterday making his pitch. what was the message he gave last night? guest: the message is the same thing we have heard from her campaign, which is she is the conservative on the ballot. she supports donald trump, and he wants to see her elected in a race that has tightened in ways >> with a short time span especially with the senate earlier this year upon retirement of that representativer and one of the quotes that i reported in my story published last night was a very special woman and in a short time she has made an impact and that is the message for the crowd to take away from when he rallied from her in october he did not even mention a race until the half hour mark he was talking about the supreme court nomination of brett kavanaugh but and starting with cindy hyde smith and then he moved on to immigration talking about that caravan and asylum-seekers and that's that they seem to be concerned about leslie in tupelo. >> host: how close is it? there isn't a lot of reliable poll data that they show the race

and it's in mississippi. this is a race where neither the republican incumbent cindy hyde-smith nor her numbered challenger mike espy got more than 60% of the vote. now they're facing off again in a runoff election on tuesday. because there is a state wide race in mississippi. the republican ought to win, she can win it in her sleep. maybe she might do better in her sleep. senator hyde-smith has been trying to explain her public joking remarks about public hangings, aka, lynchings. her comments, definitely joking about making it more difficult for liberal students from certain schools to vote. ha ha. comedy. companies like walmart have been asking the senator's campaign to return their donations. then we got this, smiling wearing a confederate soldiers cap. because why not? last night senator hyde-smith and mike espy appeared in the one and only debate of this election. the only one that for hyde-smith would agree to. in this debate she made clear right from the get-go what sheshlz this election is all about.

mississippi has a dark history of racism. i wish i could say that i'm surprised that this is still an issue in 2018. but as someone who grew up in the south, still has a strong connection there, family there, not surprised at all. not surprised by any of this. the question is what do mississippi voters think? do they care that their senator joked about a public hanging? do they care that she seems to glorify the confederacy? well, we're going to find out tomorrow. so right now i am joined by scott jennings, nina turner and max boot. he's the author of "the corrosion of conservatism: why i left right." i have to say, i'm not surprised. there were segregation academies when i went to school down south. still there. my school was segregated -- was desegregated not long before i went. then they started another school. when that one was desegregated, they started a private academy. and then once we -- after a football game i went to one of the schools that was segregated. my friends and i. they said -- soon as we pulled up, "don't

now mississippi voters are going to the polls in the last u.s. senate race to be decided this year republican cindy hyde smith is in a tight race against democrat like s.b. and what's usually a staunch conservative state vote became racially charged off to hide smith was recorded telling a supporter she would attend a public hanging thousands of black men were killed by white people in mississippi during lynchings before the civil rights era well john hendren is in jackson mississippi and joins me now and as you were saying john the final the final race for the senate this year is going to and tell us more about what we can expect from this contest that's right this will decide how many seats in the senate the republicans and the democrats have right now it stands at forty seven to fifty two a slight gain for the republicans and this is a closely watched race largely because it's the last race also because it's a rare chance when a democrat has a shot here in mississippi to become a u.s. senator that has not happened here since one thousand nine

it is located right on the mississippi river. that was the main mode of transportation for bringing slaves into the area. and of course there was cotton. memphis was known as king cotton. they needed slave labor in order to produce this cotton. about 12 blocks from jacob were adshome, these from the city directory where the slave markets relocated. wanted on -- negros the first of october at the negro depot. you had several slave markets right here in memphis during the time jacob burkle was hiding slaves on his property. so this was one of the main industries in memphis, slave trading. underground means secret. they had secret methods of communicating as well. , along with the safehouses and hiding places. there was a secret language. enslaved africans were forbidden to read and write. they had to construct a language the slave master cannot understand. our great-grandmothers would hang their quilts on the clothesline to air them. when the hang them on the clothesline during slavery, they had certain messages. they would hang th

