That is all in for this evening. The Rachel Maddow show starts now. It was great to have you in texas last night. It was a very interesting night in that states politics with huge implications for what happens next in the nations politics. Seeing that senate race, and were all laser focused on that, to see beto orourke not get there, but that just tells you how many doors that opened in that hugely important state. Thanks for joining us this hour. Happy, happy, to have you with us. A lot going on, right . One of those times i feel very, very blessed to have this job. In march of this year, a guy who was going to run for senate in nevada announced that he was not going to run after all. He said, quite proudly, that the only reason he was backing out is because he personally received a call from the president of the United States, and the president s team imploring him for the good of the Republican Party to please not run for senate this year, as he was otherwise intending. The white house later confirmed that, in fact, the president had done that. The president called this guy in nevada, Danny Tarkanian, who has lost every time in nevada. The president called him and told him not to run for senate this year, so as to clear the way for republican u. S. Senator dean heller to run for reelection in nevada without the hassle of having a republican primary challenge. So the president intervened to keep that primary challenger out, to clear the way for dean heller. So dean heller could be reelected. Trump endorsed senator dean heller last night lost his reelection race. He lost his seat in the u. S. Senate. He was beaten by a democrat named jacky rosen, who was a democratic member of congress who had to give up her seat to run against dean heller. That was a good bargain for her. Shell be coming back to washington as a u. S. Senator instead as a member of congress. Because she had to leave her seat in congress in order to run for the senate, that left her congressional seat open. And this is where the trump genius came in. Having advised Danny Tarkanian that he wasnt allowed to run in the Senate Primary against dean heller to ensure that heller would hold on to his seat, and trump then promoted the hack out of dan yeah tarkanian to be the republican nominee for that house seat, for the one that was vacated by congresswoman jacky rosen. Last night, that trump candidate, he lost that race, too. He lost that house seat to a democrat named suzy lee. But the president believes he has real political genius when he comes to these things and hes not shy about doing this anywhere in the country. Just a few weeks after that brilliant Danny Tarkanian president ial election that cost the republicans a seat in the senate and in the house, the president waded into another race in South Carolina where he decided that in a congressional primary in South Carolina, he would direct his followers to no longer support republican congressman mark sanford, who the president decided was unsufficiently protrump. So the president just came in the deep end with this endorsement, mark sanford has been very unhelpful to me in my campaign to maga. He is m. I. A. And nothing but trouble. I endorse Katie Arrington for congress in South Carolina. Katie arrington, on the strength of that highimpact endorsement from the president , beat mark sanford in that primary. The president has been gleefully rubbing that in against mark sanford ever since, and pounding his chest about how he cost mark sanford his seat in congress. I am potus, here my roar. Last night was the general election in South Carolina, just like it was everywhere. And last night, president ially endorsed Katie Arrington lost that seat to a democrat named joe cunningham. Did i mention that was South Carolina . Just won by a democrat. A few weeks after President Trump applied his uncare legaled president ial political genius to the Katie Arrington, mark sanford race, which cost the republicans a seat in the house, the president also confidently waded into the kansas governors race. When republicans were decide thing year who was going to be their candidate for governor, they had a choice between a normal conservative republican or a much, much, much trumpier choice named kris kobach. Immensely controversial, very high profile, kansas secretary of state. Sort of a special white house adviser on nonexistent voter fraud. In that kansas primary to decide who the Republican Partys candidate would be for governor in kansas, the president decided he would exert his political genius and weigh in. He announced his total endorsement in that primary for kris kobach. Coback won that primary. Presumably in part on the strength of the president s endorsement. Kris kobach went on to the general election last night as the republican candidate for governor in kansas, and he is the republican candidate for governor who lost the kansas governorship to a democrat named laura kelly. And it wasnt even that close. And kris kobachs dead weight at the top of the ticket in kansas may have been enough to cost kansas republican congressman kevin yoder his seat, as well. Criskris kobach lost to a cat, congressman kevin yoder lost to a democrat, as well. To a guy native american female mma fighter named shareece davis, who is a democrat. Because the president s political genius knows no bounds. Republican congressman dave brat of virginia, remember when he complained about all the women getting up in his grill . How much he hated his female constituents