Decision Time! Live blog of results for president, Senate, Georgia races
UPDATE at 11:25 p.m.: And that’s it. Ohio has been called for Obama, and it looks likely that Florida will follow suit. A couple of near-billion-dollar campaigns, and it looks like two states (Indiana and North Carolina) will have flipped, maybe three if Romney ekes out a win in Virginia.
We’ll have plenty of time in the weeks to come to talk about what comes next for the GOP nationally. Tonight is for Obama and his supporters.
The silver lining here in Georgia, for me: The charter schools amendment passed, giving students and parents more choices in the near future.
—
UPDATE at 9:56 p.m.: With Michigan and Pennsylvania being called for Obama, Romney is right where most people thought he would be: needing to sweep Florida, North Carolina, Virginia and Ohio, plus one more smaller state, to win. None of those four has been called yet, and all are within reach. But the hour is getting late, and his margin for error is gone.
Incidentally, and just for the record: Some news outlets have called Wisconsin for Obama even though the votes that have been counted there show Romney leading. Admittedly, the exit poll there doesn’t look good for Romney. But it reminds me of Florida in 2000, when I was looking at the AP feed of votes counted and seeing George W. Bush leading even as the state was called for Al Gore. I’m not saying that’s going to happen this year in the Badger State, but I will wait a bit longer before handing that state to Obama.
—
UPDATE at 8:42 p.m.: Most media outlets are projecting that Georgia’s 16 electoral votes will go to Mitt Romney. This is not surprising, of course, and I wish we were getting exit polls to give us an idea of how the state might have changed since the 2008 election, but there it is for the record.
In other Georgia news, the charter-schools amendment is doing better than expected outside metro Atlanta, which wasn’t necessarily expected to be the case since the issue isn’t as well-known in other parts of the state. With about 800,000 votes counted, the “yes” vote is ahead by more than 50,000 votes, or about 6.5 percentage points.
Nationally, it’s becoming clear — again, not surprising at this point — that Democrats will retain control of the U.S. Senate. Florida’s Bill Nelson is projected to retain his seat, which is one Republicans probably had to flip if they were going to take the Senate.
In the presidential race, I’m seeing some disagreement among Virginia-minded pundits about what’s happening in that state. The exit polls didn’t really bode well for Romney, but you can ask President John Kerry about how much that matters. Obama seems to be holding his edge in certain parts of that state, but not all of them. It will probably be a while longer before we see how that state shakes out. If Romney can’t take it, he will be hard-pressed to string together enough other states to get to 270 electoral votes.
—
UPDATE at 7:08 p.m.: The polls in Georgia closed a few minutes ago. I am going ahead and calling a majority in the state House and Senate for the Georgia GOP. Shocker, I know.
After all, Republicans entered today with 29 guaranteed seats in the Senate to the Democrats’ 15, and 90 in the House to the Dems’ 48. That’s 182 of 236 state legislative seats (77 percent) decided before the polls opened, much less closed, because they weren’t contested in the general election. That lack of competitiveness shouldn’t surprise me at this point, but somehow the magnitude of it always does.
The real Gold Dome drama tonight, of course, centers on whether the GOP can achieve super-majorities of two-thirds in each chamber. That, and what happens with the charter schools amendment.
Also, the AP has called Kentucky for Romney and Vermont for Obama. So, Romney leads 8 electoral votes to 3. LET’S JUST END IT NOW AND GO HOME!!
Kidding. Of course. Sort of. No, really.
—
ORIGINAL POST:
The first polls closed at 6 p.m. in Indiana and Kentucky. Georgia’s polls close at 7 p.m., as do a number of other states. The flood of election results will begin in earnest sometime thereafter.
Follow it all here and on Twitter, as I’ll be posting updates on the charter-schools amendment, the race in Georgia’s 12th Congressional District, the balance of power in the statehouse and the U.S. Senate — oh, and that other election between Mitt Whatshisname and Somebody Obama.
And if Twitter, blogging, and the Google+ Hangout from earlier today — along with the next Hangout we’ll do either tonight or tomorrow morning — aren’t enough, tune into WABE, 90.1 FM, around 9:45 p.m. and 10:45 p.m. to hear me discuss the results during the station’s election coverage.
OK, I think that’s it … join us one way or another.
– By Kyle Wingfield
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492 comments Add your comment
iggy
November 7th, 2012
8:09 am
“my Ancestors came to these shores in chains”
The sooner you release yourself from your own self imposed chains the more happy you will be. I sense a great deal of anger in you
“…….I Feel Great!!!!!!
