Did FL-13 Impact the 2006 Midterm Election Results?

[Gokul43201]

Use this thread to report results as they come in!

 

[Astronuc]

I am actually trying to ignore the elections until tomorrow.

At least we don't have incessant calls to vote or calls to inquire as to whom we might be voting or what we think about issues. I can't believe the number of surveys with which we have been bombarded during the last two weeks.

Edit: Sorry Gokul, I didn't mean to discourage anyone else from posting. I haven't heard anything yet, but then I've been busy.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Well, the early exit polls are in, and in what is being described as the upset of the century, it looks like a complete sweep for Hamas.

 

[russ_watters]

At least we don't have incessant calls to vote or calls to inquire as to whom we might be voting or what we think about issues. I can't believe the number of surveys with which we have been bombarded during the last two weeks.

You're kidding?!? I had four waiting for me when I got home from work tonight. 'Course I had already voted...

 

[Astronuc]

Didn't Bush say something like that - "A vote for Democrats, is a vote for the terrorists?"

 

[Astronuc]

You're kidding?!? I had four waiting for me when I got home from work tonight. 'Course I had already voted...

My wife said she was called tonight to remind her to vote, which she had already done.

We got 2 or 3 calls per day this week, and perhaps more. Most have been robo-calls. It's enough to have an unlisted party affiliation.

I think we will see more 'uncommitted' voters in the future. This particular cycle has been the worst in terms of annoying calls. I don't even want to think about 2008 - I think we'll leave the country.

 

[Gokul43201]

I started getting calls at 7:30 in the morning - don't they know I can't vote here (I've told them so many times)?

Looks like the first polling centers will be closing in about 15 minutes. We should start to see early numbers from VA, RI, PA and a few other states pretty soon. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens in the VA Senate and in Congressional seats in Philly and RI.

 

[Gokul43201]

Very early numbers (4% of precincts reporting) from the VA senate race have Jim Webb nearly 20% behind George Allen. [[Update: with 25% reporting it's a tie]]

http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2006/pages/results/states/VA/

All polls conducted in the last week have given Webb a small lead - let's see how good they were.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_United_States_Senate_election,_2006#Polling

Also noteworthy, is Va's second district where somewhat favored incumbent Drake(R) is now tied with 50% reporting.



Senator Lugar has held his senate seat as expected.

The Indiana House seats to watch are in districts 2 and 9. Both races are currently tied. The 8th district, however, looks all set to be the Dems first big win, where the incumbent Hostettler(R) is down 1:2 with a quarter of all precincts reporting. [[Update: CNN has now called this race for Ellsworth(D)]]

http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2006//pages/results/states/IN/H/08/index.html



Florida's 16th (Foley's district) is also currently tied with 10% of results in.

http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2006//pages/results/states/FL/H/16/index.html



The big one in KY is the 3rd district, where challenger Yarmouth is just 4000 votes over the incumbent Northup(R), with over 80% of the votes counted.

http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2006//pages/results/states/KY/H/03/index.html

 

[mattmns]

My good friend Bill Richardson called today and reminded me to vote. The place I voted at was dead, and, in fact, I was supposedly the 132nd person to vote in my district

Go Madrid!

 

[Gokul43201]

OHIO - KEY RACES (and ballot measures)

Senate: Sherrod Brown(D) vs (incumbent) Mike DeWine(R) -- CNN has called this one for Brown -- that's the first big Senate win for the Dems.

House District 15: Mary Jo Kilroy(D) vs (incumbent) Deborah Pryce(R) -- no numbers yet

Ohio Issue 2 (raise minumum wage and have it rise with inflation thereafter): CNN has called this issue passed.

http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2006//pages/results/states/OH/index.html

Issue 5 (to ban smoking essentially everywhere but your home or on the streets) looks like it will defeat Issue 4 (to allow smoking in all restaurants, bars and suchtypes)

 

[Evo]

Good thread idea gokul!

 

[Gokul43201]

VIRGINIA - KEY RACES (and ballot measures)

Senate: Webb(D) and Allen(R, incumbent) are tied with about half the precincts reporting. Looking at the districts that still have a way to go, I'm calling a narrow Webb win...I think Allen's current lead will start decreasing within the hour.

House Dist. 2: Drake(R, inc) is leading Kellum(D) by 5 points (50% reporting). [Update: Drake has held his seat by a 1% final margin]

VA Issue 1: Proposed amendment to Virginia Constitution would define marriage as a contract between one man and one woman. It would also ban the future creation or recognition of "another union, partnership, or other legal status to which is assigned the rights, benefits, obligations, qualities or effects of marriage." -- This measure has passed (no same-sex marriages or civil unions in VA!)

http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2006/pages/results/states/VA/

 

[Gokul43201]

Good thread idea gokul!

