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GOP Wins Control of Senate; GOP Challenger Declared Unofficial Winner in Alaska; Pat Roberts Keeps Kansas Senate Seat; Election Cliffhanger in Colorado

Aired November 05, 2014 - 07:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Big story there. Third party strength, OK? Rob Manness got 14 percent of the vote; that was big.

History making night in Iowa as well. CNN projects Republican Joni Ernst becoming the first female senator in the state. By the way, easier-than-expected win over Democrat Bruce Braley following a bruising campaign.

In Kansas, all the talk about who will Orman side with, we don't have to worry about it. CNN projects Republican Senator Pat Roberts manages to keep his seat, by the way, pretty easy. It was a very hotly contested race; Got a lot of hype because of independent Greg Orman and what might happen. It could be pivotal. Forget about it now.

Republican congressman Cory Gardner has won the Senate race in Colorado. CNN projects him defeating incumbent Mark Udall. Now, this is a significant pick-up for Republicans. This is a state that voted for President Obama twice, 2008 and 2012.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: And in Arkansas, CNN projects Republican Tom Cotton defeating Democratic incumbent Mark Pryor. It was a decisive win for Cotton, despite White House hopes that Pryor could keep that seat in Democratic hands.

Let's look at Georgia, another closely watched race, Republican David Perdue wins the race to succeed retiring Senator Saxby Chambliss. Democrats hoped that Michelle Nunn could flip their seat to their side, but Perdue managed an easier than expected win to keep it under GOP control.

And a rare glimmer of good news for Democrats. In New Hampshire, CNN is projecting Jeanne Shaheen will hold onto her Senate seat. Her Republican challenger, Scott Brown, has now conceded.

CUOMO: North Carolina, clincher for the Republicans, Thom Tillis defeating incumbent Democratic Senator Kay Hagan. His win put the GOP over the top in control of the Senate. It's no longer about if; it's about how many seats will be the advantage in the Senate for the Republicans.

They also flipped Montana into their Senate column. No real surprise there, Steve Daines easily defeating Democrat Amanda Curtis; won the seat vacated earlier this year by longtime senator -- you'll remember -- Max Baucus.

And after fighting for his political life, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell now may be Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. The Kentucky senator easily won a sixth term in the Senate. This race was really a testament to why you can't just look at the polls. Alison Lundergan Grimes kept calling herself a Clinton Democrat, refused to say whether she voted for Obama, wound up taking a beat-down, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: All right, Chris. Also, as you know, Republicans keeping control of the House, GOP leaders now expanding their majority by a handful of seats, Speaker John Boehner beating his rival, Tom Potter, in Ohio's 8th District. Boehner is expected to run again as speaker of the House.

And here was an interesting race. GOP Congressman Michael Grimm won his third term. He defeated his opponent in New York's District 11. Grimm prevailed despite an indictment against him for alleged corruption.

And former "American Idol" contestant Clay Aiken will not get to sit in the House. His hopes for a seat in Congress were dashed by incumbent Renee Ellmers in North Carolina -- Chris.

CUOMO: I guess we can definitely say, Alisyn, it was a grand night for the Grand Old Party. Republicans now have control of both houses of Congress, and for the moment, there are promises to replace stalemate with cooperate. It rhymes, but will it be real?

Let's bring in CNN's Dana Bash, live in Washington.

Hey, at least they're saying the right thing. And again, the metaphor behind you, Dana. of the capital under reconstruction, let's see how they rebuild it.

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Boy, wouldn't that be nice?

Look, I am the eternal optimist, and I think that, when Mitch McConnell and John Boehner and other top Republicans who I've spoken with, texted with last night say that they really do want to try to govern in a way that they couldn't before, they mean it. Not just because, you know, they want the country to be better. I think that, you know, everybody had agreed on that before, but then their politics trumped that.

But because of politics. The Republicans, I think, understand at their core, the leaders that, if they don't get this right, they're toast. They're toast for 2016 and beyond, likely. Because they've got to, A, show that they can govern; and B, try to expand their party.

But let me just say one thing about Mitch McConnell. And maybe this is telling about how he's going to go forward and when he's determined to do something, he will. As you said, you can't believe the polls. He didn't just win in Kentucky; it was an absolute rout. Sixteen points. And let me tell you, he did that not just by, you know, kind of easy

street at the end. He bought time in Nashville, Tennessee, because he wanted to make sure that those little counties on the border of Kentucky went his way. He wanted to do it big. So maybe that certainly is telling as to who he is and maybe how he will govern as majority leader.