Do you? Do you really? For some reason Im not buying what you are selling. But best of luck with all that.
bu2
November 7th, 2012
8:10 am
Obama got his voters out and won nearly every single close state. 13 states decided by 53% or less. 12 states and 137 votes for Obama (counting FL), 1 state and 15 votes for Romney.
Obama had 50% in OH and FL, 51% in CO and VA, 52% in PA, IA, NV, NH and 53% in NM, OR, WI. Romney had 51% in NC.
States that weren’t close were Obama 195, Romney 191. It was a winnable election for Romney. Obama did what he needed to do.
Holy Moly
November 7th, 2012
8:13 am
Romney did bring NC and IN back into the Republican camp.
Small victories lead to big victories.
JamVet
November 7th, 2012
8:16 am
Indiana is the Mississippi of the north.
Cons, better luck in
20162024…Holy Moly
November 7th, 2012
8:20 am
Where was my Tea Party?
Did they throw a party and forget to vote?
DeborahinAthens
November 7th, 2012
8:23 am
Iggy, my ancestors came to Georgia with Oglethorpe, not in chains. I am as white as you get. I have never taken a dime in public dole, I am in the second to the top tax bracket, AND I FEEL GREAT! One of the problems with you guys is you have a mind set you refuse to let go, and, until you do, may you never win an election.
iggy
November 7th, 2012
8:26 am
“AND I FEEL GREAT!”
A win always feels great and Congrats. Perhaps you could lend “disgusted” a warm cup of “being a gracious winner”.
carlosgvv
November 7th, 2012
8:31 am
Republicans will, slowly, come to the conclusion they can’t stay in power by appealing only to far-right fundamentalist Christian white men and women.
Since all they care about is getting, and keeping power, this will be relatively easy.
For all you dimwit true belivers, it will be like pulling teeth.
EAT CROW, YOU TOOLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
mike
November 7th, 2012
8:34 am
I guess we will be seeing all you repub haters jumping off buildings now. Too bad the state of Georgia continues its effort to remain at the bottom when being compared to other states in all catogories.
iggy
November 7th, 2012
8:37 am
“not in chains. I am as white as you get. I have never taken a dime in public dole, I am in the second to the top tax bracket”
Same here and regarding specifially those factors…it feels great. Congrats on your success!
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right
November 7th, 2012
8:37 am
Popularity and Payoffs over Professionalism and Accomplishments.
That’s how this election will be written about in the coming years.
It will be a history centered on the least accomplished person to ever be elected President, done so solely on has race and popularity , who was able to largely maintain that popularity despite amassing a record of failure he couldn’t even run on. He did it by paying off key constituencies with deficit spending in the hundreds of billions of dollars that will never be paid back in stimulus and bailouts to teachers unions and auto workers.
It used to be illegal to buy votes with your own money, but apparently taxpayer dollars are okay.
The history will be written of how his campaign team spent weeks creating a mythical opponent while their fawning sycophants in the media helped them to spread the word about this fictional character who had ten times the accomplishments of the popular guy.
In this next century, lying this blatant will become the new norm, so thank God for term limits , as we will likely not see this combination of incompetence and popularity in our lifetimes.
A better man lost yesterday to a lesser man; a smaller man.
In the end, history will show that Mitt Romney was too good a man to subject himself to this type of sleazy campaign, but while he can’t claim he won the election for president, he won the election of class.
Something our reelected president can never claim.
Too bad a few union members who value payoffs over integrity made sure we’ll never be favored with a President Romney. America too another step into it’s grave yesterday.
Dusty
November 7th, 2012
8:39 am
Well, we shall see. I am not putting on my dark glasses for the bright future ahead. We had a chance and we bungled it.
The Bounty sank and so did our bounty for success.. The Washington tsunami has not reached shore yet.but it will.
disgusted
November 7th, 2012
8:40 am
@Iggy……. Have a great Day
I am taking my Happy Black #@% to the Consulting Company I own……
I am not Angry….but I guess I have to admit I am somewhat racist ( maybe I’ll work on that)
Bye……..
Pollster
November 7th, 2012
8:46 am
How did the oversampling of Democrats theory work out?
nelson
November 7th, 2012
8:47 am
Buckle your seat belts its going to be a bumpy ride. The stock market opens at 9:30 and the futures are down 150 points. I was sure the reelection of the Prez would send the market into the stratosphere. Now that 1% that the administration wants to pay their share will start laying off. Buckle your seatbelts, its going to be a bumpy ride.