to hold a town natural last night, dave brat got all of the women out of his grill. That wont be a problem anymore. Last night, he lost his seat in congress to a democratic woman, who is a cia veteran. Do you remember all the indivisible protests against the congressman in new jersey . Last night, that seat also flipped to a democratic woman veteran. Do you remember the individual protests against congressman darrell issa . California . Last night his seat went to a democrat named mike leaven. Republican congressman scott taylor in virginia, you might remember he got in serious trouble this year during the campaign when he and his office tried on a little scheme to fake petition signatures to get a fake Third Party Candidate onto the ballot to hopefully divert votes from the democrat running against him. Last night, congressman scott taylor in virginia lost his seat in congress when that democratic challenger beat him any way. In minnesota, a republican congressman named jason lewis, hes had the whole idea of minnesota nice, sort of straining at the seams a little bit. Congressman jason lewis publicly complained at length and on tape that hes not allowed to call women sluts anymore. Last might, he lost his seat in congress to a woman, who actually seems very nice, no matter what he might call her. Her name is angie craig, the democrat who has ousted jason lewis from congress. In new york state, john faso ran ads against his opponent, who was a freaking lawyer and a rhodes scholar, trying to make his constituents believe he was a crazy gang member only running so that he could beat people up. January faso lost his seat in congress to that democratic candidate, antonio delgado. Mike bishop lost his seat to a democratic candidate named alyssa slotkin, another cia veteran. Do you remember that ad that highlighted the National Security back grounds of eight firsttime female democrats who were run thing year . She was one of the women. Five of the eight women in that ad won their seats last night and ousted republican incumbents. In california, republican congressman steve knight just lost his seat to democrat katie hill. She will be caking his seat in the house. In illinois, republican congressman randy holgren lost his seat to a nurse, Lauren Underwood. Neither of them were on anybodys radar. Lauren underwood came out of nowhere and won that seat through sheer hard work and raw talent. Shes going to be a national star. Shes going to be our guest a little later on this hour. Youre going to want to see that. Last night, democrats flipped control of the Colorado Senate and the maine senate and the minnesota house and the New Hampshire house and the New Hampshire senate and the new york state senate. In nevada, democrats got everything, the governorship, they took away dean hellers u. S. Senate seat and within one vote of a democratic supermajority. In wisconsin, u. S. Senator tammy wa baldwin not only one reelection over a trump endorsed opponent, she crushed it, double digits. Democrats won the attorney generals race, as well. Democrats did lose u. S. Senate seats, and the Florida Senate seat looks like its going to a recount. Although we did learn that democrat jon tester looks to have held on to his seat. In georgia, the governors race there will be an ongoing, allout battle. Where honestly we have now entered into the sort of civic nightmare scenario where it comes down to a fragile little thin margins of disparate ballots from all over the state, and all of it will be overseen by one of the two candidates, who is also in charge of doing all that counting. Tonight, remarkably, republican secretary of state brian kemp tried to have his office, his secretary of state office announce that he had won the election. But with no details to back it up. Democratic candidate Stacey Abrams has announced her campaign has started an allout ballot chasing program to make sure that kemp is not allowed to determine his own fate, a and that every single vote is counted in a way thats fair and transparent, and provable. That georgia governors thing is going to be a big National Deal for a long while yet. National eyes will be on that for good reason until that is settled. There are ongoing races that are as yet uncalled. It may be deep into this weekend before we know who won the Arizona Senate race for example. There are absurdities in last nights results, like two republican members of congress who have each been charged with multiple felonies, theyre both literally on trial for multiple felony corruption counts. They both got reelected. Congressman Chris Collins in new york, and congressman Duncan Hunter in california, they will be able to simultaneously be able to solicit new Campaign Contributions from their sucker constituents. I mean, you can buy them phone cards or help them run for reelection, right . Send them fritos. Are they going to still get to do constituent Service Hours at visiting time . Need an issue . Just go and sit across the glass, pick up the phone. Can you still be on a committee if youre in prison . So there was some absurdities. Last night was a wild night. Veteran texas republican congressman Pete Sessions, 11term Pete Sessions and John Culberson lost their seats to democrats in texas. A republican congressman from oklahoma city, a race that barely anybody bothered to poll, lost his seat to a democratic woman named kendra horn. The democrats broke supermajorities in the North Carolina house and senate, and in the Michigan Senate