November 5, 2024 - PBS News Hour full episode

AMNA NAWAZ: Good evening on what's shaping up to be an historic Election Day.

I'm Amna Nawaz.

GEOFF BENNETT: And I'm Geoff Bennett.

On the "News Hour" tonight: the final day of the campaign.

Americans cast their ballots and votes are counted in what is expected to be one of the closest elections in living memory.

AMNA NAWAZ: We report from across critical swing states and break down the latest news for a contest that could drastically alter the future of the United States.

It's election night here on the "PBS News Hour."

(BREAK) GEOFF BENNETT: Welcome to the "News Hour."

After a long and contentious election season, today is the last chance for voters to weigh in on races across the country.

AMNA NAWAZ: That's right.

As the polls close tonight, the counting begins and the results will roll in.

Lisa Desjardins has this report.

LISA DESJARDINS: For a third time, former President Trump selected his name on a presidential ballot.

He told reporters in Florida today he felt good.

DONALD TRUMP, Former President of the United States (R) and Current U.S. Presidential Candidate: I ran a great campaign.

I think it was maybe the best of the three.

We did great in the first one.

We did much better in the second one, but something happened.

And this was the best.

I would say this was the best campaign.

LISA DESJARDINS: He was asked if he would accept the results and had a caveat.

DONALD TRUMP: If I lose an election, if it's a fair election, I'd be the first one to acknowledge it.

And I think it's -- well, so far, I think it's been fair.

I think there's been a lot of court cases.

Both sides are lawyered up.

LISA DESJARDINS: Trump's running mate, Senator J.D.

Vance, stressed unity today after casting his ballot in Ohio.

SEN. J.D.

VANCE (R-OH), Vice Presidential Candidate: Fundamentally, what we're trying to do, President Trump and I, is just build the kind of country where our fellow Americans can achieve their dreams.

But that's all of our fellow Americans, regardless of who they vote for.

LISA DESJARDINS: Vice President Kamala Harris is doing radio interviews today before heading to her alma mater, Howard University in Washington, D.C., to watch the results trickle in.

KAMALA HARRIS, Vice President of the United States (D) and U.S. Presidential Candidate: The first office I ever ran for was freshman class representative at Howard University.

And to go back tonight to Howard University, my beloved alma mater, and be able to hopefully recognize this day for what it is really -- it's full circle for me.

LISA DESJARDINS: And her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, brought his family to speak with voters in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, at a diner.

GOV.

TIM WALZ (D-MN), Vice Presidential Candidate: We want to say thank you to Pennsylvania, but thank you to folks across this country who wrapped their arms around our family and I hope saw yourselves in us, middle-class folks who are just trying to do the right thing by their community.

LISA DESJARDINS: Walz encouraged voters to be patient.

GOV.

TIM WALZ: Keep in mind, we have the fairest, the freest, the safest elections.

WOMAN: Yes, we do.

Yes.

GOV.

TIM WALZ: And we have a free press that monitors the election and makes sure things are done right.

So, just stay calm, stay with it, wait until to end.

LISA DESJARDINS: More than 80 million Americans made their choice through early or absentee voting, but tens of millions more will head to the polls today.

Outside of Pittsburgh, one family brought along a first-time voter.

MAKAYLA MEHLER, First-Time Voter: When Trump was in office, I was a teenager, and I still paid attention because I remember the election back in 2016.

He did everything right for our country as far as I saw.

LISA DESJARDINS: Allegheny County is a key Democratic county.

Biden won it by 20 points.

Many voters there today said they were staying on board with Harris.

DONNA STUBENRAUGH, Voter: For my granddaughter's rights, for freedom of everybody, love.

LISA DESJARDINS: Voters lined up to cast their ballots in Arizona's Maricopa County, a very narrow win for Biden in the last election.

TASHINA BROWN, Voter: Kamala Harris, yes.

I strongly believe that she has everybody in mind when it comes to her choices.

LISA DESJARDINS: But Trump carried Arizona in 2016 and Maricopa has historically been a Republican stronghold.

TERRY WOODS, Voter: Trump was a good president.

He will be a good president again.

LISA DESJARDINS: Tensions are high on this Election Day, with officials warning about known efforts from foreign actors trying to cause harm.

The FBI confirmed multiple bomb threats to polling stations that seemed to come from Russian e-mail domains, but said they were not credible threats.

Georgia's secretary of state pointed to threats at five precincts in the state.

BRAD RAFFENSPERGER (R), Georgia Secretary of State: They're up to mischief, it seems, and they don't want us to have a smooth, fair, and accurate election.

And they think they can get us to fight amongst ourselves.

They can count that as a victory.

So that tells you a little bit about the Russians.

They're not our friends.

LISA DESJARDINS: The nation's capital is on high alert with new security around the White House and downtown businesses boarding up their windows in preparedness for any reaction to results.

Last night, Trump delivered the closing message of his campaign at a late-night rally in Michigan.

DONALD TRUMP: With your vote tomorrow, we can fix every single problem our country faces and lead America, indeed, the world, to new heights of glory.

(CHEERING) LISA DESJARDINS: Just a few hours earlier, he was in Pennsylvania, joined by former critic podcast host Megyn Kelly, who says she's forgiven Trump for his past sexism toward her.

MEGYN KELLY, SiriusXM: He got mocked by the left for saying he would be a protector of women.

He will be a protector of women, and it's why I'm voting for him.

LISA DESJARDINS: Yesterday, in Atlanta, Vance had a more pointed attack message than his call for unity this morning.

SEN. J.D.

VANCE: We are going to take out the trash in Washington, D.C., and the trash's name is Kamala Harris.

(CHEERING) LISA DESJARDINS: Harris responded to the insult in one of her radio appearances today.

KAMALA HARRIS: I'm not going to get distracted by that noise.

And it is.

It's really demeaning for them, as much as anything.

Like, you let that come out of your mouth?

LISA DESJARDINS: In Philadelphia last night, Harris closed her campaign with a promise to be president for all.