CUOMO: A very interesting opposite narrative to what we saw with Eric Cantor, who got blamed for not being home enough, not working it. They say Mitch McConnell was in every one of those 122 counties in Kentucky.

BASH: Exactly.

CUOMO: He was all over the place. He worked the ground hard, and it paid off for him.

And you know, turning tone here, Alison Lundergan Grimes wouldn't say who she voted for. That takes us to the Democrats and why they lost, Dana. I think that the biggest help that the GOP got was from the Democrats. They ran from their base; they ran from their president. And they probably wound up running themselves right out of the majority. Your take?

BASH: Look, I've seen this with so many campaigns, from the McCain campaign to others, when they lose, the finger-pointing starts and the knives come out; and it's already happening. And it is, specifically to your point, about Alison Lundergan Grimes and so many other Democrats who kept so far away from the president. Talking to Obama loyalists saying it was a complete mistake, because they depressed voting among the base. Democrats who really want -- still like Obama.

And on the flip side, Senate strategists say no way, because there are so many independent swing voters who they didn't have a chance with. And it was because of the president.

CUOMO: Yes. But you had to give your base a reason to vote. You embarrass your base, you go home alone. And that's what happened. Dana Bash, thank you very much. Always good to have you on the show -- Alisyn.

BASH: You, too.

CAMEROTA: All right, Chris. The numbers are hot off the press in Alaska. The latest votes are being tallied, and they show that the challenger, Dan Sullivan, is in the lead over Democratic incumbent, Mark Begich. But not all the ballots have been counted. So things could still change.

Let's get right to CNN's Drew Griffin with the latest, live for us from Anchorage. What are the latest numbers showing you, Drew?

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS REPORTER: Well, we've got 100 percent of the precincts reporting in. And it is Dan Sullivan, the Republican, who has 48.7 percent of the vote, compared with Mark Begich, the Democrat senator, who's trying to hold onto his seat, he has 45.13 percent. So 100 percent of the vote in. It's an unofficial count. Why aren't they calling this race? Honestly, Alisyn, I don't know.

The last time I talked with the Begich campaign, was at 2 o'clock in the morning. They said they were waiting on the rural vote. In the last hour, the rural vote has come in. What they might be holding out hope for now is the write-in ballots -- excuse me, the mail-in ballots, a few of the early vote ballots that may need to be counted. Special needs ballots and any kind of question ballots.

But there's been no concession. The Sullivan campaign is frustrated with that, I can tell you. But no concession, and this race could go on another seven days, because that's how long they wait until the mail gets delivered to the elections.

CAMEROTA: Wow.

GRIFFIN: So we'll see what happens.

CAMEROTA: Things are slow in Alaska. Is part of the problem that it's 3 a.m. where you are? Will we have to wait until sun-up for some sort of definitive answer here?

GRIFFIN: No, I mean what really happened is they waited. They stayed up. They waited for all the precincts to report. So the votes that have been cast have been counted. That includes the early voting that's been going on for the last couple of weeks.

What we have is the kind of leftover votes, the votes that may still be being transported in the mail. Somebody may have mailed something yesterday. Or mailed something today. They're going to wait for the ballots to come down, and they will -- they're supposed to count within seven days after the election. The questionable ballots, I don't know how many there are.

Look, Dan Sullivan's campaign says there's no mathematical way that Begich can win. Obviously, although they're not communicating with us, the Begich campaign thinks there must be some sort of way they can eke this out. We may just be waiting days until finally somebody gives up or somebody comes out and says, "Hey, guess what? I did win." But right now, it likes like a Republican win.

CAMEROTA: All right. Drew, it looks like you will be there for a few more days, standing in that quiet ballroom. So we will be checking in.

GRIFFIN: I don't know.

CAMEROTA: Oh, yes, you will. We'll be checking back in with you, Drew. Great work. Let's go over to Chris.

CUOMO: It's definitely a very close race in Alaska, and that makes it different. But we don't want to confuse process for intrigue. Things take time. It's a very rural outskirt area with their population. So they have a state official on it. We'll get the results as soon as they come in, and we'll give them to you. Now, another very hotly contested Senate race is Kansas. The

Republican incumbent, Pat Roberts, emerged victorious, denying the Senate chamber another independent. And remember all the intrigue that Mr. Orman had us going through about who he would side with. We have CNN's Kyung Lah live this morning in Kansas.

