In these closing days of the midterm elections, Democrats have been unable to do anything to stop the hemorrhaging of support that continues to drain away from them. At the same time, the wind behind the backs of the G.O.P. continues to build and with no resistance in sight, the momentum for Republican electoral victories is only strengthening. Two weeks ago, I feared that Republicans had peaked in the polls. That would have been a premature occurrence and not boded well. But since then, as GOP candidates continue to rise in the polls, it is clear that Republicans did not peak too early. All indications are that the momentum is still behind them and building. As such, history shows that many seats which are close enough to be considered tossups and those that have Democrats holding only slight leads, are more likely to fall into Republican hands then Democrat hands.
In addition to that and the massive swing of Independent and women voters to Republicans from Democrats, I believe that the anti-Democrat sentiment is currently running so unusually strong and deep that traditional polling models are not able to accurately enough read the depth of support for Republican candidates that exists out there. At least not as accurately as they normally can be.
The polls most reflective of final election results are those that are taken among people who are considered likely voters. But this year, there exists a group of voters which can not yet be identified by existing polling models. They fall in neither the category of “first time voters” or “likely voters”. It is the segment of the electorate which is also the most angry and the most likely to vote against Democrats. They are voters who became fed up with government as much as 5 to10 years ago and tuned out and stopped voting. But now, they have become so angered that they have come out of inactivity and are going to be some of the first people to cast their ballots against Democrats on Election Day. Existing polls are unable to account for this demographic and are allowing for results that do not contain the influence of these voters.
It is this unseen undercurrent of Republican support which I believe is going to help tip tossup races in favor of G.O.P. challengers and produce a number of surprises in races that are leaning toward Democrats. For instance, while I admit that Barbara Boxer is likely to be reelected, I have a feeling that Republican Carly Fiorna is poised to pull off one of the biggest upsets of the night and throw Boxer into a long overdue retirement from politics. The same undercurrent that I believe may sweep Fiorna into the Senate, will probably also be sweeping Republicans Dino Rossi of Washington and, I am going out on a limb by saying West Virginia’s John Raese, also to victory.
On the Senate side I believe that Republicans establish majority control by winning in:
Alaska, Colorado, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Washington, Wisconsin and West Virginia.
West Virginia and Washington are going to be too close for comfort though, and these results may not be official for quite a while, especially in Washington where mail in ballots are going to make recounts a tedious and time consuming process.
As for Alaska, this will probably be the very last race to be declared and won’t be done on Tuesday. Expect a careful and methodical recount of tons of write-in votes and court challenges. In the case of Delaware, I am probably one of the few people who is still not writing-off the ability for Christine O’Donnell and the voters of Delaware to make the professional pundits, political establishment and the media, look stupid, by pulling off an unlikely surprise upset victory over Democrat Chris Coons.
So while I an sure that the G.O.P. will have a minimum net gain of 8 seats in the Senate, I believe that some combination of wins in Washington, West Virginia and/or California, will give Republicans control of the Senate with a total of 51 to 49 seats. But the very real possibility of a 50/50 tie does actually exist here. If that happens, expect the GOP to end up taking control at some point during the course of the new year as at least one Democrat or two switch Parties ahead of their 2012 reelection bids in an attempt to avoid becoming a casualty when President Obama is on the top of the liberal ticket.
On the House side, I expect Republicans to increase their existing numbers by a minimum of 58 seats and possibly as many as 65 or even 68 seats. This would bring Republicans from the current 178 House seats to anywhere from 236 to 243 or 246 House seats. Such numbers would give the G.O.P. one of its largest majorities since 1946.
Many may believe that these figures are too high. As a skeptic, under normal conditions, I might believe so too. However, even though I am typically a pessimist and even though I usually prefer to lower expectations in politics, I am convinced that my projections are not exaggerated or overly optimistic and I believe there to be a greater chance for the higher estimate to come to fruition than there is for my lower estimate.
But the proof will be in the pudding and no matter how much statistical data and fine tuning of local factors that I combine together to reach my projections, only each individual voter ultimately knows what they will do with their private ballot. And Lord only knows the variables that things like the weather will add to the mix.
But signs of the final results will reveal themselves early on in the evening of November 2nd.
`
6:00 pm: Parts of Indiana and Kentucky;
Polls close in parts of Indiana and Kentucky at 6:00 pm, but we may not hear any results until 7:00 PM when the rest of them close Indiana and Kentucky along with the states of Virginia, Georgia, Vermont, South Carolina and parts of Florida.
`
7:00 pm: Virginia, Georgia, Vermont, South Carolina, Parts of Florida, All of Indiana and Kentucky;
The hour between 7:00 and 8:00 pm may produce election results that provide us with a hint as to whether the 2010 midterm elections are going to be a current, wave or tsunami for Republicans.
South Carolina’s Niki Haley will hold on to the Governor’s mansion for Republicans. But it is South Carolina’s 5th CD which may be one of the very first indication that normaly safe democrat seats and incumbents are about to fall like dominos. Here, if longtime incumbent John Spratt loses to Republican Mick Mulvaney, people like Michigan’s John Dingel and Massachusetts Barney Frank, better pull out the rosaries, find God, light a candle and say a few prayers because for the first time in their careers they will most definitely be vulnerable.
From Indiana, The GOP will gain a senate seat, replacing retiring Evan Bayh with Dan Coats and news that 8th and 9th district Republicans Larry Buschon and Todd Young defeat Democrat incumbents Trent Van Haaftern and Baron Hill will indicate that Republicans are on track to win 55 or more seats. Should they lose, the GOP will still be in line for at least 40 seats but significantly more than that may not be realistic. In Indiana’s 2nd district, if returns are still too close to declare incumbent Democrat Congressman Joe Donnelly the winner, or if his Republican opponent Jackie Walorski beats him, do not be surprised by GOP gains of 60 or more seats.
