MATTHEWS: Welcome back to HARDBALL. We‘re watching the votes coming in are from Virginia. We can‘t call it yet. It looks like Bob McDonnell continues to lead the Democrat Creigh Deeds in the governors‘ race down there which is a race that goes - well, it seemed to always go against whoever the country voted for for president the year before. This seems to be a relentless pattern in the commonwealth of Virginia.

We‘re joined right now by one of the up and comers, I think he‘s still up and coming, although he may have already arrived. Eric Cantor, of the House Republican whip.

So, you‘re one of the top Republicans in the House, right now. Explain this race to the people outside the commonwealth of Virginia, the importance of the Virginia governors‘ race to somebody say, in Utah, right now.

ERIC CANTOR ®, VIRGINIA: Well, no question, Chris, this is a great night for Republicans in Virginia. And clearly the people of this commonwealth have said enough with the spending, enough with the waste, enough with the government overreach, and they‘ve rejected the policies that have been what this administration in Washington‘s about and they‘ve embraced what Bob McDonnell has been talking about, here in and that is a focus on the economy...

(CROSSTALK)

MATTHEWS: Well, where do you get that information? Because we‘ve got a exit polling which shows about 1/5 of the people, a little less than 1/5 of the people thought they were voting to support Obama today in Virginia. a bit more than 1/5 said they were voting against them and the overwhelming majority said they were voting locally. How do you get this confidence that this was a rejection of Barack Obama?

CANTOR: Look, Chris, we also look at the exit polls which indicate that 85 percent of Virginians are voting out of their concerns over the economy, and even more in New Jersey, 90 percent of the voters there are unsatisfied with the economy.

Whose economy is it? It‘s Barack Obama‘s economy, and clearly there‘s a rejection of the policies that have been coming out of Washington. And it‘s been the leadership here. Bob McDonnell, that says, you know what? There is a better way. And he‘s been able to unite our party here in Virginia and to attract independents in droves and I think you‘re going to see an overwhelming victory here in Virginia tonight in stark contrast to where the intensity and the victory occurred just a year ago, here in the commonwealth.

MATTHEWS: But, that‘s just a partisan statement, isn‘t it? To blame the economy on Barack Obama when he inherited what he inherited? That‘s just a partisan statement to call it the Obama economy.

CANTOR: Well, listen, Chris, I mean, there‘s no question that there is a rejection of things coming out of Washington. Washington‘s controlled by the other party. It‘s controlled by the Barack Obama White House...

MATTHEWS: Yeah, but every-but, Mr. Cantor, every poll shows people hate the Republican Congress as much as they do the Democratic Congress. You guys-you hate it now, but you‘re a leader now, you‘re an incumbent, you‘re part of the establishment, you‘re part of the crowd they don‘t like. Right? Or am I wrong? Tell me I‘m wrong. Tell me they only dislike Democrats. They only hold Democrats accountable for the lousy economy. Just tell me that. But, don‘t cross your fingers and say you‘re doing it because you‘re a Republican spokesman. You can‘t honestly believe that this is just a lousy economy because of Barack Obama. That we would have four percent unemployment if he weren‘t president. Do you think McCain would have any better thing going right now?

CANTOR: Listen, Chris, I‘m just looking at the voters and the numbers that we‘re going to see here in Virginia, tonight. This is a rejection of what things have been going on in Washington and this is an embracing of what Bob McDonnell and the leadership that Bob McDonnell has chose.

MATTHEWS: OK, let me ask you a couple questions. Why is it that Virginia, every year, even Mark Warner, after we just elected George W. Bush was elected, immediately thereafter, Mark Warner was elected Democratic governor of Virginia. Was he a rejection of Bush right off the bat? Right after 9/11? Two months after 9/11 he was a rejection of Bush? Can you say that with consistency to what you‘re saying now?