Boy, we were all saying -- you have his windows right behind you -- who will he be with? Now who cares?

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that was -- well that was the big question: Who is he going to side with? And it actually became his Achilles heel. That was a big political question here in Kansas. And we actually saw it come into play yesterday.

There was an unusual comment from Vice President Joe Biden on a radio show, somewhere outside of Kansas, the vice president saying that Orman was with the Dems. Well, that quickly became a robo-call for the Republicans, hoping to tip the scales. We don't know if that was the deciding factor.

What we can tell you is that Senator Pat Roberts, a long-time incumbent, decades in Washington, he won by a comfortable margin, 8 percent. The rise of the independent squashed here in Kansas.

Greg Orman telling CNN last night that he doesn't care what the cards say in Kansas. He will not run for political office as a Republican or a Democrat. He says he remains an independent -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: OK. Thanks so much, Kyung Lah, for that.

And we are following two big races for you in Colorado. One in the Senate and one in the state house. And only one of those is decided this morning. Ana Cabrera is following the election drama in Denver.

What's the latest, Ana?

ANA CABRERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Alisyn.

Let's start -- let's start with the Senate race. This one ended up being, I think, much more decisive earlier than a lot of people had initially predicted. Currently, the votes still coming in, but Cory Gardner, the Republican, is leading the vote count right now with -- by about 5 percent over the incumbent, Democrat Mark Udall.

Now in his victory speech, just a few hours ago, he talked about a new direction forward. And he said, quote, "Tomorrow we go to work to fix a Washington that is out of step, out of touch and out of time."

And that's really a message that resonated with the voters here in Colorado. Throughout the campaign, Cory Gardner stayed very disciplined in his messaging. He managed to deflect the attacks on some of the polarizing social issues, like women's reproductive rights. And he really worked hard to portray himself as anti-Obama and anti-establishment while successfully tying the incumbent to both.

Here's why this race is a bigger deal on a national level. Not only did this win by Gardner help to flip that Senate control in the U.S. Capitol. But it also really was a victory for the Republican Party looking forward, in that a Republican was able to win in a state like Colorado, a state with a growing population and with a growing diverse population at that. So you know that the GOP is going to be looking at Gardner's strategy as it looks forward to the presidential race in 2016.

Real quick, before I let you go. I also want to just check in on the governor's race. Right now this is a real fight for the Democrat incumbent John Hickenlooper, who is only ahead right now in the latest vote count by about a half a percentage point over the Republican, Bob Beauprez. And this just goes to show just how dissatisfied voters are right now with anybody who is currently in government. This is all despite the fact that Colorado has a 4.7 percent unemployment rate, one of the best in the nation, and Hickenlooper still hasn't been able to clinch this victory. At least not at this point -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: Ana Cabrera, thanks so much.

CUOMO: All right. So let's discuss further. We've got a heck of a panel for you with us right now: CNN political commentator and op-Ed columnist for "The New York Times," Mr. Charles Blow; former White House press secretary and Republican consultant, Mr. Ari Fleischer; and former Clinton White House aide and Hillary Clinton press secretary, Ms. Lisa Caputo.

So we keep talking about why this happened. Why did this happen? We did. People are angry. They voted out the Democrats, voted in Republicans. The question now becomes what will it mean?

Lisa, let's start with you. What do you think this means for Republicans. We're talking good talk here already, right? "Obstructionism is gone. We must work together." What do you think we see?

LISA CAPUTO, FORMER PRESS SECRETARY FOR HILARY CLINTON: Well, I think it will be interesting to see what somebody like Paul Ryan does coming right out of the chute. He has an opportunity to be House Ways and Means chairman. Or is he going to go and try and make a bid in 2016?

I think that the Republicans have an opportunity here to try and work with the White House. The White House has an opportunity to try and work with Congress. So they both have to come together in order to get anything done. I think there will be some meaningful legislation: immigration reform. There will be a lot of discussion on that.

I think, though, as you look ahead, what will be interesting to see is what happens with somebody like a Chris Christie, for example. Who I think emerged as a winner last night.

CUOMO: Head of the Republican governors.