KAMALA HARRIS: I don't believe that people who disagree with me are the enemy.

I will give them a seat at the table.

That's what real leaders do.

That's what strong leaders do.

(CHEERING) KAMALA HARRIS: And I pledge to always put country above party and self and to be a president for all Americans.

(CHEERING) LISA DESJARDINS: As campaigning ends, the waiting for results begins.

For the "PBS News Hour," I'm Lisa Desjardins.

AMNA NAWAZ: And joining us now is our team of correspondents covering the election from across the country.

We're going to be checking in with them throughout the night.

GEOFF BENNETT: And let's start with our Laura Barron-Lopez, who's been covering the Harris campaign and is across the river in Washington, D.C., at Howard University, which is hosting the Harris campaign's election watch party.

Laura, I know you have been talking with campaign sources all day.

How are they feeling about Vice President Kamala Harris' chances this evening?

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Geoff, they're feeling really good this evening.

The vice president spent her final day talking to radio stations in swing states across the country, making her final appeal to voters to turn out for her.

She also stopped by the Democratic National Committee headquarters in D.C. to thank volunteers who were continuing to phone-bank in this final day to get people out and vote.

Just to give you a sense of their confidence in their ground game, Geoff, the campaign said that, as of 11:00 a.m. this morning, that their Pennsylvania team had knocked on some 100,000 doors in Pennsylvania just today.

That's in addition to the 800,000 that they had knocked on over the weekend.

GEOFF BENNETT: Laura Barron-Lopez.

Laura, thank you.

AMNA NAWAZ: Meanwhile, our William Brangham is covering the Trump campaign tonight.

He joins us from West Palm Beach, Florida, at the former president's election watch party.

So, William, you're there in West Palm Beach.

That's where former President Trump cast his ballot earlier today.

Just give us a sense of the mood.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Hi, Amna.

It is a -- as you might expect, there's some anxiousness, there's some nervousness, but there's a lot of joyous Trump supporters here, volunteers, supporters, longtime fans of the former president, who are here to hopefully see him come to victory today.

We understand that the former president is at Mar-a-Lago, which is just a few miles away.

He will be watching the election results from there.

And then at some point, he will decide whether to come and speak to this crowd here tonight.

Everyone we have spoken to very much hopes and looks forward to seeing him later tonight.

AMNA NAWAZ: So, William, is there any concern from anyone you have talked to that, when we see Trump tonight, he may come out early, as he did in 2020, and declare victory, even when the election hasn't been called?

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Yes, that is absolutely a concern, I mean, not amongst Trump supporters.

But I talked to a lot of voters today, Democratic voters, who were very concerned that we would see a repeat of 2020, where he, as you said, declared victory prematurely and then, as we all know, spent the next four years saying that that election had been stolen from him.

And he has continued that in his rallies in the last few days leading up to this.

I mean, as we heard in Lisa's report, when the former president cast a ballot today, he was asked this question, and he said, well, if it's a free and fair election, I will acknowledge if I lose.

But just in the last few minutes, the former president has been on Twitter saying that there is widespread voting fraud and criminality happening in Philadelphia, of which there is no evidence.

So, which former president shows up tonight is still to be determined -- Amna.

AMNA NAWAZ: All right, that's our William Brangham in West Palm Beach, Florida, tonight.

Thanks, William.

GEOFF BENNETT: And let's turn to "PBS News Weekend" anchor and national correspondent John Yang, who is in what might be the key battleground state, Pennsylvania.

He's inside a vote-counting center in Allegheny County.

That's home of Pittsburgh and a county where both presidential candidates held rallies yesterday.

So, John, we know it's going to take a bit longer to count the ballots in Pennsylvania.

Help us understand why and walk us through the ballot-counting process where you are.

JOHN YANG: Well, Geoff, an election official is telling me it is a time-consuming and labor-intensive process to count mail-in ballots.

You have got to open the envelopes, check first for signatures, scan them against the voter rolls, check -- open the outer envelope, extract the inner envelope, open that, extract the ballot, flatten it, and then feed it into the machines to be counted.

They would love to be able to do that before 7:00 a.m. on Election Day, but, in Pennsylvania, that's the law.

They can't touch the ballots until 7:00 a.m. on Election Day.

So, for instance, here in Allegheny County, they have about 215,000 mail-in ballots.

It took them until 3:00 this afternoon, starting at 7:00 a.m., until 3:00 this afternoon to get all the ballots out of the two envelopes and smooth them and prepare them to be put into the counting machine.

Now, the -- in 2020, it was the first time they had handled a lot of mail-in ballots.

So they say that was the reason for all the delays.

They say they have got some more elections under their belt.

They have got some new equipment, that it's faster.

And one former election official here in Pennsylvania who now works for a good government organization told me that he thought there was a chance that all mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania could be counted by midnight tonight.

GEOFF BENNETT: OK, John Yang, thank you.

AMNA NAWAZ: All right, let's head now to Georgia, which is one of the states where polls will close at 7:00 p.m.

But, of course, we might not know which candidate wins that state for a while.

Miles O'Brien is at a vote-counting center in Gwinnett County.

That's a key Atlanta suburb.

He's been covering the election security efforts in that state for us as well.

So, Miles, unlike Pennsylvania, in Georgia, we could see results relatively quickly or earlier in the night.

Just tell us about that.

MILES O'BRIEN: Yes, Amna, Georgia could be the first of the seven swing states to give a solid indication of which way this night might be headed.

The laws were changed after four years ago when in the midst of the COVID pandemic and all the disinformation, there was a long delay in Fulton County in particular.

And when votes were finally counted, it swung in the other direction and the seeds were planted for a lot of disinformation and conspiracy theories.

So the key here in Georgia now is that the early voting and the absentee ballots which had been submitted prior to today need to be reported out of the counties within one hour of the closing of the polls.

Behind me, they kind of look like trash cans.

They're by no means trash.

That's about 300,000 early voting ballots here in Gwinnett County.

