Did FL-13 Impact the 2006 Midterm Election Results?

[Astronuc]

Did you see how close the Florida 13 was?
119,060:118,696
364 difference
crazy

Crazier - Foley got 48% of the vote in his district, Florida 16.

 

[moose]

So Missouri is close
Montana is close
and Virginia is insanely close
...exciting

 

[moose]

Astronuc, didnt the vote for Foley actually go for that other guy, because Foley is in rehab or whatever?

Yeahhh, Gokul got it, Joe Negron

 

[Gokul43201]

Crazier - Foley got 48% of the vote in his district, Florida 16.

The "foley" votes are cast for his replacement, Joe Negron.

 

[Astronuc]

Ah, I vaguely remember hearing something about that, but I haven't paid close attention to it.

It will interesting to see who heads up the Science and Transportation & Infrastructure committees in the House, and likewise in the Senate.

 

[moose]

Looking at Arizona propositions, looks like:
English will be official language (YAY)
$1 million reward for voting, lottery type thing, VOTED DOWN! (YAY, stupidest prop ever)
Raise minimum wage: passed through (I guess I will be earning more once this goes into effect)
Ban Same-Sex marriage (as in, to have it in the Arizona constitution), so far looks like voted down... heh, oh well :/ I was hoping for it to go through

Im just curious how the smoking ban ones are doing.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Holy crap! They might really take the Senate! Webb all but announced.

 

[Astronuc]

McCaskill (D) is now up by ~25000 votes with 85% of precincts reporting.

Missouri Amendment 2: Allow Stem Cell Research is ahead by ~15000 votes YES

============

I wonder how the Financial Markets will react later today?

 

[Ivan Seeking]

And is McCaskill announcing now...?

YES!

 

[Gokul43201]

Ban Same-Sex marriage (as in, to have it in the Arizona constitution), so far looks like voted down...

I think AZ will be the only state that hasn't voted in support of the ban! I applaud the Arizonans on not being a bunch of imbeciles!

Arizona | Proposition 107: Ban Same-Sex Marriage
Proposed amendment to the Arizona Constitution would define marriage as a union solely between a man and a woman; would prohibit the state from creating or recognizing any legal status for unmarried persons that is similar to that of marriage.

The MO Stem Cell prop looks like it might go through after starting off quite poorly.

Missouri | Amendment 2: Allow Stem Cell Research
Proposed amendment to the Missouri Constitution known as the "Stem Cell Research and Cures Initiative" would protect embryonic stem cell research. It would specifically legalize all stem cell research and therapies consistent with federal law. It would ban human cloning.

Evo, Manchot - don't lose heart just yet!

 

[moose]

And is McCaskill announcing now...?

YES!

It'd be humorous if she turned out to be wrong

Boy would that be embarrassing.

 

[Astronuc]

Democrats seize control of House
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6127216.stm

What the Brits say.

The Democrats are also projected to have won three of six target Senate seats - but several key races remain too close to call.

Polls have now closed across the US, with high turnout reported.

. . . .
The BBC's Jamie Coomarasamy in Washington says the results in these mid-term elections have changed the political landscape in the US.

The last two years of the Bush presidency will be very different to what has gone before, he says.

Ms Pelosi - who stands to become the first female House speaker - said the Democrats would "restore integrity and honesty" to Washington and lead the "most ethical Congress in history".

Remember these words!

"Today the American people voted for change and they voted for Democrats to take our country in a new direction - and that is exactly what we intend to do," she said.

Well let's not get carried away. Afterall, we still have a choice of two major parties, and that's not much of a choice IMO. I would prefer something more than chocolate or vanilla, and not necessarily strawberry.


First Muslim congressman elected
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6127234.stm

Keith Ellison, a Democrat, has become the first Muslim to be elected to the US Congress by winning a Minnesota seat in the House of Representatives. He overcame personal attacks emphasising his past association with Louis Farrakhan, leader of the radical Nation of Islam group.

The 43-year-old lawyer sought to downplay his religion and ran on a populist platform.

He has called for the immediate withdrawal of US troops from Iraq.

On the campaign trail, he also urged a greater reliance on renewable fuels and the establishment of a government-funded universal healthcare system.

 

[moose]

CNN called Missouri Senate to McCaskill

 

[Gokul43201]

1. Webb has won (my prediction).

There are only about 9000 (regular) votes left to count in VA, and they are from 3 counties, all of which are voting D so far. Allen will need to win about 7500 of these to overcome Webb's current 6000 vote lead.