CAPUTO: Head of the Republican Governors Association. Took seats away from Democrats in the northeast particularly. So I think that, you know, a lot of speculation about what this means for 2016. But I think we heard from the public that they want a change, and they want Washington to do something. Remember, we have a president that they're not happy about. And we have Congress they're not happy about.

CAMEROTA: And by the way, we should mention: We're going to be interviewing Chris Christie live here in the studio in the next hour. So stick around for that.

Ari, you were surprised last night by just how well the Republicans did. Why?

ARI FLEISCHER, FORMER WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: This is stunning. This is historical. And nobody expected it being this big going into election night. But when you look back on it, the breadth and the depth, Republicans won by majorities that nobody would have anticipated. Mitch McConnell won his race by 15 votes -- 15 points. Pat Roberts in Kansas, expected to be a close race, nine points. Perdue in Georgia, 8 points. No run-off in Georgia.

Even Scott Walker, five points in what was supposed to be a razor-thin race.

Plus, they turned blue states red. They won governorships in Massachusetts; Maryland; Illinois, Barack Obama's home state.

So I didn't expect Republicans to have this big a sweep. This is object on a par with 1994 and 1980. In fact, only three times since World War II have republicans won this many seats. They did it under Truman in 1946. They did it under Ronald Reagan in 1980, and in 1994. This is on a par with those sweeps.

CUOMO: Charles Blow, do you think the Democrats were the biggest helper to the GOP, other than voter anger here, running away from their base, running away from their president?

CHARLES BLOW, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: No, I think -- I think actually Republicans were very savvy in how they -- the candidates that they put up. The way that they coached them in how to respond to questions. You didn't have any of the gaffes that you had in previous runs.

They -- in state after state after state, I was kind of moving around the country in the last month. And all you saw was candidates being juxtaposed with the president. What -- what percentage of the time they voted in line with the president.

And what really -- it was very little on issues. It was very much about this guy is on the ballot and then, last month when the president said that "I'm not on the ballot and my policies aren't on the ballot," that quote immediately shows up in every contested race.

And so the Republicans just did a really good job of running a solid race with better candidates than they had the last time around.

FLEISCHER: Let me...

CAMEROTA: Go ahead. FLEISCHER: One caveat. The electorate of 2014 is not going to look like the electorate of 2016. The Republicans have to keep that in mind. It's going to be far younger, and younger voters are still voting Democratic. Much more diverse, much more minority.

Republicans need to become the party of ideas. And particularly at the presidential candidate level. They have to be specific, and they have to be positive. Everybody knows the Republicans are against the president. What is my party for? This is our test.

BLOW: To that point, I mean, this time out, 37 percent of the voters who voted this time around were over 60 years old.

CAMEROTA: Yes.

CUOMO: Yes.

BLOW: That was -- that was higher than in the last four cycles.

CUOMO: Not unusual that younger voters cede ground in midterm to older voters. But this was more pronounced.

BLOW: But this is -- right. But this was higher than the last four cycles.

CAPUTO: Much higher.

BLOW: And you're going not going to have that next time out. And so Republicans have to switch it up. This is -- you know, the map that we see today looks much more like the ideology map of the United States, right? So when you look at congressional control both in the House and Senate, where the red zones is, is where Republicans actually, for the most part, have an advantage.

But Democrats hold the advantage in the population centers. And they still -- they're still going to hold. They're going to turn the voters out in the presidential election, so they still have the presidential advantage.

CAPUTO: One thing Republicans did do, and they deserve credit for this. Which is they got it together. They hand-selected candidates. They vetted them. They plotted. And they, in a lot of respects, held the extreme right at bay.

And if you look at sort of the game-changers, right, you have now a new landscape developing for 2016. New battlegrounds. Colorado, Iowa, they'll be states to watch in 2016. And so, you know, they deserve a lot of credit.

You look at Ed Gillespie in Virginia, who ran a terrific race, a race I think on ideas. Big-tent Republican. I think Ed Gillespie emerges as a winner last night, as well.

I think also you see -- and I spoke to a former Clinton cabinet official yesterday who really, I think, nailed it. Said voters are looking for authenticity. And I think that really was driven home last night, and I think you have to now have a message. You have a president who does have economic accomplishments, but it's not been communicated. And I think you're going to see them try and do a better job of that.

BLOW: But I think it's kind of a faux authenticity. I kind of disagree with that. What I kept seeing was, you know, kind of drummed-up, huckster-ish kind of feeling. An earthiness that wasn't even real to the candidates themselves. But it was kind of appealing to an anti-Washington sentiment that said that if you feel like -- if I can get the sense that you are more earthy, you farm...