and the pennsylvania senate. The number of states where democrats have complete control in State Government went from eight before last night to 14 as of today. That means control of the governorship and both houses of the legislature. But the story of the night, and the determinative political change that we just went through last night as a country is what happened thanks to the democrats just romping in the house. Nancy pelosi will be speaker of the house once again. Adam schiff will be the intelligence committee. Elijah cummings will run house oversight. Oversight did somebody say . In 2006 when nancy pelosi became speaker the first time, that was an election in which democrats felt their asendance was a few years overdue. The first Midterm Election in the george w. Bush era, it was just after 9 11, the president had started one war and about to start a second, so 2002 was one of those rare Midterm Election where is the president s party didnt lose ground. It was just a singular different thing. But by the next Midterm Election, 2006, democrats more than made up for it. They won seats by the dozen. They won control of the congress and nancy pelosi became speaker. Right after that 2006 midterm, when democrats picked up so many seats and did so well and took back control on capitol hill, right after that, the Bush Administration responded to that election result immediately. This has sort of been lost. I heard Andrea Mitchell mention this today. I was like oh, yeah, this was this day 12 years ago. The day after the 2006 midterms, after we learned for the first time that nancy pelosi would be speaker of the house, the day after the midterms in 06, thats when president bush fired donald rumsfeld. Remember that . Secretary of defense. That was seen essentially as a concession, an effort to stop the political bleeding. Voters in that 2006 race voted for democrats up and down the ballot. Voters were clearly furious about the course of the iraq war. Donald rumsfeld was not only running that war, he was essentially its public defender in chief. So after that, the Bush White House responded to that scream from the voters by pushing him out the very next day. Now, today, weve got something thats not exactly a parallel. Today, its 12 years later. Voters last night screamed once more. Democrats took control of congress once again. Nancy pelosi will once again be speaker. And now today, the day after the election, another cabinet official has been fired immediately after the elections, right . But this is basically the opposite of what happened in 2006. This time with this firing, instead of making a concession as to what the voters clearly wanted, what the voters said they were concerned about when they went to the polls and voted against the president and the president s party, this time the firing of a cabinet official appears to have been done not out of an effort to try to answer the voters concern, this time it quite clearly has been done out of fear, the president s fear. The president firing attorney general Jeff Sessions today appears to be a defensive move, to try to stop the special counsels investigation before democrats actually get sworn in for the new congress. Whereupon they would have power through their control on capitol hill to protect that investigation. So i think the timing of this announcement today by the white house was designed clearly to step on the tail of the Election Results from last year, to replace that story with a new white house controversy. But theres no reason to see these two things as two stiff stories. Theres no reason to split screen this. This is all one thing. Democrats Controlling Congress means they can provide protection to the special counsels office, to the fbi, to the career prosecutors and investigators who are pursuing this unprecedented investigation into the president and his campaign, which has already resulted in over 100 felony charges and created this odd spectacle where all these people of the president s campaign and his business are right now awaiting sentencing on federal felony charges. Even as we headed into that first Midterm Election last night. I mean, under normal circumstances, the president firing an attorney general, the way you would know that was a normal firing, is because the attorney general would be fired, and that would almost automatically elevate the number two person at the Justice Department, the Deputy Attorney general into the top job. On an acting basis. Remember sally yates from the whole mike flynn controversy during the first few days of the Trump Administration . The reason she was acting attorney for that whole controversy is she had been Deputy Attorney general under Loretta Lynch. When Loretta Lynch left her post, that elevated sally yates from Deputy Attorney general to be acting attorney general. So thats why she was acting attorney general, she had to do all that crazy stuff once people who appeared to be agents of a form p foreign power started moving into the white house. Under normal circumstances, firing Jeff Sessions for any reason would elevate this hapma Deputy Attorney general Rod Rosenstein to be acting attorney general. The president didnt just fire attorney general jeff session and have Rod Rosenstein step into the to be job to fill the gig until somebody else could be nominated to take the job full time. Instead, he fired the attorney general Jeff Sessions and instantly installed a new guy, who has been described as trumps eyes and ears in the