Heh...I bet 90% of the posts will be mine. I'm a nut!

 

[Astronuc]

Rep. Bernie Sanders (Ind, VT) will get James Jeffords's seat in the Senate. Both are independents. I would like to see more independents. That doesn't change things. Jeffords left the Republican party to become an independent.

Peter Welch (D) will probably get Vt's only congressional seat. Not much of a change since Sanders pretty much voted with the Dems.


In RI, Whitehouse (D) has a very slight lead over Chaffee (R) who is one of the moderates.


In CT, Lamont (D) is slightly ahead of Lieberman, who is running as an independent more or less. The Congressional elections seem to be going the Dems, with a close race between Courtney (D) and the incumbent Simmons (R) in CT 2nd district.

 

[Gokul43201]

The two Dem incumbent seats in the senate that are up for grabs - NJ & MD look like they're both going to go to the Dems.

With 30% reporting in NJ, Menendez(D, inc) has a 6% lead - CNN has called that race for Menendez.

http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2006//pages/results/states/NJ/index.html
Numbers for MD are just starting to come out now.

http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2006//pages/results/states/MD/index.html

[Update: MD looks about evenly tied with about 40% reporting. CNN, however, has called the race for challenger, Ben Cardin(D). Cardin is currently down by 2 points, but will more than likely make that up in Baltimore, Montgomery and Prince George's...soI second CNN on that!]

 

[Astronuc]

Early in the PA Senate Race, with 11% of precints reporting, Casey (D) -206,018 - is leading Santorum (R) - 122,972. That will be an interesting race.

The PA congressional races seem to be expressing a preference for Democrats, but the night is still young. Several incumbent Republicans are behind in PA4,6,7,8 districts.


In VA, Allen is slightly ahead of Webb with 81% of the precincts reporting. Incumbents seem to be enjoying support.

 

[Gokul43201]

STATEHOUSES - KEY RACES:

MD : Ehrlich(R,inc) vs O'Malley(D)

MN : Pawlenty(R,inc) vs Hatch(D)

MI : Granholm(D, inc) vs DeVos(R)

ME : Baldacci(D, inc) vs Woodcock(R)

FL (Jeb's seat) : Crist(R) leading Davis(D) by nearly 10 points (50% done)

RI : Carcieri (R, inc) vs Fogarty(D)<will update and add to list as significant numbers come in>

 

[Gokul43201]

Early in the PA Senate Race, with 11% of precints reporting, Casey (D) -206,018 - is leading Santorum (R) - 122,972. That will be an interesting race.

I'm calling this one against Santorum.

In VA, Allen is slightly ahead of Webb with 81% of the precincts reporting. Incumbents seem to be enjoying support.

Allen has a nearly 30,000 vote lead...but I'm still expecting Webb to start pulling up closer any time now. Arlington is likely to give Webb an extra 15,000 or so votes, and that's one of 3 or 4 such big ones with a lot of counting remaining.

 

[Astronuc]

Down in Texas, the incumbents seem to be leading their races.

In Tom DeLay's district, TX 22, Nick Lampson has a slight lead.

Rick Perry (R) is leading for governor, and two independents Carole Strayhorn (I), who is a former mayor of Austin, and Richard "Kinky"
Friedman (I), an author and musician, have respectable votes, 18% and 11% respectively, with 8% of precincts reporting.

Texas 23rd has 6 D's and 1 I running against the incumbent Republican.

 

[Astronuc]

SULLIVAN'S ISLAND, South Carolina (CNN) -- A sheepish Gov. Mark Sanford was turned away from a South Carolina polling place Tuesday because he forgot his voter registration card.

The casting of ballots in front of the news media is a well-worn tradition for politicians, but it was no Kodak moment when Sanford discovered he had left his card behind.

Off camera, South Carolina first lady Jenny Sanford could be heard telling her husband that she had reminded him to bring it.

This is what wives do best! He should have listened to his wife.
http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/11/07/sanford.votes/index.html

 

[Evo]

Unfortunately Stem Cell Initiative Constitutional Amendment 2 in favor of stem cell research is not doing well. The Christians have been out in droves "voting against cloning" as they put it. Once again, we're at the mercy of the ignorant masses.

Here's the proposed ammendment for those not aware of it.

http://www.sos.mo.gov/elections/2006petitions/ppStemCell.asp

 

[Astronuc]

"I voted to give the president the authority to use force in Iraq; that doesn't mean I'm always happy with what I see, but I can think of nothing worse for our troops or our prospects for success than having 435 members of Congress second-guessing our commanders," Pryce wrote.

That's not the point. It's not about second-guessing the commanders, it's about putting a check on the president. Congress should have supported the military, which was being undermined by the administration.

