First and foremost, a huge thanks to Scoop for putting up an election blog last night!

Now, on to the business of the morning.

Allow me to be the first to congratulate New Jersey for electing the first republican nominee for the 2016 Presidential election. In the coming days, a lot will be said about why the DNC did not give more support for Democratic state Senator Barbara Buono. But seriously, when state party officials say things like this: I believe that is called kicking the can down the road, and New Jersey State Democratic officials did just that. Buono was a fantastic, progressive candidate running against a bully disguised as a moderate. For the next few years, he'll be New Jersey's problem -- and then he'll be ours. Keep an eye on this. While the book Double Down has been touted as gossipy trash, the reasons why the Romney campaign didn't chose Christie was more than just a dislike of Christie. These issues and more will come out should Christie run, and it won't be pretty.

Congrats to New York City! Early in the race for Mayor, many thought City Council Speaker, Christine Quinn would cruise to the nomination. The drama that unfolded when former Congressperson Anthony Wiener entered the race was annoying and entertaining, but ultimately useless. Amid the chaos, New York City Public Advocate Bill De Blasio ran a patient and steady campaign that won him the primary. He soundly defeated his opponent: Joe Lhota - head of the NYC MTA and former deputy mayor in the Giuliani administration. NYC might be liberal, but De Blasio is the first Democratic mayor elected in 20 years. I wish him and NYC well. Moving further into the Northeast, last spring long-time Boston mayor Thomas Menino announced he would not seek another term in office. This race was largely overshadowed by New Jersey and NYC, but it's worth mentioning. If I didn't, TriSec would challenge me to duel. State Rep Martin Walsh, a strong labor supporter will become Boston's next Mayor. In a year that saw tragedy and ecstasy, and a little Whitey Bulger in between, Boston elected a new mayor for the first time in 20 years.

Now to the races that have kept me on pins and needles: Virginia's elections for Governor, Lieutenant Governor and Attorney general. Virginia elected former head of the DNC Terry McAuliffe. We also elected State Senator Ralph Northam (D) as our Lieutenant Governor. From WaPo: That last race is still very much up in the air. Our Clintster provided a link to the election results and I was able to look at all the precincts. As of this writing, 2555 out of 2558 precincts have reported. Mecklenburg County has 2 out of 24 precincts unreported, and Rockingham County has 1 of 30 outstanding precincts. Both of these Counties voted solidly for Republican Cuccinelli.

Mark R. Herring is ahead by a mere 541 votes.

Voting matters. Elections matter.

Virginia elected a Democrat. He may not be the one everyone wanted, but he's a solid Dem. He's pro-choice and he's going to bring Virginia into the state exchanges on the ACA. Medicaid will be expanded to Virginia. The assault on women's rights will no longer come from the Governor's mansion. He a strong support of LGBT equality. These are all very good things. I, for one, am breathing a small sigh of relief. I'll breathe better if we find out that the next Attorney general is Mark Herring. That said, 2 out of 3 isn't bad. His opponent makes Cucinelli look liberal.

I know I missed many races and ballot initiatives this morning, so we'll leave it there....

I'll be back later, I'm heading to Portland, Maine..



&
Raine