* Hilarious to watch Wolf Blitzer try to build suspense over polls closing in Arkansas at 8:30. “This is an election where every electoral vote counts.”
* Truth be told, suspense will be over if PA and OH called for Obama. And at this point, Obama could sweep all the battlegrounds, though that remains unlikely.
* And there you have it! Romney to win Arkansas and Tennessee! From the Smokies to the Ozarks, hillbillies (note: I consider myself one!) going hard red.
* With 20% in, Obama leading in Ohio 58-40. Figuring these are mostly early votes, that makes sense.
* With half the vote in, Obama matching 2008 performance in Orange County (Orlando), Florida at 59%. Bush ran even with Kerry there in 2004.
* Murphy beats McMahon in Connecticut Senate race: yet another contest that was going to offset the Akin/Maine/Mourdock disasters. Faint fantasy of GOP Senate really hanging from a thread now.
* Republican Pat McCrory projected winner in NC governor’s race, a takeover. No surprise, but first real GOP win of the evening.
* Libertarian Andrew Horning running at 6% in Indiana Senate race with half the vote in, slightly above his poll standings. Bad sign for Mourdock and GOP. Donnelly wins Vigo County by 20 points with all the vote in.
* Exits must show the Massachusetts Senate race closer than late trends might have indicated; Warren up with scattered votes in, but no network calls yet.
* CNN notes people still voting in Virginia, and reports long lines in the Florida panhandle. Again: poorly staffed polling places or incompetent election administration is the final, and perhaps most important, form of vote suppression.
Will take a brief break until the next wave of poll closings at 9:00 EST.