CUOMO: That's called -- that's called political effectiveness.

BLOW: You know what I mean? But it was -- in terms of authenticity, it didn't feel authentic.

CUOMO: It did to the voters.

FLEISCHER: We haven't talked about the big man here, and that's President Obama.

CUOMO: Right.

FLEISCHER: He has an extraordinarily small window before he turns into a lame duck, and he's got big decisions. Is he going to be confrontational? Executive orders on immigration? Or is he going to say, "We have to work together" and see if he can meet in the middle?

(CROSSTALK)

CAMEROTA: Hold those thoughts, panel. You're going to come back with us. And we do like faux authenticity, the oxymoron of the day. Nicely done, Charles.

All right, stick around, panel.

CUOMO: All right. We're going to be talking with Senator Rand Paul, because now we're talking about the big shots and how they fared in this, right? We have Governor Chris Christie. We have GOP Congressman Greg Walden, just reelected. And Dave Brad, who beat majority leader Eric Cantor a few months ago; secured his spot in Congress last night. So what do the big names have to say coming out of the big day? We'll tell you.

CAMEROTA: Also, some surprises in races for governor this year. We'll break those down for you, when we return.

Plus the GOP seizing control of the Senate overnight, if you're just waking up. Will this put the rest of President Obama's term in jeopardy?

CUOMO: Yes.

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CUOMO: Welcome back to CNN's breaking news coverage of the 2004 mid- term elections. It is breaking, because some of the races still undecided. Here's what we know.

You, the voter, you spoke loud and clear yesterday, and the message was, Republicans win. The GOP picked up at least seven seats, seizing control of the Senate from the Democrats. Republicans also picked up over a dozen seats in the House, giving the party its latest majority in Congress since World War II.

And it wasn't just Congress that the GOP won. The message was also sent to the states. Governors' races, including two typically blue states, Massachusetts and Maryland, going Republican, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: Voters also weighing in on some major ballot initiatives. Voters in Washington, D.C., and Oregon both approved recreational pot use by adults, according to preliminary numbers. And early numbers also indicate Alaska's plan to tax, regulate and legalize marijuana is likely to pass.

Florida's medical marijuana initiative received more than 50 percent of the vote, but it failed to reach the 60 percent that it needed to pass.

And raising the minimum wage also a big ballot initiative. It was approved in Arkansas, Nebraska, South Dakota and Alaska.

Now let's get over to Michaela, who has a look at our top governors' races.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, a lot of folks want to know what's going on in their state, Alisyn. There are some real surprises here.

Let's start with Florida, a key gubernatorial race this cycle. Governor Rick Scott, the incumbent, Republican, re-elected, facing a tough challenger from former governor Charlie Crist, a Republican turned independent turned Democrat. Scott spent millions of his own money in order to hang onto that seat.

Illinois, President Obama's home state, of course. It is now red, Republican candidate and venture capitalist Bruce Rauner declaring victory over incumbent Democrat Pat Quinn. That ended a 12-year Democratic streak in the state of Illinois.

Massachusetts, once known as a deep blue state, also now with a Republican governor. Republican healthcare CEO Charlie Baker winning the race over Democrat and attorney general Martha Coakley to become the state's first Republican governor since Mitt Romney.

To Wisconsin now, another term for Republican Scott Walker, perhaps a boost to his 2016 presidential ambitions, bolstered by an easy defeat over his Democratic challenger, Mary Burke. He won re-election by double digits.

Now last but certainly not least. A significant pick-up for the Democrats in Pennsylvania. Businessman and former Pennsylvania revenue secretary Tom Wolf pouring millions of dollars into campaign ads, and it paid off. He unseats Republican incumbent Tom Corbett. Later this morning, we're going to talk about all these wins and so

much more with New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who has been out on the campaign trail in support of Republican governors. He, of course, the chairman of the Republican Governors Association. He'll have all sorts of thoughts, celebrating and some thoughts about where we go from here -- Chris.

CUOMO: All right, Mick. A big night for the GOP, period. No other way to see it than that. The party will in power in both houses of Congress. The question is what will they do with the power?

Joining us now is someone who knows. Republican Congressman Greg Walden from Oregon. He won his race last night, but he won a lot more than that, because he's the chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee.

