MINNESOTA SENATE RACE UPDATE:

From the Minneapolis Star-Tribune:

“With about 46 percent of the 2.9 million ballots counted by Thursday evening, the gap between Republican incumbent Norm Coleman and DFL challenger Al Franken continued to close. Coleman was leading by only 136 votes, a drop from his unofficial lead of 215 that was confirmed Tuesday by the state Canvassing Board.”

Remember, we’ll not know the outcome of this race until after the Georgia runoff.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - Final vote count shows McCain wins Missouri.

Absolutely final electoral tally: 365-173

More:

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - Republican John McCain has defeated President-elect Barack Obama in Missouri - the last state to be decided in the 2008 presidential election.
McCain’s narrow victory over Obama breaks a bellwether streak in which Missourians had picked the winning presidential candidate in every election since 1956.
With all jurisdictions reporting complete but unofficial results, McCain led Obama by 3,632 votes Wednesday out of more than 2.9 million cast - a margin of 0.12 percentage points.
Both men spent considerable resources trying to win Missouri, a state that Obama ultimately did not need for his national victory.
Obama won 365 electoral votes. Missouri’s 11 electoral votes will give McCain 173.

The man on the left, a Democrat, has officially defeated the man on the right, the longest-serving Republican in the Senate.

That makes the Dem majority in the Senate now 58.

Minnesota’s still up in the air. The official recount begins today.

Watch that race closely.

If it’s 59 before December 2nd, the Georgia runoff will be one of the most closely watched - & fought for - races this year.

UPDATE:

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens has conceded defeat in his re-election bid against Democrat Mark Begich.
The longest serving Republican in Senate history says in a statement that there are not enough ballots left to be counted for him to catch up and Begich has been elected.
Stevens says he’s deeply grateful for his 40 years of service in the Senate.
The statement was released shortly after Begich told reporters on Tuesday that he hadn’t heard from Stevens even though he’s been congratulated by other Republicans, including Gov. Sarah Palin.
The 85-year-old Stevens lost his bid for a seventh term after he was convicted on federal corruption charges.

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - Minnesota’s Senate recount will be under way before Democrat Al Franken’s lawsuit over rejected absentee ballots gets a court hearing.
Ramsey County District Court Judge Dale Lindman scheduled a hearing for Wednesday morning, 90 minutes after the first counties are set to begin recounting 2.9 million ballots.
Going into the manual recount, Republican incumbent Norm Coleman leads Franken by 206 votes.
Franken has sued to get access to a roster of voters whose absentee ballots were invalidated. The campaign says it would use the information to investigate whether the rejections were proper.
Coleman’s campaign has argued that such a disclosure would violate voter privacy, a position that mirrors that of some county attorneys. He filed the lawsuit Thursday.

Alaska’s current count has Begich with a lead.

That would make the Dem Senate majority 58.

Once these two races are decided, it will all be up to Georgia voters. Not clear what will happen 1st, but you can depend on me to keep track.

To find the times & locations for your voting precinct, click here.

To find out about down-ballot races in NewsChannel9’s Georgia viewing area, click here.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - President-elect Barack Obama has won one of Nebraska’s electoral votes, making history in a state that has never split its electoral votes.
After all remaining ballots were counted Friday, Obama emerged with a 3,325-vote lead over Republican John McCain in unofficial results in the 2nd Congressional District. The district covers Douglas County, which includes Omaha, and portions of adjacent Sarpy County.
Nebraska, with five votes, and Maine are the only states that divide their electoral votes by congressional district.

Obama now has 365 electoral votes to McCain’s 162.

Missouri, with 11 electoral votes, is still too close to call. Election officials there have until Tuesday to finish counting.

Thursday, 11:45am:

Begich Leads Stevens by 814 votes.

You absolutely should pay attention to the outcome of this race, & Minnesota’s - their outcomes will have a huge effect on who wins in Georgia.

Why?

Say Begich & Franken both win. That means the Dem majority in the Senate is 59.

If Martin were to win, the Dems would have a filibuster-proof majority, which would provide incentive for every Republican voter in Georgia to get to the polls.

I’ll have more on the current state of the Georgia race in an upcoming post.

Obama 44%, McCain 56%

(that’s an improvement for the Dem candidate - Kerry, Vietnam War veteran, got 41% in 2004)

Much more on what members of the military think about it all here.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

“Missouri remains the only state where it’s officially unclear which candidate carried the state. And it may take another two or three weeks before a winner is declared.

McCain’s latest lead is 4,968 votes, out of more than 2.9 million cast.

