"Politics is the gentle art of getting votes from the poor and campaign funds from the rich, by promising to protect each from the other" - Oscar Ameringer
- *'TIME TO TO START GETTING RESULTS': SPEAKER BOEHNER SAYS
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- *TILLIS WINS NORTH CAROLINA RACE, SECURING SENATE GOP MAJORITY
- *REID CONGRATULATES MCCONNELL ON REPUBLICAN SENATE WIN
- *REID SAYS MESSAGE FROM VOTERS IS PARTIES NEED TO WORK TOGETHER
Sen. Harry Reid statement on GOP taking Senate pic.twitter.com/uxzteAqajQ
— Jon Passantino (@passantino) November 5, 2014
As AP reports,
Republicans retained their House majority on Tuesday, expanding their numbers to near historic highs and giving the GOP control of both chambers of Congress.
The GOP knocked out Democratic incumbents in Georgia, West Virginia, Illinois, New York and Florida as President Barack Obama proved too much of a drag on his party in midterm elections. Republicans also claimed two open seats in New York and North Carolina.
Control of the House and Senate means an all-GOP Congress for Obama's last two years in office.
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State of Play:
House: 435 Seats, 43 Undecided, Results: Republicans 235 - 157 Democrats (Dem -8, Rep +10)
Senate: 100 Seats, 4 Undecided, Results: Republicans 52 - 45 Democrats/Independents (Dem -7, Rep +7)
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For The House: 218 of 435 Seats Needed for Majority; Current House: 199 (D); 233 (R); 3 Vacancies
For The Senate: 51 of 100 Seats Needed for Majority; Current Senate: 53 (D); 45 (R); 2 (I)
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NBC Live Feed
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JUST IN: NBC News projects Republicans will retain control of the House of Representatives http://t.co/lvSdF0vhSj#NBCPolitics
— NBC Nightly News (@NBCNightlyNews) November 5, 2014
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The key states:
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Details:
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky won a sixth term Tuesday as his party eyes its best chance in eight years to take control of both houses of Congress.
Mr. McConnell’s win against a strong Democratic challenger marks the first big election result of the night and positions the 72-year-old as the Senate’s next majority leader if Republicans manage to wrest the chamber from the Democrats in Tuesday’s midterm elections.
Hoping to capitalize on an unpopular president and a favorable political map, the GOP needs a net addition of six seats to gain sway over the Senate.
“Victory is in the air, we’re going to bring it home tomorrow night,” Mr. McConnell said at a closing rally Monday in Louisville. “After six years of borrowing and taxing and spending and regulation, these people need to be stopped, and it starts tomorrow night.”
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Republicans have their first pick up of the evening:
Rep. Shelley Moore Capito defeats Democrat Natalie Tennant in race to succeed 5-term Democrat Jay Rockefeller, who is retiring.
Republicans need net gain of 6 seats to take control of Senate; analysts long had seen W. Va. pick-up likely for Republicans
Capito in 2000 became the first woman Republican to represent W.Va. in Congress; she is daughter of state’s former gov., Arch Moore
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For those onlookers who prefer to stay responsibly number, TIME has a drinking game to get through the rhetoric that fills 8 hours of TV coverage...
Here are TIME’s 2014 Election Night drinking game suggestions:
- “Ground game.” The key is to pace yourself. Drink one sip.
- An incumbent is described as “embattled.” Drink three sips.
- A Taylor Swift reference. Drink three.
- “It will all come down to turnout.” Finish your drink.
- John King doodles on his Magic Wall. Drink one.
- A network presents publicly available information as an exclusive. Drink three.
- Hologram sighting. Finish your drink.
- A Democratic dynasty candidate loses. This includes: Mark Begich, Jason Carter, Andrew Cuomo, Mary Landrieu, Michelle Nunn, Mark Pryor, Mark Udall. Drink one. Let’s not go crazy.
- Democrats win a battleground state: Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, New Hampshire or North Carolina. Finish your drink.
- A winning candidate thanks God. Drink one.
- A winning candidate thanks his or her big donors. Drink three.
- A winning candidate thanks Barack Obama. Finish your drink.
- An anchor or correspondent cites an obscure, “crucial” county that may determine the fate of a race. Drink one.
- You’ve heard of the county. Drink three.
- Because you’ve heard of the county, you know the person touting its importance just mangled its name. Finish your drink.
- A Democratic pundit points to the history of midterm losses for a sitting president. Drink one.
- A Republican describes a win as a“mandate.” Drink one.
- Newt Gingrich uses an out-of-proportion superlative. Drink three.
- A media pundit advises Obama to“hit the reset button” or fire people who were in no way responsible for anything that transpired on Election Night. Finish your drink.
- A winning candidate praises an opponent that he or she has been brutally savaging for months. Drink one.
- The number of American flags on stage at a candidate’s victory speech exceeds the number of Electoral College votes in that state. Drink three.
- A winning candidate is not wearing a flag pin. Finish your drink.
- The number of on-screen pundits discussing the political impact of the Ebola virus exceeds the number the Americans with the Ebola virus. Finish your drink.
- Someone notes that there’s only 730 days until we do this again. It’s time to call it a night.
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AP's 5 Things To Watch For The Day After The Election...(via @NedraPickler )
SENATE RACES TO WATCH
Republicans marched steadily toward their goal of picking up six seats for control of the Senate, with a handful of outstanding races the determining factor. Democrats were looking to hold on by keeping Iowa and Alaska and hoping to pick up Georgia and Kansas. But one race won't be decided — Louisiana is heading to a Dec. 6 runoff.
OBAMA HAS SOME EXPLAINING TO DO
What word will President Barack Obama use to describe this election?
Four years ago he called his party's loss of the House a "shellacking."
Look to see if Obama follows the presidential tradition of holding a press conference the day after a midterm election. And since midterms tend to go against the party that occupies the White House, it's not usually a bright spot for presidents.
GRIDLOCK OR ACTION?
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell delivered a victory speech vowing to turn the country around.
But then McConnell added: "I don't expect the president to wake up tomorrow and view the world any differently than he did this morning. He knows I won't either."
Obama kicks off the new era by inviting congressional leaders to the White House Friday.
GOVERNORS FROM BOTH PARTIES LOOKING TO HOLD ON
Democrats got some early good news by unseating a Republican governor in Pennsylvania, while Arkansas switched to GOP control. Key races were outstanding across the country, including Wisconsin, Kansas, Georgia, Colorado, Florida, Massachusetts, Illinois and Maine.
REPUBLICANS ON TRACK TO BUILD ON THEIR HOUSE MAJORITY
Watch to see whether the GOP can build their biggest House majority in the post-World War II era. Republicans are widely expected to grow their 234-seats beyond the 2010 tea party wave that led to 242 GOP representatives. If they can win more than 246 seats, they would exceed their numbers from 1947-49 Congress during the Truman administration.
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h/t @LibertyBlitz
