Maddow cheers voters giving 'one-finger salute' to those saying no one votes

MS NOW's Rachel Maddow was shocked and excited Tuesday night, reporting the overwhelming turnout in South Carolina's midterm elections.

According to reports on the ground, voters in South Carolina set a 30-year turnout record on Tuesday. They also broke records in early voting numbers, she explained.

Amid a discussion about "strongman" candidates falling in Serbia and Brazil, Maddow explained that far-right leaders like those try to discourage voters from standing up against them either through fear or intimidation.

"One of the things that happens in democratic backsliding, and when authoritarians take over democratic countries, is that they tell you that the vote doesn't matter," Maddow said. "I mean, that's the whole thing behind claiming voter fraud and claiming that the elections are rigged. It's to tell people, don't bother voting. Your vote doesn't count your vote, whatever you intend it to mean. It won't ever mean that in this whole system is rigged against you. And it's to turn people off from voting, not only to make them disbelieve the results, but to make them disinterested in participating."

"And this is a freaking one-finger salute to that idea from the American people. So good night. So good. I mean, the turnout numbers again, those record turnout numbers, I was just — I was just conveying to you, those are out of South Carolina. I don't know what's gonna happen," Maddow conceded. "But this is the American people saying, we are out here."

Lawrence O'Donnell said he has a lot of family in South Carolina and has heard all season long that people were furious. O'Donnell said his cousin Jim told him this would happen, that this kind of turnout would unfold.

Polls just closed in South Carolina, and the U.S. Senate race is likely to be close despite the seat being solidly red.

By the time of her Oct. 11 debate against Annie Andrews, Darline Graham still struggled. While she didn't make any additional gaffes as she did in the GOP debate, she was very slow to answer, and there were many awkward pauses. Her attack lines didn't land, and that became part of the narrative that she wasn't ready for prime time. Andrews followed Norman's message, saying the debate proved Graham simply wasn't qualified.

Throughout September and into part of October, Graham led by only a few points in polls and always within the margin of error. Her best showing came from the GOP firm Trafalgar Group, where she led by just three points. Impact Research did a poll from Oct. 15-21 that put Andrews up by one point, but still within the margin of error. By Election Day they were tied.

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