Those have been tabulated or will be tabulated shortly.

Those results will be released very soon.

Same goes for the mail-in ballots.

So the only thing that might delay things is those bomb threats that we talked about at the top of the broadcast.

Those polls will stay open a little bit later because of the fact that they were closed down during the day for the bomb threats.

So -- but right around 8:00, we will start to get seeing basically what 55 percent of the electorate here in Georgia thinks about this election.

So that will be an interesting thing to see.

AMNA NAWAZ: All right, we will be checking back in with you in a few, Miles O'Brien in Georgia for us.

Thanks, Miles.

GEOFF BENNETT: And, lastly, in the battleground state of Arizona, "News Hour West" anchor and correspondent Stephanie Sy is at the Maricopa County Election Center in Phoenix.

So, Stephanie, as you well know, Maricopa County was really ground zero for election misinformation in this 2024 cycle.

How has the voting been going so far there?

STEPHANIE SY: Well, that's certainly top of mind for election officials here.

I will say there are no widespread problems reported in Maricopa County.

And, in fact, the wait times have been relatively short four minutes.

I was myself at a very busy polling station in Scottsdale, where the wait time was about 45 minutes.

And there was an interesting detail there.

The group Turning Point USA, which is a far right nonprofit organization, had hired one of those Scottsdale party buses and they were transporting voters there to polling places with shorter lines.

I also want to mention some breaking news out of Apache County.

That is on Navajo Nation.

"News Hour" has confirmed with the secretary of state's office that there were technical problems at voting locations there this morning.

We are told that most of the sites are now operational, but local news is reporting that there were several hours' wait times and that some of the folks actually left the polls.

And I'm pointing that out because Apache County is a Democratic stronghold with about 30,000 votes that went for President Biden in 2020.

That's a story we're going to continue to watch tonight.

GEOFF BENNETT: Absolutely.

Stephanie Sy, thank you for that update.

We appreciate it.

AMNA NAWAZ: Meanwhile, back here in the studio, we are now joined by a leader in modern politics who hardly needs an introduction.

That's Speaker Emerita and California Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi.

Madam Speaker, welcome back.

Great to have you with us.

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): Wonderful to be with you.

It's a tradition now.

I think this is my fifth time on election night.

GEOFF BENNETT: That's right.

AMNA NAWAZ: We love having you back every time.

Thanks for being a part of this.

I know we want to talk about the White House, but I got to start with the House, that you know so well.

REP. NANCY PELOSI: Of course.

AMNA NAWAZ: Last time you were here, you were confident Democrats will win back control of the House.

Specifically, you talked about the five New York seats you lost in 2022.

Are you still confident you will win back those five and control?

REP. NANCY PELOSI: Yes, well, may I just say that I was countering what was being proposed, which was that we were going to lose 30 or 40 seats.

And I said, no, I thought that we could win the House, which I did think.

We did lose those seats in New York.

I think we will win them back, probably all of them, maybe more, in this election, and Hakeem Jeffries will be the speaker of the House.

I have been traveling in all of -- I haven't been to Georgia lately, but I have been to all of the other target states, because we have races in those states for the House, as well as for president of the United States.

And I do believe that we will win the House, that Hakeem will be speaker.

It is necessary from the standpoint of our policies, but also in terms of our democracy that, on January 6, just as I had the gavel last time, it's important for him to have the gavel to make sure that the election is accepted by the Congress of the United States.

And that shouldn't even be a question.

GEOFF BENNETT: When we spoke during the Democratic National Convention, you said you expected five seats, but that you wanted 10.

REP. NANCY PELOSI: Oh, definitely.

GEOFF BENNETT: Are you still that bullish?

(LAUGHTER) REP. NANCY PELOSI: I want more than that.

I want at least 10.

Five takes us to even.

Well, it's four now.

Now it's down to four.

Four takes us to even.

And I would like to go well into the 122, something like that, which would be about six more, so about 10.

GEOFF BENNETT: When you travel across the battleground states, what are you hearing and what are you seeing that you think bodes well for Democrats' chances tonight?

REP. NANCY PELOSI: OK, well, let me just say this first.

Everyone, go out and vote.

If you have not voted yet, it's very important for you to exercise your right to vote.

It's important, essential.

And this day, this Election Day for us is really sacred territory because of the sacrifice of our founders to declare a war, to win a war, to establish a democracy, because of the sacrifice of our men and women in uniform and what they have done to fight for our freedom and keep it safe, and really for our responsibility to our children.

So this is holy for me.

So, however you're going to vote, go out and vote.

What I have seen across the country is something that I -- is music or pleasant to my ears, because I like to own the ground.

I say there are two things.

You must mobilize.

You must own the ground.

Get out your vote.

And you must message in a way that is unifying for our country, which Kamala Harris is doing.

Mobilize a message in a way that is, again, as -- shall we say, you can't run on empty.

You have to have your message out there.

And what I have seen, to your question, across the country is a mobilization like we have never seen before in every state, not just the targeted states, but in every state, which leads me to believe that we will win the House.

I think that we can win the White House as well.

I'm so proud of Kamala Harris.

And the response that we have seen to her message of -- a message to go forward, just the economic message that she has is one that, again, attracts people to vote.

So I think she will win too.

But you asked me about the House.

Hakeem will be speaker.

AMNA NAWAZ: You did also mention January 6.

And we have talked a lot about the possibility of political violence, about what to expect.

Experts we talk to say it's really the time between Election Day and when the votes are certified or when the race is called, if that takes a few days, that they are most worried about.

You have seen former President Trump has come out targeting you specifically as well.

(CROSSTALK) AMNA NAWAZ: He had awful things to say about you at a rally even last night.

Are you specifically worried about your own safety?

And how do you look at the landscape of whether there could be some kind of violence if it takes time between Election Day and a call being made?

REP. NANCY PELOSI: Well, let me just say about elections, it's the time leading up to the election, Election Day and then the count after that.

And that's normal.