MarkV
November 7th, 2012
8:49 am
“Sleazy campaign” – a good characterization of the Romney campaign. Good riddance.
JamVet
November 7th, 2012
8:52 am
Fainting couches for tibs, nelson and Dusty! Stat!
iggy
November 7th, 2012
8:52 am
disgusted
November 7th, 2012
8:40 am
LOL….ok. You have a nice day
Pollster
November 7th, 2012
8:54 am
Talk radio, breitbart, world net daily, blaze and drudge will get us through this………….
Take solace.
fair and balanced
November 7th, 2012
8:57 am
Anybody know where Tiberius lives? Someone needs to call 911 for him – he is having a breakdown. Too much Fox and Limbaugh caused him to od.
clem
November 7th, 2012
9:02 am
for td and cc and others, there are a lot of liberal moochers just like on the right where they make tons of money on backs of their employees who barely survive…..and almost anyone can do what they do. maybe not moochers but scavengers.
our side is ready to compromise and get on with governing. if your side is not willing to compromise then you will be vanquished. amazing how many middle americans voted against their best interests.
i thought romney was good in his speech and spoke the truth.
St Simons
November 7th, 2012
9:03 am
rub, rub, rub – now quit pooping on the carpet, cons
I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm! Just sayin...
November 7th, 2012
9:09 am
Just think of all the doctors that spent hundreds of thousands of dollars educating themselves for what they thought would be a bright future for them and their families. Little did they know, at the time, that the government, a wholly parasitical entity completely incapable of self support, would attach itself to their chosen profession. How must it feel now to have an unaccountable bureaucrat writing your business plan for you? You think they’ll siphon off any monies so they can support themselves and their hordes of unproductive staff?
That’s right, why bother with it anymore.
So now the rest of the United States gets to find out what any veteran already knows, how atrocious your health care can be, up to the point that you’d rather be sick then deal with all of the government trash.
And for those of you sitting around smugly enjoying your new free contraception/ abortion package, are you a member of the next profession these parasites will surely turn their attention to, once they suck the health care profession dry?
Donald Trump
November 7th, 2012
9:12 am
I report & whine
Applications for med school are up, not down.
There is no mass exodus of doctors leaving the industry.
But keep saying there is, if it makes you feel better.
Look up the facts.
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
November 7th, 2012
9:12 am
AmVet and unfair and unbalanced, I am made of sterner (and more intelligent) stuff than either of you tow.
Combined.
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
November 7th, 2012
9:12 am
Charles Krauthammer, whose leathery, undead visage appeared several times to urge the GOP not to engage in unproductive “soul-searching” and indeed to do more of everything terrifying they’ve been doing all along. Looking as if he’d just eaten a urinal cake, and bearing a striking resemblance to the plastic-surgery-impaired gay supervillain played by Javier Bardem in the new James Bond film, Krauthammer was Fox’s begrudger-in-chief, insisting that Obama won by going “very small, very negative” and would “slide through a second term” with no mandate
http://www.salon.com/2012/11/07/fox_news_dark_night_of_the_soul/
hehehehe
benny
November 7th, 2012
9:12 am
for two straight campaigns we offer moderates. for two straight campaigns the moderates are rejected. moderates aren’t enough for the left. they want far left or nothing.
obama won, america lost.
reality check——big money does not buy elections. libs can put to bed their claim to the contrary.
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
November 7th, 2012
9:14 am
“our side is ready to compromise and get on with governing.”
Really, clem?
Cite ONE initiative where “your side” is ready to compromise.
Other than “Do it this way or else”.
Repubs, STOP the negativity
November 7th, 2012
9:15 am
Republicans need ‘Radical Acceptance’ of America’s decision; to RESPECT the office and the MAN in the office, and exhibit Restraint from the rage/hate.
It’s time you get on board with America. And instead of instantly raging and still choosing to posture and be negative, you need to look within your party at your approach to America and recognize that YOU are the ones on the wrong track. Not only did Pres. Obama win, he won BIG.
Mitch McConnell, etc., need to ZIP it; they’ve already started. STOP the name-calling, the racial hatred, the negativity, the disrespect of the office and of Pres. Obama–he IS president. Show some respect for once in your lives!
In the words of Ann Romney to all of you republicans: “Stop It!”
carlosgvv
November 7th, 2012
9:16 am
Tiberius – “lying this blatant will become the new norm”
It ALREADY IS with the Republicans, sport model.
Donald Trump
November 7th, 2012
9:16 am
Thurston Howell has been campaigning for years.
He can now take another 3 hour tour.
