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BREAKING: FoxNews calls Virginia's Gubernatorial race for Ohio.
Author: Raine
Date: 11/06/2013 14:10:40
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
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:
Local Democrats said they disagreed with the choice to give Christie free rein in 2013, if only because of the emerging storyline of the governor’s significant crossover appeal. “If I were running the DNC for the day, I’d say, ‘Let’s turn this race around because he is at least perceived as a moderate, and why do we want to confront that in 2016?’” said one New Jersey Democrat involved in the election. “But the reality is, ‘We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.’”
Christie won't say he plans to run for president in 2016 — which might mean stepping down early as governor — but he won't rule it out. He did admit he wanted to be the first Republican to win 50% of the vote statewide since George H. W. Bush did so in 1988. "Anything above that gravy," he said Tuesday in an interview on CNN. "That's a historical achievement. In 25 years, no one's done that in New Jersey." In fact, Christie far exceeded the mark: with almost all the votes counted he had more than 60% of the vote.
In January, Christie is to become president of the Republican Governors Association. That will give him the opportunity to visit important primary states (Iowa, South Carolina and Nevada, for instance, all have Republican governors) and get to know the party's big money raisers. The job has been helpful before to presidential candidates: Mitt Romney was president of the RGA in 2006 and Rick Perry in 2011.
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.
De Blasio’s administration will be a laboratory of sorts for modern progressivism — testing whether an anti-establishment activist can effectively manage a sprawling municipal government and lessen growing inequality between the rich and poor.
“Tackling inequality isn’t easy. It never has been, and it never will be,” de Blasio said in a victory speech at the YMCA gymnasium in his Brooklyn neighborhood of Park Slope. “The challenges we face have been decades in the making, and the problems we set out to address will not be solved overnight. But make no mistake: The people of this city have chosen a progressive path. And tonight we set forth on it — together, as one city.”
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:
Gov. Robert F. McDonnell ( R ) congratulated McAuliffe and pledged a “seamless and smooth” transition. As of shortly before midnight, Cuccinelli had not called McAuliffe, according to an aide to the governor-elect.
In the contest for lieutenant governor, state Sen. Ralph S. Northam (D-Norfolk) easily beat E.W. Jackson, a political newcomer and minister from Chesapeake whose fiery rhetoric and hard-line positions on social issues led many Republican officials to keep their distance through the campaign.
In the race to succeed Cuccinelli as attorney general, state Sen. Mark R. Herring (D-Loudoun) led Sen. Mark D. Obenshain (R-Harrisonburg) by less than one percentage point with nearly all votes counted. Both candidates said they were preparing for a recount. Republicans appeared to be well on their way to retaining control of the House of Delegates by a wide margin.
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
