I share your excitement, but I'm baffled by what's going on in Virginia. That state's official web site now has Allen ahead: http://sbe.virginiainteractive.org/index.htm#142

Here in Illinois, we elected a 30-year-old hottie as state treasurer.


Edited: Now it's flipped back to Webb, barely. Can anybody say "recount"? Which I don't think will change the result. Recounts generally don't do much when the margin's more than a thousand or so.

Might want to change that Pelosi post to PRESENT tense! Woo-freakin'-Hoo!

Wish we could be celebrating the defeat of the anti-equal marriage amendments, but that will come...

Meanwhile, come on up to Massachusetts! We not only have the right to fully participate in civil marriage, our first African-American, unambiguously pro-gay governor was just elected by a landslide, Deval Patrick!

WOO-HOO! (Thanks AS.)

I worked the polls in Berkeley today and let me tell you-there were some Cal hotties that came to vote

oh my goodness!

I even got cruised!

yeah me!!!!!!

Yes, the Democrats have really done well. So far they're up by 19 seats (including Tom DeLay's old seat), and are poised to win 5-10 more. I said 20-30 (20 more like, 30 the hope), so I'm very happy. Some of them are pretty conservative, so it won't be a liberal wave.

According to the Virginia Secretary of State, Democrat Jim Webb is ahead by about 2,700 votes over Allen (1,143,756 to 1,141,030). It looks like the Green Party candidate, who got 25,000 wins, took them from Webb, making this closer race than it would have been.

Claire McCaskill is leading Jim Talent in Missouri with the votes from the most populous county in the state, Saint Louis, as well as Saint Louis City and Kansas City, still to be counted. Right now she's leading by about 25,000 votes (it keeps increasing), with 15% of the precincts remaining. (Show me, Missouri!)

Jon Tester is leading Conrad Burns by about 10,000 votes, with about 60% counted. This one is going to be close, very close.

If they win, of course, the Democrats win the Senate. The Virginia vote will go to the lawyers and courts, since it's so close, so I hope the Missouri and Montana votes are more decisive.

Lastly, Democrats have also romped in the governor's races. I'm so glad to see Blago defeat Baar Topinka, but also to see O'Malley defeat Ehrlich. I've heard O'Malley's running mate is fine, so I've got to pull up a pic. What about that Spitzer? He won 70%-29% over the Republican--talk about a blowout!

John McCain sounded very depressed tonight; he openly criticized the comments by Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and others on Iraq, and also suggested that the White House wasn't listening to the generals. So why didn't he speak out before? If he's such a maverick and a statesman, and given how much people on both sides of the political spectrum respect him, his voice, like Colin Powell's, could easily have made a difference. I actually felt bad for the man he seemed so utterly deflated. But then if he's deflated, George Bush and Karl Rove must be crapping their pants.

In Virginia, of about 6 or 7 counties with votes still not 100% reported, only one of them is a county in which Allen is carrying. I am not counting on the 30,000 outstanding votes in Fairfax County which has been thrown around.

2 of the counties that still have votes outstanding also have the highest population with Fairfax and Arlington Counties. Fairfax is going 60% Webb and Arlington over 70% Webb.

So I think it would be quite a surprise for Allen to end up on top. And if that 30,000 number does hold up to be true, you can forget the prospect of a recount.


Jim Talent has now conceded.


Who knows with Montana. Don't have a clue what to look at there.

Webb is now up 10,000+. This includes all of Arlington County and Fairfax County.

There are 3 counties with votes outstanding, all going to Webb so far.

Fairfax City (Webb with 56%).
Isle of Wright (Webb with 56%).
Loudoun (Webb 50, Allen 49)



Montana is still up for grabs.....hard to imagine a few thousand people in Montana could be the difference.

Virginia's totals also exclude the 131,745 absentee ballots that were cast (including my globe-trotting mom's first vote for a Democrat in many a year), plus an unknown number of military and overseas ballots.

The state's recount rules stipulate that:

If the margin between candidates is 1 percent or less, the defeated candidate may ask for a recount.

After the close of the polls... absentee ballots are to be counted with other military and overseas ballots that are due by the close of polls on Election Day.

- Virginia Gears Up for a Recount, ABC News, 7/7/06

Christ! This has Florida 2000 written all over it. Allen should just concede.

Well, with the Dems taking over the House already; and the Senate equal with two spots still in play, and the Dem in Montana having a fairly good lead....this Va senate race could get really ugly. Repubs could throw all of their strength into contesting the result if they want to keep control of one house of Congress (which I imagine would be kind of important to them)...stay tuned!!!

How did I do in my election surprises? Surprise, I was wrong on almost all of them. Chaffee lost, Corker won by less than 10%, ID-1 votes R. At least I got Virginia right - perhaps I should wait till after the recount on this one.