Now, to just remind that, in -- four years ago, when the former president was making all these challenges, the Democrats won over 60 percent of the court cases, just about all of them.

And so far, we have won 20 of the cases in the time leading up to the election and going forward.

Am I worried about my safety?

Yes, I am.

Two years ago, right this past week, my house, the sanctuary of our home was invaded.

The safety of my husband was violated.

He's still suffering from some of that, and by a person going there echoing the voice of January 6, "Where is Nancy, where is Nancy?"

to punish me for what I have said about Donald Trump.

So, yes, I think he knows that that's provocative when he says what he says.

The sad part of it is, is that when he says he's there to protect women, whether they like it or not, I consider that violence against women.

That's not what you say to women, and that's not what you say about what he said about Kamala Harris, what he said about me, what he said about the former first lady Michelle Obama.

So it is provocative.

And that's -- I don't know why people just think that's funny.

When he -- when my husband was attacked, he made a joke of it.

He made a joke of it.

His family made a joke of it.

The governor of Virginia, the current governor of Virginia made a joke of it.

Musk, whatever his -- he made a joke of it.

And it's not funny, and that has no place in a political process.

So am I afraid?

Yes.

But, apart from that, it's not about me.

It's about other people who want to engage in politics.

If you wanted to run for office, you would not want to think that you were jeopardizing the health and well-being of your family.

That's just not what our system is about.

But you know what?

We don't agonize.

We organize, and we're organizing in a very positive way about a new era for the future.

Kamala Harris has, I think, been a spectacular candidate.

I know she has been, and I look forward to her success.

Whether the -- however the election turns out because of the targeted states and all that, I know she will have won the campaign for a strong message, how we go forward for our country, that, right now, today, we're seeing college campuses turning out.

And in Pennsylvania, you see many Puerto Rican, in the three Puerto Rican wards, record numbers of people turning out.

And just to close on that, one of your reporters talked about Pennsylvania and saying that he said there was corruption in the election in Philadelphia.

The Republican commissioner of the elections... AMNA NAWAZ: That's right.

REP. NANCY PELOSI: ... in Pennsylvania said that is not true, there is no evidence of that.

I did hear him say that.

GEOFF BENNETT: You know, Madam Speaker, the country is deeply divided on a range of issues.

What do you think are the biggest challenges in trying to bridge that divide after this election?

Because no matter who wins, half the country is going to be upset.

REP. NANCY PELOSI: Well, I think that we -- that's really a very good question, because we have to be unifying.

That's the way it is.

And I don't think we're as divided as we are mischaracterized in terms of all of this.

So I do think that Kamala Harris, as she said, I will invite my opponents to the table, as Lincoln did, to his Cabinet.

And I'm sure she will do that as well.

But the -- we have to go back to our roots.

What is our purpose as a country?

We are a democracy.

We have always had a difference of opinion since the beginning of our country as to the role of the federal government and the role of the state government, this or that.

That's a legitimate debate to have.

But when it moves into threatening violence and the rest of that, that's not a place to be.

And I would hope that some more people would speak out against it.

I'm very proud of some of the Republicans who have, Liz Cheney and so many others.

But, again, let's listen to each other, let's come together, and we have a responsibility to reach across the aisle, to have transparency about what our differences are, and to have accountability for what we're there to do.

And it's not so much about people saying, oh, they can't get -- no, it's something that they -- obstruction that they have put forth, because they don't believe in governance.

They don't.

They don't believe in science.

They don't.

So if science -- government -- science says you should do this to save the planet for the children, and governments say, this is the protections that we need, two no's do not make a yes.

For our children, the babies that we see now, the little children, they will live to the next century.

We have to make sure they have a planet that is healthy and safe, that they have a democracy that is strong and strong and consistent with the vision of our founders, the sacrifice of our men and women in uniform, and, of course, again, the aspirations of our children, and that we have a society that is fair and is equal.

And it used to be that way.

Just had differences of opinion, not what's-his-name, the former president, has poisoned the atmosphere with.

But I think we just get on with it.

GEOFF BENNETT: All right, Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, thank you so much for joining us... REP. NANCY PELOSI: My pleasure.

GEOFF BENNETT: ... and furthering this tradition of having you join us... REP. NANCY PELOSI: Thank you.

(CROSSTALK) GEOFF BENNETT: ... tonight.

REP. NANCY PELOSI: Nice to see you.

We will see what the results are later.

AMNA NAWAZ: We will see.

REP. NANCY PELOSI: Upward and onward.

Just don't forget your vote.

GEOFF BENNETT: All night, we will be digging into data from some of the battlegrounds and key races of this election.

For a deep dive into all of that, we're joined now by our Lisa Desjardins over at the PBS News super screen.

All right, Lisa.

So let's start with the big state everyone is watching tonight, Pennsylvania.

What counties are you tracking?

LISA DESJARDINS: I'm sad we have to pick just a couple to highlight, but it is Election Day.

So it's all about choices.

And let's start here in Philadelphia, the most important county for Democrats.

Let me show you what happened here between 2016 and 2020.

Hillary Clinton, 83 percent, but that actually went down for Joe Biden, 81 percent.

That's great in any county.

But when it's your biggest county, this is a place where Kamala Harris needs to do more like Hillary Clinton than like Joe Biden.

Let's look at somewhere that the Trump campaign is paying attention to.

This is Berks County.

What's there?

This is where Donald Trump ended, had his last rally in Pennsylvania last night, a place known and loved by the Desjardins family.

And I want to show you what's going on here, why the margins in Berks County matter.

Donald Trump actually had about the same margin between 2016 and 2020.

But look at this.

Joe Biden gained percentage in this county.

Also paying close attention to Berks County because its population, 25 percent Hispanic, including many Puerto Ricans.

We want to see there's any effect from those remarks from the Trump rally earlier, a couple of weeks ago.

AMNA NAWAZ: Lisa, we know we could have a long night ahead.

So what are some of the places you're tracking that could give us some of the earliest look at what's to follow?