I've got no numbers on provisional ballots.

 

[moose]

Republican Sen. Jim Talent of Missouri concedes defeat to Democrat Claire McCaskill.

yup .

 

[Astronuc]

McCaskill (D) 912,815
Talent (R) 876,078 (Incumbent)

89% of precincts reporting

McCaskill's lead widened to ~36,000 votes.

Still tight in Montana

Tester (D) 127,342
Burns (R) 116,751 (incumbent)

65% of precincts reporting

 

[moose]

Arizona is split almost 50/50 on the gay marriage thing. It looks like it will not be voted through, barely. This may be because the governor is a lesbian and she says that the proposition is pointless because gay marriage is already illegal in Arizona (which, btw, she agrees with). She seems to be quite popular around here...

 

[Gokul43201]

CNN called Missouri Senate to McCaskill

Too slow.

2. McCaskill has easily won.
Her lead is presently 36,000 votes with 200,000 yet to be counted (in mostly Dem strong counties). I predict she ends up with at least a 55,000 vote margin.

 

[moose]

Looks like Webb will/did get it in Virginia
Webb.....Allen
1,167,694...1,155,950

 

[Astronuc]

So then it is up to Montana?

50 D, 49 R and 1 I in the Senate?


Corker sounds interesting - According to CNN's bio,"He founded the non-profit Chattanooga Neighborhood Enterprises that helps families obtain low-interest loans."

 

[moose]

Astronuc, wouldn't that be interesting? Whoever gets Lieberman has the power in the Senate... So mostly to the democrats

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Astronuc, wouldn't that be interesting? Whoever gets Lieberman has the power in the Senate... So mostly to the democrats

One of the talking heads commented on the irony of this the other day: Lieberman could end up as the most important guy in Washington.

 

[Gokul43201]

3. Tester wins MT by at least 8,000 votes (again, my prediction).

This was the toughest one to take a shot at, and has the widest margin of error. Of the dozen or so counties still with a fair number of votes to be counted, Burns will have a majority vote in about ten of them, closiing the present gap by about 6000 votes. In the other 2 counties (Silver Bow and Yellowstone), Tester will make up all of these votes and some change.

 

[Astronuc]

Astronuc, wouldn't that be interesting? Whoever gets Lieberman has the power in the Senate... So mostly to the democrats

I think the one Independent is Bernie Sanders in VT, and Lieberman is a Dem, but has supported the administration on Defense and National Security.

It will be interesting to see what the moderates of both parties do.

 

[Gokul43201]

Final Score in the Senate (my prediction) : 49 Dems, 49 Reps, 2 (Dem loyal) Inds

 

[Astronuc]

One of the talking heads commented on the irony of this the other day: Lieberman could end up as the most important guy in Washington.

But with things so close in the Senate though, anyone person could be significant, well other than the VP.

Tester's lead is shrinking ~7500 votes with 70% of precincts reporting.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Final Score in the Senate (my prediction) : 49 Dems, 49 Reps, 2 (Dem loyal) Inds

49 Reps, 51 Not-Reps

 

[moose]

I think the one Independent is Bernie Sanders in VT, and Lieberman is a Dem, but has supported the administration on Defense and National Security.

It will be interesting to see what the moderates of both parties do.

Oops! Yeah, I was mainly thinking about Defense stuff I guess.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

But with things so close in the Senate though, anyone person could be significant, well other than the VP.

However, considering the number of votes that went straight down party lines...

 

[Astronuc]

I think the interaction between House and Senate will be very interesting, especially if there are hearings on Iraq and National Security.

Definitely a vastly different dynamic in Washington than yesterday.

 

[moose]

I just wonder if Bush will loosen up his grip on everything and allow some bills through. He could, afterall, just veto every single bill that comes to his desk...

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Well folks, it's a brave new world. There is now Congressional oversight.

 

[Gokul43201]

Tester's lead is shrinking ~7500 votes with 70% of precincts reporting.

I expect it to continue shrinking until they start counting votes again in Silver Bow and Yellowstone. For some reason, it seems they haven't counted anything there in over two hours now!

 

[Ivan Seeking]

I just wonder if Bush will loosen up his grip on everything and allow some bills through. He could, afterall, just veto every single bill that comes to his desk...

Yes, but the Bush agenda is dead.

One of the first things to be retracted are the huge tax breaks given to oil companies that were making record profits.

 

[moose]

Oooo, in Arizona, a smoking ban proposition is winning. The harsher one!