it's going to be significant for mississippi. i think for the people of mississippi if i'm blessed to be elected tonight, i think it's going to represent a sea change and determination of where we're going, as we make a right turn, as we move toward the third decade into the 21st century. you see for mississippi we just seem to be mired. you know, we still seem to be last on all of the good lists. and at the top of all of the bad lists. >> president trump not taking anything for granted there. was trying not to, making two campaign stops in mississippi yesterday for cindy hyde-smith. joining me right now is someone who spent the last two decades covering mississippi. bobby harrison. bobby, thank you for coming in. big day in mississippi. voters are heading to the polls. if hyde-smith wins it because the president campaigned for her yesterday? >> well, that doesn't hurt. i mean, he made two stops. i was in tupelo, that was his first stop. there was probably 5,000 people. he went from northeast of mississippi, home of elvis presley

. >>> plus, mississippi voting. the state prepares to pick a senator as the incumbent stumbles over her state's ugly past and fastens herself to president trump who heads there right now to pull her across the finish line. >>> welcome to "the lead," i'm jake tapper. we begin with our politics lead and the president of the united states publicly dismissing the expert findings of his own administration. this afternoon the president said he did not believe the national climate assessment mandated by congress and quietly released by the trump administration on n a post-thanksgiving news dump. the report outlines the potentially devastating economic and environmental impact of climate change and states unequivocally that clancimate change is, quote, primarily the result of human activities, unquote. it was part of an investigation by national oceanic and atmospheric administration working with 300 scientists and experts with findings based on an assessment of the peer-reviewed scientific literature. moments ago president

it is located right here on the mississippi river. there was a main mode of transportation for bringing slaves into the area. and so -- and of course there was cotton. memphis was known as king cotton. so they needed slaves' labor in order to produce this cotton. about 12 blocks from jacob burkle's home, these were adds from the city directory where these slave markets were located. negroes wanted, we wish to buy 100 good negroes for the southern market by the first of october. there's a negro depot. so you had several slave markets right here in memphis during the time that jacob burkle was hiding slaves on his property. so this was one of the main industries in memphis or businesses in memphis. slave trading. now, underground of course simply means secret. so they had secret methods of communicating as well. along with the safe houses and hiding places. but there was a secret language enslaved africans were forbidden to read and write. so they had to construct a language that the slave master could not understand. our great grandmot

that doesn't sell well in mississippi with whites and blacks. i think he needs this to be about something else. i appreciate joel trying to make this about something else, but in mississippi most people are looking at this race thinking if i want somebody like pelosi, i need to vote for espy. if i want somebody like rump, i need to vote for hyde-smith. the national stuff wants to talk about the racial stuff because it's mississippi and easy to talk about, but i think both candidates would work well because they have worked well, and -- with whites and blacks. >> henry, the racial stuff, as you call it, has gotten people over decades killed in mississippi. it's gotten people's rights revoked in mississippi. it's more than just the racial point. i take your point and appreciate what you said about the confederate flag. i would hope you would push your party and cindy hyde-smith to be a leader in that way. and should she win tomorrow, i hope she's the person saying saying that confederate flag should come down. >> we have to leave it there. hen hen

part of mississippi, they did that tonight, just not enough parts like that in mississippi. residual strength for hyde-smith in the white rural areas. democrats have been struggling with voters in that part of the country. the senate picture now complete, as a result of mississippi, it means when all is said and done, democrats end up with 47, republicans end up with 53. remember, start of the campaign, it was 51-49, so, republicans do gain two on that front. quickly, we end on the house, because guess what? the house is not over yet. there remains one uncalled race here, see if i can pull it up on the screen. if you have medicare, listen up. the medicare enrollment deadline is only days away. choosing the right medicare plan is no laughing matter, pick the wrong one and you might end up with a doctor you're not so comfortable with. i'm not so comfortable. or even worse, be forced to pay thousands in medical expenses due to coverage limitations. that'll be how much? understanding all the options, let's face it, it can be downright confusing. and that's why i love healthmarke

