Changing demographics could decide election

>>> much we can't talk to the romney campaign at this point. things have not been going their way but they are not out of it. it's possible that they could definitely still win. what do you think is going on inside that campaign right now?

>> well, they are looking at the numbers. they are running their models. they are looking at this on a precinct by precinct basis. they are obviously aware of the coverage. they are obviously aware of the trend. the mood is starting to darken a little bit likely. they are worried but they are not out of it yet and they still know that they are our paths to victory. there are going to be close victories. florida is as close as they expected it to be. they expect to win in florida early in the evening. the polls had a couple points up for romney and it's not materializing. but also, rachel, one of the things that chuck todd talked about earlier, demographically, if the polls are accurate, it's highly likely that mitt romney is going to come in with 61% of the white vote. the last candidate who got 60, 61% of the white vote was in 1988 , 24 years ago, george h.w. bush . when you look at the race tonight, mitt romney can eke out a victory. it's stunning detail how much the country has changed and the cat as it stro fee with the latino vote which was over 40% for george bush eight short years ago and now it's going to be in the 20s. even if mitt romney is able to win this election tonight, this will be the last election that a republican can possibly win as a national candidate with these type of numbers and latino community with women voters and it's really going to lead to some important moments of soul searching i think in the republican party if we're to be a national party .

>> if locking up that much of the white vote is no longer the way to win, how does that change the balance of what the party offers voters in terms of social issues, in terms of economics?

>> if you look at california , which just came in, called the moment the polls closed in california --

>> i have to interrupt you. i'm sorry. we have an apparent winner in north carolina . north carolina , nbc news is projecting mitt romney the winner in this case. that means that not everything is in but nbc news is comfortable with calling them the apparent winner in this case. this would be a huge blow to mitt romney if he didn't win it.

>> in 1988 george herbert walker bush won the state of california . california was a state that voted republican. 1994 , proposition 1987 perceived as an attack on the latinos destroyed the party for an entire generation. the party has not recovered and, in fact, it ceases to function as a party. california has been a trend setter for the country and if you look at the republican party nationally with the latino vote, the fact that we're trending in the direction of california is deeply, deeply worrying, if you're a republican.

>> you see, i think that in terms of nonwhite voters, latinos , even african-americans, no one is addressing the issues. i think you've got to address people' interest to get their votes. it's not like we can say that latinos or for that matter african-americans just automatically are democrats. we're not born democrats. dna doesn't stand for democratic party in us. you go with who addresses your interests. you tend to embrace what embrace you and i think the soul searching that steve talks about, they've got to deal with, as you said, the social issues. you cannot talk against people's interests. you cannot demonize them, marginalize them and say, why don't you vote for me? because people have self-interest and self-preservation and it would make the democrats have to do more soul searching . but they are not competing for the democrats having those votes because they are just telling people, oh, go to both parties but we're not going to address anything in your interests. and no one is going to commit that kind of crime against their own self.