WRAPUP….Two quick notes to end the evening:
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A couple of days ago I said that close Senate races were the key thing to watch. In 2004 Dems lost four out of five close races and got blown away. This year, it looks like Dems are going to win three out of four close races (MT, MO, VA, TN), not to mention a bunch of close House races. That’s a better sign of a sweep than even the raw number of seats won.
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Somebody really needs to put a lid on the almost scarily synchronized spin that Democrats won only by running a bunch of conservative candidates. The numbers just don’t bear this out. Most of the Dem pickups were in moderate-to-liberal areas with moderate-to-liberal candidates. There were a few rightish Dems who won, but there are always a few rightish Dems who win in rightish regions. There’s really nothing new here. What’s more, a quick look at the exit poll data indicates pretty clearly that Dems won by sweeping the independent vote, not by picking up conservatives or frequent churchgoers or any of the other traditional Republican blocs. The overall composition of the party will remain center-left with very little change. For more, see Matt Yglesias (here and here) and Josh Marshall (here).
That’s it for the night. I hope Tester is still winning in Montana by the time I wake up…..