In the OH 15th, Pryce (R) and Kilroy (D) are about 110 votes apart with 82% of precincts reporting.

 

[Manchot]

Unfortunately Stem Cell Initiative Constitutional Amendment 2 in favor of stem cell research is not doing well. The Christians have been out in droves "voting against cloning" as they put it. Once again, we're at the mercy of the ignorant masses.

Here's the proposed ammendment for those not aware of it.

http://www.sos.mo.gov/elections/2006petitions/ppStemCell.asp

As a Missourian, I'm extremely disappointed. Given that all the polls had suggested that the amendment enjoyed an overwhelming support (51% to 35%), it appears that the fundamentalists got out the vote. At the same time, McCaskill is currently losing by a surprising amount, suggesting that the same fundamentalists are influencing the Senate race as well.

 

[Astronuc]

(CNN) -- Democrats are projected to pick up three GOP-held Senate seats and are holding a narrow lead in a fourth in their bid to regain control of the Senate.

Three other states -- Missouri, Montana and Tennessee-- will complete the equation. Democrats need to win six GOP-held Senate seats to regain control.

CNN projects Democratic wins in Rhode Island, Pennsylvania and Ohio.

In Virginia, Democratic challenger Jim Webb holds a narrow lead over incumbent Sen. George Allen in early returns in the Senate race. Webb holds a 1-point lead with 81 percent of the precincts reporting.

State treasurer Robert Casey Jr. is projected to defeat Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, the third-ranking Senate Republican, and Democratic Rep. Sherrod Brown is projected to unseat incumbent Republican Sen. Mike DeWine in Ohio.

Rhode Island's Republican Sen. Lincoln Chafee, one of the few moderates in the Senate, is projected to lose to Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse, the former state attorney general.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/11/07/election.senate/index.html
Apparently Lamont has conceded to Liberman, and it appears that Republicans turned out to support Lieberman, who has tended to vote in support of Bush on foreign policy issues. Lamont ran a very negative campaign. I have heard accounts of questionable business practices by Lamont, but then that's just hearsay.

 

[Evo]

I have just got to ask why there are poll booths in churches. Someone please explain why this makes sense. The church tells them how to vote, then they go to that place they feel endorses their vote. This isn't wrong? Shouldn't the place you vote be neutral?

On a local note, the $75 million for new soccer fields in neighborhood's of people in multi-million dollar homes is losing. Ah, gosh darn.

 

[Astronuc]

GOP has hope
The GOP focused Monday on building momentum, telling its base and undecided voters that any rumors of the party's demise in Congress have been greatly exaggerated.

"My prediction is we will maintain our majorities in the House and Senate. ... I think there's momentum," Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman told CNN.

He also released an open memo headlined, "New polls say our party is heading into Election Day with strong momentum."

But Schumer said that Democrats are "getting support in places we never expected."

"You're getting a large number of voters, independents, Republicans who are voting for us because either they're fed up with the war and George Bush's inability," he said.

"Or there are some even real conservative people who think you need some checks and balances in this government," he said.

Schumer credited some of his optimism to his party's altered get-out-the-vote effort. Schumer said that where once Democrats used a more traditional "one size fits all" approach to get voters to the polls, this year they are using more personal and up-to-date techniques to bolster Democratic voter turnout.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/11/06/election.schumer/index.html

We'll see by tomorrow.

If the Democrats do regain one or both houses, I hope they don't get too cocky.

I would prefer more Independents, or moderates who are concerned with fiduciary responsbility and laws which are fair and just, and not preferential of sufficiently vague as to allow for loopholes. The law needs to be as precise as possible.

 

[Astronuc]

Tester (D) takes an initial lead over the incumbent Burns (R) in Montana Senate race, but only 1% of precincts reporting.

 

[Gokul43201]

Looks to me like Allen will take VA by a little over 10,000 votes. What's left of Arlington, Charlottesville and Richmond will cut down Allen's current lead of about 30,000, but not by enough.

 

[Evo]

As a Missourian, I'm extremely disappointed. Given that all the polls had suggested that the amendment enjoyed an overwhelming support (51% to 35%), it appears that the fundamentalists got out the vote.

Is it surprising that the campaign headquarters for the opponents of the stem cell initiative is the Catholic Knights of Columbus Hall?

I was listening to a radio talk show this morning aimed at the under 30 liberal crowd and the talk show hosts had no clue what the ammendment was about and if I hadn't known, after listening to them, I would have voted against it. They were supposedly trying to talk in favor of it.

 

[Gokul43201]

THE DEMS HAVE THE HOUSE! (unless something really, really crazy happens)

http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2006/

http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/11/07/election.house/index.html

Democrats to take control of House, CNN projects
POSTED: 11:10 p.m. EST, November 7, 2006