Yet to be counted: an estimated 7,000 provisional ballots — most cast in Obama-leaning areas — that are just now being examined to determine which ones were cast by properly registered voters in the correct polling place.”

11 electoral votes are at stake. If he pulls out a win, Obama’s electoral victory would be 375 - 1 more than I predicted, & 3 less than George Will predicted.

Above: the county results of election 2008.

Red areas are solid McCain, blue areas are solid Obama, & purple areas show a mix.

When you “cartogram” this map - giving greater weight to counties with higher populations - you get this:

Marc Ambinder:

“A brief update:

Sen. Norm Coleman leads by 206 votes.

The state finishes re-canvassing three million ballots today.

On November 18, the certification board certifies what’s been counted.

Then, an automatic manual recount begins.

…

The process could take a month.”

& what about the Alaska Senate race?

Nothing until at least Friday.

Nate Silver thinks it could turn blue. We’ll see.

(for the latest on the Georgia Senate race, go here)

Richard Baehr of American Thinker:

“…the Redskins model is now 17 for 17. If the Redskins win their last home game before the election, the party that won the popular vote in the last election will win the White House. If they lose that last home game, the party that lost the popular vote will win the election.”

If the two had competed from their respective year, according to raw vote totals…

Bush 2004 would’ve won

Ohio

Indiana

Missouri*

Washington

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

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Obama 2008 would’ve won

Florida

Pennsylvania

Colorado

Iowa

New Mexico

Nevada

Virginia

Indiana: One of Obama’s success stories.

George Bush won Indiana in 2004 by 510,000 votes.

Barack Obama won Indiana in 2008 by 9,000 votes.

That means Obama improved Democratic turnout by 519,000 votes Tuesday.

How did he do against Clinton in the Hoosier state primary? Click here to find out.

[& check out which other state had its primary on the same day, interestingly]

Hamilton County Voter Turnout Bucks National Trend

Thanks go to my News Director, who found these on Hamilton County’s Election Commission site:

2008: 72%

2004: 78%

2000: 64%

1996: 67%

Nationwide 2008 turnout: Estimated at 62.5%, up from 60.3%

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Unemployment Spikes

We learn today that 240,000 jobs were lost in October; the national rate goes up from 6.1% to 6.5%.

Read more about it here.

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Transition Underway

Illinois Congressman Rahm Emmanuel signs on as WH Chief of Staff. Read the statements from both Obama & Emanuel here.

Why Rahm? Marc Ambinder muses.

Hillary Clinton approves of the pick, House Minority Leader John Boehner does not.

The Emanuel pick signals the transition will be quick; read more about the overall plan here.

Obama plans to give his 1st news conference as president-elect; read more about what he’ll reveal today here.

Before that newser, he’ll hold a conference with his economic advisers; read more about that here.

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The Autopsy: What Went Wrong?

Charles Krauthammer says it was the economy:

“We have never had a full-fledged financial panic in the middle of a presidential campaign. Consider. If the S&P 500 were to close at the end of the year where it did on Election Day, it will have suffered this year its steepest drop since 1937. That is 71 years.

At the same time, the economy had suffered nine consecutive months of job losses. Considering the carnage to both capital and labor (which covers just about everybody), even a Ronald Reagan could not have survived. The fact that John McCain got 46 percent of the electorate when 75 percent said the country was going in the wrong direction is quite remarkable.”

Andrew Sullivan disagrees with Krauthammer’s premise.

He’s correct in that assessment, but I’d also give as much weight to the damaged Republican brand.

It’s my view that that the country did not swing more Democratic, as some left-leaning sites are saying. I would say this is a vote more against ideology & for pragmatism. This is a trend I’ve tracked ever since August 29th, 2005. & I believe Tuesday’s voters weren’t necessarily giving Democrats a big thumbs up - they were giving a thumbs-down to the ineffective policies of the party in power, which happened to be the Republicans.

Voters are hungry for results & had their fill of ideologues.

As I’ve said to many in the past 3 years, the successful politicians will be those who work to deliver results to their consituencies - no matter which party they belong to.

More thoughts throughout the day.

Weigh in yourself! Why did McCain lose?

***(note: “e-day” = election day, “i-day” = inauguration day)

TN voters who picked Harold Ford in the 2006 Senate Election:

48%

TN voters who picked Barack Obama in the 2008 Presidential Election:

42%

What’s behind the difference?

Discuss.

So What’s Still Up in the Air?

NORTH CAROLINA: Until ‘Next Month’ Decided

UPDATE/12:10pm: WASHINGTON (AP) - Obama wins North Carolina.