Jay
November 7th, 2012
9:21 am
To all you name callers, YOU LOSE 4 MORE YEARS
fair and balanced
November 7th, 2012
9:22 am
Tiberius- Fox just anounced that they have found Obama’s real birth certificate from Kenya and his college transcript showing he flunked all courses but graduated based on a huge donation from an unknown Muslim patron. They also have conclusive evidence that he ordered the killing of the Ambassador in Benghazi to appease his friends in Al Quaida who were upset about false reports that he killed Ben Laden and others.Rove just discovered conclusive evidencee that the majority of the early voters in Ohio were illegals hired by the Democrats.
Fair and Balanced news all the time.
MarkV
November 7th, 2012
9:23 am
One of the brightest results of the election – the rejection of Allen West, the big fighter of the nonexistent Communists.
sailfish
November 7th, 2012
9:24 am
“In the end, history will show that Mitt Romney was too good a man to subject himself to this type of sleazy campaign, but while he can’t claim he won the election for president, he won the election of class.”
Where to start? Jeep sending production to china, apology tour, threw israel under the bus, mysterious plan to cut taxes, raise miltary spending and reduce deficit, 47% are welchers, pre-existing conditions, planned parent hood terminated on day one, and on and on..get out of your fantasy fishbowl, people voted against romney more than they did for obama. He was by far the bigger liar and in the privacy of the voting booth, probably even chris christie made the right choice.
saywhat?
November 7th, 2012
9:25 am
MANDATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
To all of kyle’s crowd, maybe this is just America’s way of inviting you to enjoy a great big cup of STFU while the adults run the country?
Odis
November 7th, 2012
9:26 am
FOUR MORE YEARS!!!!!!!!!! IT’S A BEAUTIFUL DAY!
JamVet
November 7th, 2012
9:27 am
tibs, you certainly think extremely highly of yourself, that is for sure!
Just don’t stroke out because you fake conservatives got crushed for the third time in four elections, OK?
BTW, does anyone know just how overwhelmingly that American Jews voted against the GOP’s quasi-fascists this time?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFtv5qe5o3c
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
November 7th, 2012
9:28 am
“Not only did Pres. Obama win, he won BIG.”
Uh, Repubs?
He won by significantly less than last time. You take out the Tea Party-fueled Paulistas who voted for Gary Johnson, and we’d likely have a very different result this morning
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
November 7th, 2012
9:30 am
Hey, Sheldon Adelson, how much you drop, dude?
mwuahahahahahahahahaha
saywhat?
November 7th, 2012
9:30 am
I’m looking forward to vacationing in Florida the week of February 18th, Presidents Day, or as Mitt Romney calls it, Monday.
Donald Trump
November 7th, 2012
9:30 am
If this, If that……………………
All conjecture, but keep it going.
I like it
MarkV
November 7th, 2012
9:31 am
I am sure the Kyle and others will soon come up with all the reasons why Romney lost and why Obama won (two different categories). The former list might be particularly long, but if one had to choose just one or two items, my choice would be the following:
Let Detroit Go Bankrupt
47%
Donald Trump
November 7th, 2012
9:31 am
Why is no one saying President Romney this morning?
Several were doing just that over the last month or so.
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
November 7th, 2012
9:32 am
I will also point out that not only was Mitt Romney a shining example of class in this last election (and objective viewers would agree with that), the libs on this blog are excelling at classlessness this morning.
No wonder you voted for the guy with none.
Aquagirl
November 7th, 2012
9:33 am
Tiberius is re-writing history that hasn’t even been written.
I knew reality would be tough for some folks here but that’s a Karl Rove level meltdown.
South Beach
November 7th, 2012
9:34 am
“the libs on this blog are excelling at classlessness this morning.”
Oh the irony. The classless one speaks of class.
Odis
November 7th, 2012
9:35 am
How long before the Republicans start to eat their own this morning and the Republican Civil War starts?
Lesson learned, you can no longer win an election by trying to suppress the minority vote! The republicans plans to suppress the vote backfired with more minorities coming out to vote than even in 2008!!
independent thinker
November 7th, 2012
9:35 am
Two politicians who came through as shining lights of integrity and principal- Bill Clinton and Chris Christie. Helps get over the stench of the corruption and blatant lies of the /Romney/Rove/Ryan/Limbaugh/ Hannity/Sununu/Cheney/Bolton Senor coalition. Hope all the cons take a long shower to wash the malarkey and stench off.
Finn mcCool
November 7th, 2012
9:37 am
President romney
Mwuahahahahahahaha