LISA DESJARDINS: Georgia is one of the states we expect to hear from first, especially these -- some of these counties around Atlanta.

Let's talk about Gwinnett County.

This is a place that used to be red, now has voted more blue.

Also Cherokee County, this is somewhere -- we're going to talk a lot about not just who wins these counties, again, but the margins.

This is somewhere we saw the Biden campaign lost, but still did better than Hillary Clinton, the kind of place that we think that the Harris campaign needs to do as well as Biden.

Trump hopes to do better than he did last time.

Let's look at North Carolina.

There's a couple of population centers that we will watch early in the night, Raleigh, Charlotte.

Those counties, Wake County and Mecklenburg County, the turnout in those counties are going to be important for Democrats.

Heavy turnout there would be good news for Democrats across the state.

GEOFF BENNETT: So, we talked to you earlier about Pennsylvania.

What about the rest of the blue wall, Lisa?

LISA DESJARDINS: Yes, the blue wall is critical for Democrats, and it's something that, of course, Republicans want to cut into tonight, as they were able to in 2016.

Let's look at Michigan.

Some place that I will be watching very closely, here's Detroit.

Right next to Detroit, we have Washtenaw County.

That's Ann Arbor.

This is a place that was sort of a hotbed of protest against the Biden administration policy in Gaza and the Middle East.

And we have to see if there is a kind of backlash against Kamala Harris there, maybe third-party voting there.

So we will watch that carefully.

Let's talk about Wisconsin, and about the same sort of area of Wisconsin.

You have got Milwaukee right here.

Want to point out another county right there, sort of a bedroom, suburb, exurb county.

That's Waukesha County.

And here is another place where we need to watch the margins.

It's not just about who wins.

This is a Republican county.

But look at this.

Again, this is a place where Biden was able to cut into what Trump did in 2016.

The question is, can Trump regain momentum there?

Or does -- Harris be able to perform as well as Joe Biden?

AMNA NAWAZ: And, Lisa, we know you're tracking the races that will decide control of the House and the Senate as well.

Tonight, tell us about that.

LISA DESJARDINS: You know I love some congressional numbers.

All right, let's talk about the Senate.

We start right here with these races that are not even up this year.

The Senate, about a third of it is up for reelection every two years.

So look at this.

Republicans have 38 seats in the bank.

Here's where that halfway point is.

So they start out with an advantage.

But here's where we will be watching early as to our question, races like in Ohio with Sherrod Brown, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and then a really key one will be Montana, where Jon Tester is fighting for his life.

Those polls close there at 10:00 Eastern time.

Let's look about the House, so many races to talk about.

But we're going to keep track of it all night in part by looking at these eight races that will show us sort of who's up and who's down.

Democrats, again, need to pick up about four seats.

And we will be watching these that close around 7:00 and these ones that close around 9:00 Eastern just to help us keep track of where we are.

AMNA NAWAZ: All right, Lisa Desjardins over at the PBS News super screen, where she will be for the rest of the night.

Lisa, thank you.

(LAUGHTER) GEOFF BENNETT: And here on the other side of our studio, we will be watching the results all night with our panel, which includes Amy Walter of The Cook Political Report With Amy Walter, Republican strategist Kevin Madden and Democratic strategist Faiz Shakir.

AMNA NAWAZ: Also with us all night is David Brooks, columnist at The New York Times, Jonathan Capehart, associate editor of The Washington Post, and, of course, our very own Judy Woodruff, who is back from her travels across the country for her series America at a Crossroads.

Welcome to you all.

(CROSSTALK) AMY WALTER, The Cook Political Report: Great to be here.

AMNA NAWAZ: All right, Amy, you're going to kick us off tonight.

We're going to be talking a lot... AMY WALTER: A lot.

AMNA NAWAZ: ... about the specifics and the data.

AMY WALTER: Yes.

AMNA NAWAZ: But just start us off big picture here.

What are you going to be watching tonight and what kind of big questions are you looking to answer?

AMY WALTER: Yes, I don't think I have ever experienced an election night like this, where we come in with the polls this close with so few people feeling like they have any sense of how this thing is going to break.

And I also come into this knowing that, when you look at the way Americans feel about our political system right now, the sense that they believe that this is an existential election for them, that my concern going forward is what happens to the numbers of people who will be very upset with what the result will be, because it's more than just an issue or a policy that they're voting on.

But, broadly, big picture-wise, what I'm looking at is to see if the coalitions that we have become comfortable with really for the past 15 years or so, with Democrats doing much better in high turnout elections because they run strong with younger voters, with voters of color who don't traditionally turn out in, say, a midterm year, or they're not -- they are not as typical voter -- they don't vote as regular, is the word I'm looking for, as white voters.

But now what we're looking at is a situation where it may be that Democrats are going to be able to find success not because they did better with younger voters or with voters of color, but because of their success with white voters, especially white voters with a college degree, and especially with women.

And I think we're going to be looking very closely at those breakouts when we go to the key battleground states.

GEOFF BENNETT: And on that point, Kevin, we do expect this race to be settled in the battlegrounds, chief among them Pennsylvania.

What are you watching for tonight in Philadelphia and the surrounding... (CROSSTALK) KEVIN MADDEN, Republican Strategist: Yes.

I mean, also, we should think back to even when we were here in January during the primaries.

We always said this is going to come down to about seven states.

And, in those seven states, it was going to be these metropolitan areas and places like Philadelphia.

So that's where I'm really watching for today.

In order for anybody, any one of these candidates to win, they're really going to have to do well in these collar counties of Philadelphia and the eastern side of Pennsylvania.

And so, for Trump, the charge has always been, is he going to be able to go out and win more voters beyond the Republican base?

Is he going to be able to maybe flip some suburban Democratic -- some suburban Republican women who may have voted for Nikki Haley in the primaries?

And would they come home for him in a general election?

That's going to be the big test.

