A pretty big Democratic victory.
- President: Obama 303 electoral with FL not called. If he wins FL, he would add
28 EV29 EV to that total. Obama also wins the popular vote by about 2.3%, beating my and Bruce’s predictions. FYI, Democratic candidates have now won the popular vote in 5 of the last 6 presidential elections. Obama also romped in the tight swing states. He won VA by an impressive 3 and OH by 2; plus WI, IA, and CO by about 5! - Congress: Wow! Dems pick up 2 senate seats to go to 55. However, they pick up only about 4 seats in the House. Still, it’s worth noting that the GOP’s 30 or so-seat majority is misleading: Nationwide, more people probably voted for a Democrat in their local House race than for a Republican. This typically is true for the Senate, too, because small states are overrepresented there and small states tend to elect Republicans.
- States: On the state level, it was also a good night for Democrats. See the LA Times map for details.
- California: Prop.30 passess! 32 fails, but so does 34 so the death penalty remains law. Bigger news: Dems may have taken more than the 2/3 of the legislative seats, allowing the state government to actually function again.
As promised, here are links to maps that show election results nationwide and in California, PLUS some of the better commentaries I’ve read the last 2-3 days.
RESULTS –
- National results map, from Washington Post.
. - California results map, from the LA Times.
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GOOD COMMENTARIES – WHAT IT ALL MEANS, WHERE WE’RE HEADING
- Demography is political destiny, and the future started last night.
. - What is Obama’s “mandate?” More on this.
. - What was this election all about? Two fundamentally-irreconcileable views of what America should be and our obligations to each other.
. - Two must reads:
- This was the most important election of our lifetimes.
- Four trends that will shape our political future - but didn’t really do so in this campaign. This is a nicely balanced viewpoint.
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- Will the GOP begin to moderate after losing 3 of the last 4 elections?
- Don’t bet on it.
- I think it will. Just not right away.
