ELECTION NIGHT, THIRD THREAD…. Third time’s the charm?
9:01: MSNBC is projecting that, when all is said and done, Republicans will gain about 59 seats, 20 more than needed to get a majority.
9:04: Sen. John Thune (R) appears to have won re-election in South Dakota, which wasn’t tough, since he had no opponent.
9:05: In the third Senate seat to switch from “blue” to “red,” Gov. John Hoeven (R) has won Dorgan’s old seat in North Dakota. This was arguably the easiest of all GOP pick-ups.
9:07: It looks like a clean sweep for Dems in New York — Cuomo wins the gubernatorial race, while Schumer and Gillibrand both win Senate races.
9:13: Didn’t Dick Morris tell us Gillibrand was in trouble? It’s almost as if he doesn’t know what he’s talking about.
9:16: CNN is calling Texas’ gubernatorial race for incumbent Gov. Rick Perry (R). This is another one of those contests that could have gone the other way in a more traditional cycle.
9:18: MSNBC, CNN, and Fox are all saying what we’ve long suspected — Republicans really will take back the House majority.
9:22: It looks like incumbent Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) has won re-election in Maryland. It’s not a big surprise, but a while back, this one had Dems worried.
9:29: Republicans had another good day in Kansas, where Sen. Sam Brownback (R) won the gubernatorial race, and Rep. Jerry Moran (R) won the Senate race to replace him.
9:30: Insert obligatory “What’s the matter with Kansas?” joke here.
9:32: Untroubled by his willingness to hire prostitutes and put an abusive criminal in charge of his office’s handling of women’s issues, Louisiana voters have given Sen. David Vitter (R) another term.
9:35: It looks like Rep. Roy Blunt (R) has won Missouri’s U.S. Senate race. Dems recruited the candidate they wanted for this one — Carnahans just aren’t supposed to lose in Missouri — and a year ago, it appeared very winnable. The larger winds just proved too strong.
9:40: Another tough loss for the House Dems — Carol Shea-Porter (D) was defeated in New Hampshire’s 1st. A wave brought her into Congress (in 2006), and a wave will send her back out (in 2010).
9:44: Dems are no doubt delighted to see Rep. Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.) hang on to win in Indiana’s 2nd. He’s a Blue Dog in a tough district and he voted for the Affordable Care Act, and Republicans hoped to take his seat. They came up short.
9:48: Rep. Chet Edwards (D) of Texas is not nationally known, but I’ve always been a fan. He lost his re-election bid in the 17th district tonight to a guy who said he wanted to raise the retirement age, and then insisted he only made the comment because he had a headache. The GOP has been targeting Edwards for years, and they finally got him.
9:55: NBC is calling Massachusetts’ gubernatorial race for incumbent Gov. Deval Patrick (D). If it holds, it’s a big win for the Democratic Governors Association, and David Plouffe, who helped map Patrick’s strategy. Dems really wanted this one, and given where Patrick was in the polls two years ago, it wasn’t easy.
9:58: Another Blue Dog goes down, this time it’s Lincoln Davis (D) in Tennessee. Check back tomorrow and I’ll tell you all about the crazy guy who beat him. It’s a wild story.