From the NC News Observer (my emphasis added):

Democrat Barack Obama is the unofficial winner in North Carolina, but the victory over Sen. John McCain won’t be sealed until provisional ballots are counted and certified next month.

Unofficial returns show Obama ahead by 13,746 votes.

Trends over the last 14 years point to Obama having a wider lead after the provisionals are counted, said Gary Bartlett, executive director of the State Board of Elections.

WHAT’S AT STAKE? Nothing but the final electoral tally. NC’s 15, if they go as expected to Obama, would make his win go from 349 to 364. Another southern state (along with FL & VA) would signal that the GOP lock on the ’solid south’ isn’t so solid anymore.

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MISSOURI: Until Nov. 18th

From the Joplin Globe (my emphasis added):

“McCain led Obama by 5,868 votes — a difference of 0.2 percentage points — out of more than 2.9 million cast, with all precincts reporting results. But the race was too close to call, because more than 7,000 provisional ballots remained outstanding.

Provisional ballots are cast when voters’ names can’t be found on the books used by poll workers. The ballots are counted only if it is later determined the voters were eligible. That process could take some time. Local election officials have until Nov. 18 to certify their results to the state.”

WHAT’S AT STAKE? Again, 11 electoral votes would change Obama’s final tally, in this case from 349 to 360. If Obama wins both MO & NC, his tally would be 375, which would come close to my prediction of 374. So there are bragging rights at stake for me, but even more importantly there are bragging rights at stake for my home state! Missouri has called it correctly in every year but one (1956) in the last 108 years. Should McCain win, the Show-Me state gets a ‘crack’ in its bellweather status. It would also mark the 1st time a Democrat’s won the White House without winning Missouri since 1821.

The Senate

Oregon was called for the Democrat, Jeff Merkely.

Minnesota’s still out - & holy moley, is it ever tight.

Alaska’s still out, & things are looking weird.

Georgia, as you know, won’t be decided until December 2nd. But the counting continues:

ATLANTA (AP) - Fulton County elections officials continued to count thousands of absentee ballots at a warehouse in Atlanta.
The outcome could determine whether Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss faces a runoff to keep his seat. The current results show Chambliss with 49.8 percent of the vote against Democrat Jim Martin. Chambliss needs 50 percent plus one vote to avoid a runoff.
Fulton County officials say they aren’t sure when the counting will conclude.
Seventy-nine workers were sitting at two long tables Thursday afternoon going through the ballots.

There are also allegations that the GOP is doing dirty tricks with the voter rolls.

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My sincere apologies for the lack of posts here today.

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Last night, I had the time of my life - in fact, one of the highlights of my career as a journalist - live webcasting the results. Not that I come anywhere close to the Great One, but I now have a taste of what it must have been like for Edward R. Murrow doing the ‘See It Now’ program in TV’s early days - in that he “made it up as he went along.”

[A lot of you tuned in, too - my webmaster tells me that viewers logged well over 300 "web hours" during our webcast from 7:30 to just after midnight. Thanks to all of you who sent in the positive feedback, too!]

But the result of that endeavour is that I am operating today on very little sleep. Right now, my brain, frankly, is mush. After devoting every waking hour of free ‘thinking’ time to this blog, I needed a break.

.

So here’s the final electoral map:

Note North Carolina is still not called. Right now Obama leads by about 12,000 votes, with 100% of the precincts reporting. Unclear on what the holdup is.

But it’s not going to matter, other than change the electoral outcome, which won’t change the final outcome.

If you have any questions about what this map means, or about anything at all, please feel free to chime in in the comments section, or e-mail me at dlehr@newschannel9.com.

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~~~~~~~~~~~~o~~~~~~~~~~~~

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So we now have a new president. & frankly, to me, this is where all the interesting stuff begins, not ends.

If you’ve been a fan of this blog over these past exciting months, I want you to know that this is something I’d like to continue.

& there is a good chance I’ll be up for posting more news items tomorrow, after some much-needed sleep.

But I do plan to go on hiatus .. for a little while. But I want to come back. I want to keep doing this. I want to blog for the rest of my life, & hopefully I’ll have an opportunity to continue doing so here on NewsChannel9.com.

This year has been enormously satisfying for me as a political junkie. But I’ve discovered I also get great satisfaction providing you with information on the web, & helping you navigate the waters in search of the truth. Your input, be it in person, on the phone, in the comments section, or in an e-mail, has always been welcome, & I sincerely appreciate it.

More tomorrow, I think.

Live Blogging the Results

Note: head on over to our live web streaming at 7:30pm!

Kentucky called for McCain, Vermont called for Obama.

