Latest updates reposted below the fold courtesy of Daily Kos Elections and David Nir
Update: AP is calling Ohio issue 2 for the good guys!
Update: At last count Ohio good guys are crushing the Darth Vaders of the state 63% to 37%, it’s not a done deal on the union busting bill with 80% reporting only 19% reporting. I’ll have results on Mississippi’s personhood bill shortly — DS
Statewide Results: KY | ME | MS | NJ | NY | OH | PA | VA
Specific Races: AZ-SD-18 | IA-SD-18 | MI-HD-51 | OR-01
Called races: KY-Gov (Beshear, D) | KY-AG (Conway, D) | KY-Ag Commish (Comer, R) | KY-SoS (Grimes, D) | KY-Auditor (Edelen, D) | KY-Treasurer (Hollenbach, D)
5:57 PM PT: The four key races left in Virginia are Senate Districts 17, 20, 36, and 38, all Dem-held. SD-13 is the closest GOP-held seat, but we’re back ten points (though only a small amount reporting).
5:59 PM PT: Roundup of the key Virginia races:
• 38th: Dem leads 52-48 with 77% in.
• 36th: GOPer leads 53-47 with 19% in, but Fairfax has reported hardly anything yet.
• 20th: GOPer leads 47-46 with 86% in, no good Dem areas left.
• 17th: GOPer leads 50.2-49.6 with 62% in, best Dem county (Albemarle) still mostly out.
6:01 PM PT: First votes trickling in in Mississippi.
6:02 PM PT: Polls are now closed in Arizona, where GOP state Sen. President Russell Pearce faces a recall, and NY (several key local races).
6:05 PM PT: Another Dem seat, SD-01, in VA is also extremely close, but we’re up 51-49 with just a few precincts left.
6:06 PM PT: Phew! The AP just called it for Dem Treasurer Todd Hollenbach, who for some reason managed to badly lag the rest of the Democratic ticket (the Ag. Commish race excepted).
6:07 PM PT: Good guys are up big, 60-40, on Maine’s Question 1, with 12% reporting.
6:08 PM PT: Good guys are also up huge on Ohio’s Issue 2, 64-36 with 11% reporting. Gonna be a huge black eye for GOP Gov. John Kasich.
6:11 PM PT: In New Jersey, Dem state Sen. Jeff Van Drew trails his GOP opponent 51-49 with 43% reporting in SD-01. I mention this race because Van Drew has often been talked about as a possible candidate for higher office.
6:13 PM PT: First few votes are showing up in the MI-HD-51 recall (better link here), and GOP state Rep. Paul Scott is narrowly avoiding getting yanked, 47 (yes on recall) to 53 (no).
While the county site for Iowa SD-18 (an important special election that could change control of the Iowa senate) has been slow, early absentee ballots give the Democrat Mathis a huge lead (3000 votes) that will be nearly impossible to overcome. A big win for the good guys & marriage equality.
Awesome, elections matter. A climate writer once said at a convention I was at, during Q & A, “It doesn’t matter how clever your framing, you have to win elections to get policy passed.”
The big issue in Iowa Senate 18 was the refusal of Senate Democrats to allow a vote on an amendment to ban marriage equality. A loss would have tied the Senate 25-25, increasing the chance of a vote. The Democrat won easily, and I post here because FtB readers will appreciate the comments of creationist Chuck Harley, one of the “family” activists who said that the R’s were just fighting for 6000 years of history where marriage was between a man and a woman …