part of mississippi, they did that tonight, just not enough parts like that in mississippi. residual strength for hyde-smith in the white rural areas. democrats have been struggling with voters in that part of the country. the senate picture now complete, as a result of mississippi, it means when all is said and done, democrats end up with 47, republicans end up with 53. remember, start of the campaign, it was 51-49, so, republicans do gain two on that front. quickly, we end on the house, because guess what? the house is not over yet. there remains one uncalled race here, see if i can pull it up on the screen. >> lower right hand screen -- >> there you go, and i can get it right there. that's the wrong district. the 21st district of california. from fresno to bakersfield. t.j. cox the democrat leading. we think there's between 1,000 and 5,000 votes left to be counted here. we're not sure when they'll drop, but if cox, the democrat, hangs on, that is a net gain for democrats of 40 seats even in the house if that holds. >> unbelievable that we're still at it. steve kornacki, t

>> the only thing i would say about mississippi is mississippi is still mississippi and when we kind of look at the stats, look, this is just not the type of state that which would expect democrats could do well in given the midterms. democrats did well among voters with a college degree, mississippi ranks 49th in that among adults. >> i'm old enough to remember on election night -- >> three weeks ago. >> why he. >> when people like the ap and cnn and others called california 21 for the republican. >> well, this he probably should not have done that. california a lot of vote by mail in that state, the votes came in very late and, look, last night tj cox the democratic candidate has taken the race. that race has been uncalled by our network and this could lead to a 40 seat net gain for democrats which was unimaginable on election night. my forecast on election night did have that result within the margin of error so i actually did okay. >> the heck with california. you did fine. >> there's something about harry. >> there is. 400 votes kprat them. i mean, every vote counts, we learned

so not enough for them in mississippi. we say, though, the senate picture now complete as a result of mississippi. it means when all is said and done democrats end up with 47. republicans end up with 53. remember start of the campaign it was 51-49. so republicans do gain two on that front. quickly we end on the house. because guess what? the house is not over yet. there remains one uncalled race here. see if i can pull it up on the screen. >> lower right hand -- >> there you go. that's the wrong district, brian. i'm sorry. the 21st district of california. let me get it right. from fresno to bakersfield. t.j. cox the democrat leading. we think there's between 1,000 and 5,000 votes left to be counted here. we're not sure when they'll drop but if cox the democrat hangs on that is a net gain for democrats of 40 seats even in the house if that holds. >> unbelievable that we're still at it. steve kornacki, thank you for all of it. and a last word for us when we come right back. >>> last thing before we go here tonight, a quick c

they say why not in mississippi? there were allegations of pedophilia there. >> you had an even weaker republican candidate. let's go back in time and turn these demographics off and look at the state of alabama. with an even weaker republican candidate, doug jones just cracked 50%. why can't the democrats do it again? that's not to say they can't do it in mississippi. alabama is a bit more urban. that's where democrats live in higher concentrations. it is a bit more suburban. you can find mississippi less urban, less suburban, more rural. doug jones won 30% of the white vote. can mike espy do it tonight? >> i want to go to our senior political analyst. mark, obviously john laying all of this out. president trump obviously beat hillary clinton by more than 17 percentage points in the state of mississippi. it should have been a sure bet for republicans. what does it say to you that we are even talking about it tonight? >> we are really seeing the republican party really lost in the wilderness right now. they don't kno

he only got 10% in mississippi. so he has a big hill to climb, and i think it's true that for some voters cindy hyde-smith doubling down on where she stands on race is going to help her. one possible path for mike espy is younger voters. three-fifths of the voters under 45 voted for doug jones. if there were a huge turnout of young people, african-american and white, mike espy might have a chance. but i worry that the same old -- it is not even a dog whistle anymore. the bullhorn may work again in mississippi. >> michelle, in that doug jones race against judge moore, you know, moore still got 66% of the votes of white women. this is despite the fact he was accused of allegedly being a predator who preyed on young girls. go on. >> and the claims were, you know, absolutely credible at that. and in mississippi, cindy hyde-smith has not been accused of sexual impropriety, which i would imagine would mississippi voters would find that more alarming as being an outright racist. one of the problems that mike espy faces is