Marc Ambinder:

76% of the country believes it’s off on the wrong track.

Bush’s approval rating is 27%

More than 60% say the economy is their top voting issue; 9 in ten say the economy is in bad shape; more than 80% are worried about their own condition next year.

Change voters made up 35% of the electorate; 30% wanted someone who shared their values.

One in ten voters are late-deciders..

And CNN tells us that of those who listed Iraq as a key issue, Obama’s leading two to one.

Tons of exit poll goodies can be seen here.

Here are some just in from the AP:

Six in 10 voters name the economy as the top issue.

None of the other issues - energy, Iraq, terrorism or health care - was picked by more than one in 10.

Half of voters said the economy was poor and nearly all the rest said it was not good.

Half of voters are very worried the economic crisis will harm their family’s finances and a third were somewhat worried.

More than half oppose the $700 billion government bail-out plan.

Two-thirds of voters were worriewd about being able to afford health care.

One in 10 voters said they were casting ballots for the first time and 6 in 10 (of those voters) were under 30.

Message to pollsters: a quarter of new voters don’t have landlines at home, only cell phones.

Six in 10 voters said future appointments to the Supreme Court were an important factor in their decision.

Two-thirds of voters favor drilling for oil in offshore waters where it is currently not allowed.

Top 10 Reasons You Should Ignore Exit Polls

What I’m Looking for in Georgia:

From 538.com:

“In Georgia..African-Americans represented 35% of the early vote, and 25% is the historical high. If Georgia winds up with 30% of the vote remaining African-American, Obama wins Georgia.”

Watch those exit polls from Georgia that reflect African-American turnout.

From CNN, via the LA Times:

About 62% of those surveyed cited the economy as the top issue on their minds. Ten percent cited the war, 9% percent chose terrorism, and 9% went with health care.

This post says we won’t see “true” exit polling data until about 8pm.

& SO HERE WE ARE.

Check this blog throughout the day for the latest election day news.

I am now working on the 5:30 newscast.

Later tonight I’ll be co-hosting our election night ‘webcast’ with Melydia Clewell. We’ll be live-streaming the election results at NewsChannel9.com. It’s a brave new world - we’ll all be in uncharted territory on the web. I’m excited. I hope you are too, & I hope you tune in.

Today, as you can imagine, is very hectic, so you won’t see a wealth of posts here. What I’d love, though, is to answer your questions - about ANYthing - if you have them. So e-mail me at dlehr@newschannel9.com with your question & I’ll do my best to answer it. I’d like to focus on what interests you today.

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Meet Me, the Blogger

Above: I make a guest appearance on This N That with Don Welch. For any of you who wondered what I looked like.

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What Clues to Watch For Tonight

Read Mark Halperin’s piece today - very helpful/insightful.

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Above: Palin’s final election-eve rally, in Alaska.

& there’s this:

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - John McCain’s running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, says she hopes, prays and believes that she will be able to take her experience as a reformer to Washington as vice president.
Palin voted Tuesday in her hometown of Wasilla, Alaska, spending about two minutes in a voting booth located in the town hall where she once presided as mayor.
On her way into the polling place, Palin hugged friends and shook hands with poll workers and other voters.
She left wearing an “I Voted” sticker on her brown, hooded jacket.
Standing with her husband, Todd, Palin told reporters that local government has been a great training ground. She had served on Wasilla’s city council and then as its mayor before being elected governor two years ago.

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Staying Up Late in the Centennial State

10:35am

DENVER (AP) - The polls are open in Colorado for the half of the state’s registered voters who didn’t cast their ballots by mail or at an early-voting location.
Election officials say nearly 1.6 million out of 3.2 million Colorado voted early. Still, they say don’t expect final results today.
Denver Election Commission spokesman Alton Dillard says the days of having “close to final results by 10 p.m. are over.” He says officials have tried to make it clear from the start that workers will still be counting ballots into Wednesday.
Dillard says the process to tabulate paper and mail-in ballots is time consuming.

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10:17am

The Obamas Vote

Watch it above.

Read a pool report here.

(OTHER CANDIDATES HAVE VOTED, & I’m looking on YouTube for clips to post here.

If you see one, give me a shout!)

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Tue/10:11am

Report from the Ground in Georgia

Sean Quinn of 538.com has a good report of how each the McCain & Obama campaigns are working to ‘Get Out the Vote’ in one of the states that will likely prove to be the most dramatic in the country later tonight:

He begins:

“If there is one shocker on election night in the presidential race, cast your eyes to Georgia. 1,994,990 people voted early in Georgia. 3,301,875 total voted in Georgia’s presidential race in 2004.