So as we watch some of these numbers come out of Philadelphia, around the exurbs, up towards the Lehigh Valley, those are going to be some of the counties that I'm looking for to see where the splits are and where the margins are to see whether or not Trump was able to outperform where he was in 2020.

GEOFF BENNETT: And, Faiz, when the Harris campaign says that they feel like they have momentum on their side, what are they pointing to?

Is it just vibes or is there something tangible that they can point to and say, yes, we feel good about where we are?

FAIZ SHAKIR, Democratic Strategist: Geoff, in the early vote, they did a great job.

On the tactical side of this Harris campaign, you have seen extreme proficiency from the moment she got into this race, money raised, volunteers recruited, convention executed flawlessly, debate executed flawlessly.

She's in a great position.

When you looked at the early vote numbers, the gender gap was there and you say, running into Election Day, you're ahead.

And, obviously, they need to maintain it.

So, hopefully, they're counting on a lot of young people coming out today, knock on wood, in places like Detroit and Philadelphia and Dane County and Madison.

Hopefully, there's a huge youth turnout.

I also think, though, they have run this very cautious and determined campaign.

From the beginning, they made certain assumptions, Geoff, about what the electorate was.

And part of that judgment was people were ready to turn the page on Trump.

They had seen enough.

And they saw the Republican primaries, where 15 percent to 20 percent consistently showed that they were not with Trump in the Republican ranks.

And the Harris campaign focused on them like a laser.

That's why you had the Liz Cheney events, the Adam Kinzinger stuff, the Mark Cuban approach.

So I think you're going to do well with college-educated people, and I hope we can continue to keep the margins with non-college people.

That's one thing that I will be watching closely tonight.

AMNA NAWAZ: So, David Brooks, we're going to be spending a lot of time together tonight.

(LAUGHTER) DAVID BROOKS: Happy to be here.

AMNA NAWAZ: I have snacks.

Not to worry.

But you always do such a great job of giving us this historical context here.

We're going to find out obviously who wins and loses these races.

But what else do you think we learn about the country or where we are tonight?

(CROSSTALK) DAVID BROOKS: Yes, I want to know tonight, what political era are we in?

So between Ronald Reagan and I guess you would say Barack Obama, there was differences obviously between the parties, but there was some consensus, consensus about NATO, consensus about free trade, consensus that the future of the American commerce is in information-age jobs, and we should be training people to get through college so they can take advantage of the jobs of future.

That was sort of the Republican and Democratic consensus.

Along comes Donald Trump that says, forget that.

No free trade, no NATO, no transition to a postindustrial economy.

I'm going straight for the industry, or at least lip service, if not policy.

And so if Trump wins again, then the - - what we might call pejoratively the neoliberal era from Reagan through Obama, that's over.

That's in the rearview mirror, and we have entered a new populist age with Trump large and in charge.

AMNA NAWAZ: Jonathan, Amy mentioned a few key groups that we're going to be keeping an eye on.

Is there any one group, any one trend you're going to be watching more closely than others over the course of the evening?

JONATHAN CAPEHART: Funny you should ask.

(LAUGHTER) JONATHAN CAPEHART: Yes.

Yes, I am looking specifically at white women.

A lot of the narrative leading up to this election was Vice President Harris was losing Black men.

And the feeling was, well, if she loses the election, it will be because of Black men.

And as a Black man, that's kind of hard to take, especially when African American men are such a tiny percentage of the voting population, whereas white women are the largest voting bloc.

Now, Black women are the largest and most consistent voting bloc for the Democratic Party, 95, 98 percent.

But white women in the 2016 election were 41 percent of the electorate.

The exit polls then said that 52, 53 percent voted for Trump.

But a Pew Research analysis in 2018 came back and really looked and said it was 47 percent.

But he won the plurality of the white women vote.

If Vice President Harris is to get over the line, she needs to have white women do what Black women have been doing since Trump was elected, and that is saving democracy.

I did an event with Nikole Hannah-Jones and Heather Cox Richardson two weeks ago and asked her this question.

And, ultimately, she said to the white women in the audience, call your people, because we have done enough and now if we're going to save -- if we are all going to save the democracy, you have to do your part.

And she also has an essay in The New York Times, but that is what I'm watching for.

And that's why I'm watching for it, because, if anything, the Dobbs decision has been a motivating factor for women across the board and the people and men who love them.

But we have seen, at least I have seen white women galvanized in a way I have not seen.

And I'm hoping that it will mean a good night for the democracy.

GEOFF BENNETT: And, Judy, you have unique insight into the issues that are really driving voters, animating the electorate as a consequence of your reporting, your Crossroads reporting, where you have crisscrossed the nation.

What are your early impressions this evening?

JUDY WOODRUFF: Well, I have come away.

First of all, I'm glad to be here, other side of the desk.

(LAUGHTER) JUDY WOODRUFF: It was time for a change.

You guys have all the pressure.

(LAUGHTER) JUDY WOODRUFF: So, traveling around the country, trying to understand why we're so divided, I have to say, I come away with three things I am specifically looking for tonight, based on the reporting that I have done.

And I will just give you examples.

North Carolina, we were in Alamance County.

These are -- this is a rural area outside Raleigh-Durham.

For Kamala Harris to win that state, take it back from the Republicans, she needs to do well in these exurbs.

I think Kevin, Amy were talking about this, the suburbs that are outside the Raleigh-Durham, Charlotte.

So that's one place we're looking at.

We're also looking at Michigan, the so-called education, diploma divide, which is an increasing issue in American politics.

I was in just a couple of weeks ago in both Macomb and Oakland counties, the biggest counties in the state just north of Detroit, Oakland being a place, majority with a lot of people with college -- excuse me -- college graduates, Macomb being more blue-collar, fewer college graduates.

Joe Biden did very well in Oakland and won.

Trump won Macomb.

The question is, how are Harris and Trump going to do with people who have a college degree and don't?

And just quickly, Arizona, we went to look at the divide, the partisan split among Hispanic voters.

Last time, Hispanic voters in Arizona made up 19 percent of the electorate.