CANTOR: I think what we‘re seeing here in Virginia is a rejection of the theory that you and others really, Chris, had put out last year, that somehow our traditionally red state had gone blue or purple and I think what it really says is this is a warning shot to the Democrats and to the president that, you know what? The policies they‘re pursuing are not being embraced by a state that you, yourself, had talked about a year ago as going to the blue column. This is a warning shot to the moderate Democrats to say hey, wait a minute, maybe we ought to try another way. Maybe there is a better way.

MATTHEWS: OK. If you‘re going to quote me, congressman, and you‘re a very smart guy, try to get it right. I said that states like North Carolina, where I went to school, and Virginia, because of their incredible commitment to their university systems in Richmond and in Charlottesville and around the state with the levels of the higher education system in both those states, had taken themselves from the old South and made themselves enlightened enough to vote for an African-American for president and to have a choice who they vote for. I didn‘t say they‘d become liberal states or automatic Democratic states, and you know I didn‘t.

Anyway, let me ask you about the big question here for you, tonight. McDonnell, let‘s put a real prize around him. I think McDonnell‘s great claim to fame is he ran a positive campaign. The other guy was going after his term papers from 30 years ago and McDonnell talked about his daughter fighting for the U.S. as a servicewoman overseas in Iraq as a Notre Dame graduate, as a ROTC (ph) person, I thought he really sold the positive and that‘s why he won, if he won.

CANTOR: Well, I agree with you. The campaign was incredibly well run, and the message was positive and I think it does say something about the voters of Virginia. They want to have a better prospect for the future, and Bob‘s campaign focused on jobs. It was clearly an economic message that won the day here in Virginia.

And when you look at where people‘s minds are here, 85 percent of the people are concerned about their economy, they‘re looking for another way. They‘re rejecting the policies coming out of the Congress and the White House toward the economy. So it was, you‘re right, the positive agenda for the future that Bob McDonnell won the day on.

MATTHEWS: Why did Bob McDonnell keep Sarah Palin out of the state? He let her use robo calls but no reference to him personally. I have a theory that Virginia may not be a liberal state, certainly never will be probably, but it‘s certainly not a wacko right-wing state either. And I don‘t think it would go for a Sarah Palin over a Barack Obama, but I may be wrong, in lousy economic conditions, anything is possible. You wouldn‘t call Virginia a Palin state, would you?

CANTOR: Virginia has always been a common sense conservative state. There are millions of voters here whom embrace Sarah Palin, obviously millions embracing Bob McDonnell. You know, our state is one that is a center right state. I think it is reflective of where the nation is and that‘s why we are very excited about what this win tonight will mean for our prospects of November of ‘10.

MATTHEWS: I bet if you go home and check with your voter‘s, Congressman, a lot of your most trusted voters who like you personally, are scared the bejesus out of Sarah Palin. She‘s a theocrat. She‘s so far out in terms of basic American notions of pluralism that your voters would think she was frightening.

CANTOR: Chris, you just said that Bob McDonnell won the day on a positive message, so here you go again.

(CROSSTALK)

MATTHEWS: No, I‘m just saying you wouldn‘t let her in the state.

CANTOR: That‘s the kind of politics that people are rejecting.

MATTHEWS: Did Bob McDonnell overrule you when you tried to bring Sarah Palin in to campaign for him?

CANTOR: Absolutely not. She‘s welcomed in this state. I‘m sure Bob McDonnell would say she is. Again, it‘s that kind of negativity that‘s been rejected here in Virginia. And you said so yourself, Chris.

MATTHEWS: Well, you know what, I like a lot of-a love John Warner. What a great senator he was. I think that‘s the kind of guy you should be picking. And you, if you settle down a little bit and move to the center.

Anyway, Congressman Eric Cantor, thank you. I mean, really, one of the real rising stars in the Republican Party, I think he‘s going to be one of the real leaders of the country some day. I‘m not sure it‘s great, but I think it‘s going to happen. Anyway, thank you, Congressman Cantor, for coming on HARDBALL. Please come back, as you can tell, you‘re very welcomed here. Ha!

CANTOR: Thanks Chris.