Let that sink in.”

What’s your voting story? Let us know!

From a reader in Ramhurst, Georgia:

Good Morning!
From a little place called Ramhurst Georgia. I live beside the voting place and the car doors have been slamming steadily since the polls opened. I just went over and got through in a few minutes. It takes a few minutes to read through all the special items. Machines are working fine and the people seem to be moving voters along well. One thing is different…the workers are not kicked back today, they are working hard to keep the flow of people going. If our small little place is that busy, I’d expect it to be a long day for the precinct workers and that is a good thing for democracy.
Keep up the good work.
Milton

Now it’s your turn!

Who’d you vote for, & why?

& when did you make your decision?

Everyone’s story is welcome!

Nathan says

“I voted for McCain because he reflects my beliefs & values. I made my mind up after Huckabee lost.”

Tom says

“I voted in a rural precinct in Catoosa County. The room was buzzing with energy. No political debates or discussions, just excitement. I arrived at 630am — a half hour before the polling began at 7am — and was third in line. I was finished by 705am. By the time I left, the parking lot was overflowing and the line was long.

I am never more proud to be American than when cast my ballot.”

John says

“I voted for Obama and have supported him since he entered the race in Illinois.
The reason is I believe he can fundamentally change politics, by bringing more people together and ending the “divide and conquer” era of politics. I also think it’s time for a young, intelligent and energetic person to lead rather than the same, old grumpy men.”

Marcia says

“My voting experience was as pleasant as a 45-minute wait ever is! I thought the precinct folks were very efficient and handled things nicely, (so the wait really wasn’t unpleasant).

As for who received my vote, Sen. Obama was my choice. At the beginning of the process, I was a Hillary fan… and still am. But I think Sen. Obama has conducted himself with great dignity and civility. That matters to me. In addition, he has put forth plans that reflect his concern for the average citizen. Considering the process through which they have to go, those plans may never see the light of day…but I think his demonstration of concern and empathy bode well for the country, its citizens and the
nation’s place in this global age.”

David says

“I voted at about 10:30am at the Avondale Church (Harrison precinct). There was no line, everything seemed to be running smoothly. We took our homeschool kids with us as a civic lesson. They had lots of questions. I could answer most of them.

I was decided a long time ago–voting Republican all the way. Nothing that was said in the mainstream media, the debates or Internet / E-mail traffic had any sway on me or my decisions.

I am grateful, however, that I live in a country where my vote counts.”

David says

“Voted at 10:30am…..Missionary Ridge Precinct…..2 minutes to sign in, and 3 minutes to vote… Very helpful staff.”

Richard says

“I went to Chattanooga’s Tyner Precinct… arrived at about ten minutes before 8 am. On first glance it looked like no line!  But once I got inside I found a line with app. 100 people wrapped up and down the hallway.

I went back by there to shoot pictures for our web page about 10:30 am. There was absolutely NO line… people voting, but no line.” (note: Richard is our web guru here at the station)

I showed up at my polling precinct at 7:35am.

I was 15th in line.

The crowd was quiet & sedate.

By the time polls opened at 8am, there were 60 people in line.

When the polls opened, the guy behind me said “Get your vote on.”

I turned around & said to him, “let’s go make democracy.”

I was out by 8:10am.

It felt great.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Above: my very first memory of being conscious of the United States Presidency, in August of 1974, when Gerald R. Ford took the oath of office.

[the photo below was taken in 1971, three years prior, but the TV & TV stand & room the TV was in were the same when I watched Ford.]

Since that time (1974) I remember becoming somewhat of a presidential buff. I remember memorizing the presidents, & reading up about the early ones at a young age. I remember Jimmy Carter being elected president, when I was in 1st grade. I remember Ronald Reagan being elected president, when I was in 5th grade. I remember Reagan’s re-election, when I was in 9th grade.

I was able to vote for the president for the first time in 1988. I have voted in every available election since then, including today.

& this year, my interest in the office of the presidency has taken me into the blogging world.

Since today represents a culmination of a 9-month endeavor, I want to take this opportunity to thank all of you for your interest & participation in the Vote08 blog.

This has been a labor of love for me throughout the year - & what a contest it’s been!

I have bent over backwards to make this website a fair one, one that respects all candidates that have been running.

It is my sincere hope that you have gotten that impression.

We all have a place at the table in this country, & no one’s ideas of patriotism or how to make this country great should be disrespected. I have tried to make that belief this blog’s ‘bread & butter’ since late January.

But just in case you’re wondering who I voted for today, & why, this piece pretty much spells it out.