Biden was able to win 61 percent.

So the question is, Republicans are now saying they can cut into that.

Can they?

Can they take away some of the Hispanic vote, which is -- traditionally was going more Democratic?

AMNA NAWAZ: I think the other question with a shorter answer is, where haven't you been this election season?

(LAUGHTER) (CROSSTALK) AMNA NAWAZ: But, Amy, as Judy mentioned there, North Carolina, we know that's one of the states where polls will close on the earlier side, along with Georgia.

AMY WALTER: That's right.

AMNA NAWAZ: We keep saying it could be a long night.

We may not have an answer.

AMY WALTER: Right.

AMNA NAWAZ: Is there anything you're tracking early in the night specifically that you think gives us a direction of where things are going or that says this could be an earlier night than we expect overall?

AMY WALTER: I want to say yes, because I want to believe that we will have some direction early on in the evening.

But what we have come to see in our politics -- and, look, we talked about this the other night about seeing this Iowa poll that looked so outside of what we have been seeing in other states.

(CROSSTALK) AMNA NAWAZ: Do expect that to come up again tonight, by the way.

We will ask you about Iowa.

AMY WALTER: OK.

But you think about the billions of dollars that have been spent on this election.

They have all been spent in seven states.

And so there are a lot of people in these other states that have not been getting the barrage of advertising and just the communication from the campaigns.

How they behave may not tell us how the swing states are going to behave, and how the swing states behave may not tell us how those other states are going to behave.

And that's true too when we're thinking about all these House races and these Senate races.

I am looking -- I think I will give you one clue.

The Ohio Senate race, I think, will give us an idea for just what we - - what kind of Senate we could expect, what the margin may look like in the Senate.

AMNA NAWAZ: And tell us about that.

Why?

AMY WALTER: Because this is a state where right now it's very, very close.

Even though it's a red state, the Democratic senator there has been tied with his opponent.

To win, it would mean that he would need to win a lot of Trump voters.

If that's the case, if we do see real ticket-splitting, then it means that the Senate and the House become much less predictable, because we're just so used to, if it's a red state, it goes red, if it's a blue state, it goes blue.

And if Sherrod Brown were to hold on in Ohio, it suggests too that Democrats are going to have a much better night in the Senate.

Doesn't mean necessarily they're going to hold the Senate, but that would be a better night.

If he loses, now we're into that was the more expected way that you would look at the Senate map, given how Republican Ohio is.

GEOFF BENNETT: Yes.

And in the 30 seconds or so that we have left, how has he been able to hold on to that seat as Ohio has become redder and redder?

AMY WALTER: I knew it.

One, it helps to be an incumbent who's been there for a long time with an identity that fits the state.

But the other is that they have just, quite frankly, outspent and been able to define their Republican opponent in a way that is helpful to the senator, Senator Sherrod Brown.

And really they have been on offense almost entirely in this campaign.

Yes, it's been quite something.

GEOFF BENNETT: The most expensive U.S. Senate race in history.

I feel like we say that about a Senate race in every election cycle, but the Ohio one is the one this time around.

AMY WALTER: Every two years.

And it will be every two years, yes.

Yes.

GEOFF BENNETT: All right, our thanks to our panel.

They're going to stay around with us.

They will be here all night.

There is other news on this Election Day.

In a surprise Cabinet shakeup.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired his popular defense minister, Yoav Gallant.

The two appeared unified last year following the October 7 attacks by Hamas militants, but there's been a growing rift between the two men, with Gallant pushing for a more pragmatic and diplomatic approach to ending the fighting in Gaza, as the prime minister sticks with relentless military pressure.

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, Israeli Prime Minister (through translator): Over the past few months, trust has cracked between me and the minister of defense.

Significant gaps were discovered between me and Gallant in the management of the military campaign.

This crisis of trust does not allow for the proper continuation of the campaign.

GEOFF BENNETT: Netanyahu appointed his foreign minister, Israel Katz, to take Gallant's place.

This all comes as Palestinian health officials say a new wave of Israeli strikes killed at least 30 people in Gaza, mostly in the north, where aid has been cut off for weeks.

Israel's military says it targeted a weapons storage facility in the strikes.

Officials in Kyiv say Ukrainian troops have engaged with North Korean soldiers for the first time since they were deployed to fight for Russia.

One official says the Ukrainian military fired artillery at North Korean soldiers in Russia's Kursk border region.

Kyiv's defense minister said the clashes were small in scale and that more should be expected in the coming weeks.

Meantime, Ukraine's president warned of global consequences.

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, Ukrainian President (through translator): The first battles with North Korean soldiers open a new chapter of instability in the world.

Together with the world, we must do everything to ensure that this Russian step toward expanding the war, toward real escalation, becomes a losing one for Putin and for North Korea.

GEOFF BENNETT: The reported clashes could not be independently verified.

The Pentagon estimates that some 10,000 North Korean soldiers are now deployed to Russia's border regions.

Tens of thousands of Boeing workers are returning to the job as soon as tomorrow, after their union voted to accept a new contract ending a 53-day strike.

Union members voted 59 percent in favor of the deal.

It includes a 38 percent pay raise over the next four years.

That's slightly short of the 40 percent raise that workers wanted.

And Boeing refused to restore a company pension plan that was frozen nearly a decade ago.

(CHEERING) GEOFF BENNETT: Union reps called the vote a victory, but among the workers themselves, there were mixed reactions.

EEP GRACE BOLANO DUQUE, Boeing Worker: This was definitely not a victory.

We were threatened with regressive offers.

JOHN OLSON, Boeing Worker: I think what we got was a fair deal.

I think it's a good stepping-stone for contracts in the future.

GEOFF BENNETT: By one estimate, the strike was costing Boeing $50 million a day as it shut down production of some of its bestselling planes.

President Joe Biden congratulated the two sides on reaching a deal, saying it ensures that Boeing remains a critical part of America's aerospace sector.

In Spain, authorities have approved more than $11 billion in relief aid to help those affected by last week's devastating floods.