Congratulations to you, Congressman. It is good to have you with us this morning. You have the mandate from the people. What will you do with it?

REP. GREG WALDEN (R-OR), CHAIRMAN, NATIONAL REPUBLICAN CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE: Govern responsibly. I mean, that's what we need to do.

There are 300-some bills sitting in the Senate that passed with bipartisan votes in the House, 40 of them led by Democrats. There's a big basket of ideas to make America better that we need to now pick up, sort through, work with our Senate colleagues and the White House, and start solving America's problems. Get the country back on track. That's what we need to do.

CUOMO: Now, we don't know, but let's just assume that the Democrats are bitter. And they look across the aisle, and they see people who they believe obstructed them and backed them into a corner and are now advantaging that. What is your message to Democrats to not do the same to you?

WALDEN: Look, America deserves better. The elections are over. It's time for those who have been elected to go earn their salary. And that means working together to solve the problems.

It doesn't mean we're all going to agree on everything. You see a referendum on the president's policies last night, rejected soundly at the polls. So America wants us to go in a different direction. But they do expect us to get our jobs done.

And so, I mean, I've got bipartisan legislation that's passed. I've got legislation that's passed unanimously the Senate never bothered to take up. And so I think there's a great opportunity for the country here. Let's put country first.

CUOMO: Fair message -- fair criticism that that message could be met with skepticism, despite the mandate that you just got. But let's face it: People are just angry.

But you have done a lot of obstructing. You have stopped the president. That has been somewhat of a mantra: Shut down the government. Why will you be different now?

WALDEN: Well, let's start with what the House has done. I'll let somebody else speak about the Senate. I'm from the House, and we've actually -- we performed. We opened up the process. We allowed Democrats to have amendments on the floor. Something the Democratic Party didn't do under Nancy Pelosi. They shut us down, locked us out. We changed that under John Boehner, opened up the House. I think somebody told me the other day Sheila Jackson Lee had more amendments, a Democrat out of Texas, in the House than all the Republicans combined in the Senate. So let's take a look at who is really doing what.

But you know what? That should be behind us. Why don't we try it differently for once? Open it up, get it done. Move legislation, make things happen, be positive about it.

CUOMO: Now, of course, you represent the House, and of course, you're overseeing the shift there. But this is a big headline about the Senate, and it is about Mitch McConnell now coming into leadership there. Do you have any concerns about your party being able to get its house in order and whether Mitch McConnell will get there? Ted Cruz is saying he won't back him. I mean, you know, it's a legitimate issue.

WALDEN: Well, first of all, I'm not in the Senate. Again, I was here to talk about the House races and the biggest majority, it looks like we may have since the 1920s, if we pick up 13 or 14 seats, which is looks like we're poised to do.

CUOMO: Right. But what good is the House if you don't have the Senate? You can't get anything, ultimately, to the president's desk without both. That's why I'm asking you. I'm extending your authority.

WALDEN: That's correct. That's correct. We need both. I think there's a good working relationship between Mitch McConnell, who I believe will be the majority leader in the Senate, and John Boehner, who will be the speaker of the House.

And I think there's a huge desire among the leaders of both parties and the bulk of those who have been elected in both parties to get big things done, get small things done, get the people's business done. So give us a chance to go to work. And we need to prove ourselves and earn it every day.

CUOMO: Great message to send. No question about that. Last point quickly, Congressman. Money is politics. We hear it all the time. Not last night. You got outspent by $41 million. You still won. What do you take that to mean?

WALDEN: Well, I think what it means is, we got data and digital right. We figured out how to run good ground campaigns. Elections are decided by those who turned out to vote. We identified them early. We worked them often.

We had great candidates. We had a good message. We put it all together. We ran it like a small business, which is the background I come out of and we got results and I think that's really how you measure things, is do your job, keep focused, and get results.

I think we had a great team and great support in the conference for everything we were doing at the NRCC and our staff did an amazing job. As you say, we with did with less money, got more done. Think that's what Americans want the government to do by the way.

CUOMO: Congressman Greg Walden, congratulations on your win. I hope you're able to do everything that you say you want to do.

WALDEN: Hear, hear, thank you.

CUOMO: Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: All right, Chris, we're taking a closer look at just who turned out to vote yesterday and how it compares to the presidential election in 2012. The interesting findings that we will let you in on.

And the president will speak about the results later today so what will he say? We have a live report next.

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