The package includes direct payments of up to $65,000 to affected homeowners, plus financial aid for businesses and municipal governments.

Speaking in Madrid today, Spain's prime minister compared the government funds to the measures taken during the COVID pandemic, saying the benefits should be felt immediately.

PEDRO SANCHEZ, Spanish Prime Minister (through translator): It is a good first step, an agile and ambitious step with concrete and realistic measures that are already in force and that will help people and businesses in the coming days and weeks.

GEOFF BENNETT: Cleanup efforts are ongoing for the wreckage left behind from last week's flooding.

At least 218 people are known to have died.

Authorities in the eastern region of Valencia say 89 people remain missing.

On Wall Street today, stocks ended higher as investors await the results of today's election.

The Dow Jones industrial average jumped more than 400 points, or about 1 percent.

The Nasdaq added nearly 260 points on the day.

The S&P 500 also ended firmly in positive territory.

And Japan's Mount Fuji is missing its signature snowy look.

For centuries, the nation's tallest peak has been a sacred subject of Japanese art and culture.

And this time of year is normally when snowfall brightens up the summit.

But for the first November since records began 130 years ago, the peak is bare.

The site has raised concerns about climate change, with Japan's meteorological agency saying that unusually high temperatures are to blame.

The average temperature on the summit last month was almost 35 degrees Fahrenheit, the highest since the 1930s.

AMNA NAWAZ: Well, it's been a long road to this Election Day, and our incredible digital team has been covering all aspects of it, including a countdown of facts over the last 30 days from Lisa Desjardins and Deema Zein.

Take a look.

LISA DESJARDINS: All right, the number 30.

Let's talk about the key swing state of Georgia, very key this year.

Four years ago, Joe Biden won, but Donald Trump won every single county, except for 30, but those 30 counties that Joe Biden won, they had more people in them, and that's why he won the state of Georgia.

DEEMA ZEIN: Republicans have control of both chambers in 29 state legislatures.

LISA DESJARDINS: Let's talk about money.

Elections are not free to run, but in 28 states, outside groups, nonprofits, charities, they're banned from donating any money to help run the election.

DEEMA ZEIN: The youngest member of Congress, Representative Max Frost of Florida, is 27 years old.

LISA DESJARDINS: New York has 26 congressional districts.

Why does that matter?

Because Democrats hope to flip at least four of them and use that to take over the House of Representatives.

DEEMA ZEIN: Just 25 counties in the country voted for the winner in the last three presidential elections.

LISA DESJARDINS: OK, this one's a little nerdy; 24 states share voter information with each other in a system called ERIC.

The idea is to block illegal voters, people who try and vote twice, but that is fewer states than used to be on that system because a bunch of red states dropped out.

DEEMA ZEIN: Democrats have to defend 23 Senate seats, and that's not an easy task.

LISA DESJARDINS: The 22nd Amendment to the Constitution sets out some key rules for electing presidents.

It says no one can be elected president more than twice.

Twenty-one million more people voted in 2020 than in 2016.

In 20 states, you can register to vote and vote immediately on Election Day.

The state of Pennsylvania has 19 electoral votes.

Why is that important?

That's the most of any swing state.

DEEMA ZEIN: The age to vote in America is 18.

LISA DESJARDINS: Seventeen.

December 17 is when the Electoral College meets to certify the winner of this election.

DEEMA ZEIN: Sixteen is the number of Republicans in the House of Representatives who sit in districts won by Joe Biden.

Only 15 people have become president after being vice president.

LISA DESJARDINS: Last year, 14 states changed their election laws that changed access to voting.

DEEMA ZEIN: Joe Biden ran for office 13 times.

He won 10, lost three, all in presidential primaries.

LISA DESJARDINS: The 12th Amendment to the Constitution changed how the president and vice president were elected.

It used to be the runner-up to president became vice president, but that didn't work well.

Now they run as a ticket.

DEEMA ZEIN: Republicans have 11 Senate seats to defend this year, and Democrats have more than double.

Ten states have ballot measures on abortion this year.

LISA DESJARDINS: Let's talk about a number ending in nine, 269.

That is the tie point in the Electoral College.

And this election, there are multiple ways that there could be a tie, where Kamala Harris and Donald Trump both get 269 electoral votes.

DEEMA ZEIN: Eight presidents have had last names with five letters in them.

LISA DESJARDINS: Does that sound random?

Well, think about our most three recent,Obama, Trump, Biden, Harris, six letters.

So what's it going to be, America, five or six letters?

DEEMA ZEIN: There are seven swing key states in the presidential election, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Arizona, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Nevada, and Georgia.

LISA DESJARDINS: Six, that is the number of votes by which Representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks won her election in 2020, the closest congressional election this century.

In 2020, five swing states flipped from Trump to Biden.

That's how Biden -- Deema.

DEEMA ZEIN: Democrats need to flip four seats in order to take over the House -- back to you, Lisa.

LISA DESJARDINS: It took three-and-a-half days to count and call the 2020 election -- Deema, back to you.

DEEMA ZEIN: If Republicans have a net gain of two Senate seats, they win the Senate regardless of who wins the presidency.

And back to the studio for the final fact.

LISA DESJARDINS: Thank you, Deema.

So far, only one person has ever been president, lost the job, and then won the job back.

DEEMA ZEIN: We're looking at you, Grover Cleveland.

Tune back in.

We're here for the 2024 presidential election.

See you then.

GEOFF BENNETT: Brilliant work by our Deema Zein and Lisa Desjardins.

Well, we have much more online this election night.

On our Web site, you can use our interactive Electoral College calculator and track live results.

We will also have a live American Sign Language-supported feed of our on-air coverage.

That is over on our YouTube page.

AMNA NAWAZ: So we're going to take a short break so PBS stations can report on some of their state and local races now.

GEOFF BENNETT: We will be right back at 7:00 p.m. Eastern when polls close in a handful of states, including the battleground state of Georgia.

So, stay with us.