In Florida, early indications that Republicans are on track for 40 or more seats will be seen in early returns that give the GOP wins in FL-2 with Republican Steve Sutherland, and in the 8th, where the unbridled liberalism of Allen Grayson, one of the most obnoxious and arrogant members of Congress, should be shut up and shot down by Republican Daniel Webster. But if the G.O.P. is going to be riding a tsunami to control of the House, Lt. Col. Allen West, my favorite candidate of all running for the House, will win in Fl-22, along with Republican Sandy Adams over Democrat Suzanne Kosmas in Fl-24.
`
7:30 pm: West Virginia, North Carolina, Ohio
Other races between 6 and 8 pm to look at as barometers include KY-3, where incumbent John Yarmuth should win by at least three or more percent. If his opponent, Todd Lally pulls off an unlikely win, this election will be a bigger landslide to the G.O.P. than anyone anticipated.
The same goes for KY-6 (Ben Chandler vs. Andy Barr), NC-2 (Bob Etherdige vs. Renee Elmers), VA- 5 (Tom Perriello vs. Robert Hurt), GA-12 (John Barrow vs. Raymond McKinney), OH-6 (Charlie Wilson vs. Bill Johnson), and WV-3 (Nick Rahall vs. Spike Maynard) and we should be getting news on SC-5 (John Spratt vs. Mick Mulvaney),
Perhaps the biggest news at this time will be the news that Rob Portman keeps Ohio’s senate in the Republican column and that John Kasich takes the Governor’s mansion away from incumbent Democrat Ted Strickland.
At the hour of eight o’clock, the real dye will be cast.
`
8:00 pm: Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida CD’s 1 & 2, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Texas;
At this point in time, despite Linda McMahon and the Republican candidate for Governor losing their races in Connecticut, look for CT-5 (Chris Murphy vs. Sam Caligiuri), to switch and if CN-4 also falls, you will have further confirmation of the 2010 midterm elections being historic. During the eight o’clock hour, one of the most indicators of just how big Republicans may win by, will be most played out in Mississippi’s 4th CD. If incumbent Blue Dog Democrats Gene Taylor goes down to Republican Steven Palazzo, President Obama might want to consider pulling a Charlie Crist and registering as an Independent because a loss by Taylor will mean that there is no place for Democrats to hide and no issue for them to hide behind.
A race that could be indicative of the big mo behind the G.O.P. will be Maine’s 1st district where Democrat Chellie Pingree could be beaten by Republican Dean Scontras.
The state to produce the most dramatic switch to the G.O.P. this hour may be Pennsylvania where, Republicans Tom Corbett and Pat Toomey will take the statehouse and U.S. Senate and as many as 7 seats could go red. The five seats most likely to switch are PA-3 (Kathy Dahlkemper-D vs. Mike Kelly-R), PA-7 (Patrick Meehan-D vs. Bryan Lentz-R), PA-8 (Patrick Murphy-D vs. Michael Fitzpatrick-R), PA-10 (Chris Carney-D vs. Tom Marino-R), PA-11 (Paul Kanjorski vs. Lou Barletta).
In regards to the U.S. Senate, sometime between 8 and 8:30 we should be hearing that my favorite Senate candidate, Marco Rubio, has pummeled both Charlie “What Am I Now” Crist and Democrat Kendrick “I should have stayed in the House” Meek.
We should also hear that we can say goodbye to Joe “Says Tax” Sestak in Pennsylvania with Republican Pat Toomey, and also welcome Republican Mark Kirk to the Senate from Illinois.
As far as the races for Governor go after the 8:00 pm closures, in addition to Paul LePage taking Maine, Tom Corbet taking Pennsylvania, and Florida going to Rick Scott, the GOP will also increase the number of Governors in their ranks with wins in Pennsylvania and Illinois and Maine.
`
8:30 pm: Arkansas
At 8:30 pm, Arkansas closes the book on the 2010 midterms with a stinging and embarrassing defeat of Democrat Senator Blanche Lincoln and the flip of AR-2 from Democrat Joyce Elliot to Republican Tim Griffith.
A defeat of Democrats in AR-1 and 4 is not likely but possible. If they do fall to Republicans, this will be further evidence that we will be in the midst of a total shift in the tectonic plates of the political landscape.
Before 9:00 pm, we should already know that Nancy Pelosi’s tenure as majority leader is just a bad memory. But during this hour, a flood of states will be delivering additional blows to Democrats.
`
9:00 pm: Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island, Texas, Wisconsin, Wyoming
Between 9 and 10 pm, the G.O.P. will make big gains in the all important statehouses which will be instrumental in drawing preferential districts for the incumbent Party for the next decade and also gains towards taking control of the United States Senate.
Republicans will pick up Governors in Kansas, New Mexico, Wisconsin and Wyoming, and have a good chance of taking Minnesota. Rhode Island’s gubernatorial leadership is likely to flip from Republican hands to Independent hands, but it is still somewhat of a tossup. And while I do not see us keeping Rhode Island, if by chance, Republican John Robitale defeated liberal Independent Lincoln Chafee and Liberal Democrat Frank Caprio, Democrats will need sedatives to get through the rest of the night because that will be indicative of a pending national whooping that will hit them so hard, FDR will feel it.
As for the Senate, say goodbye to Michael Bennet in Colorado, and Russ Feingold in Wisconsin.
House races to look at for signs of how substantial the night will be for Republicans include CO-7 (Permultter-D vs. Frazier), RI-1 (Cicilline-D vs. Loughlin-R), and especially NY-1 (Bishop-D vs. Altschuler-R), NY-13 (McMahon vs. Grimm-R), TX- 25 (Dagget-D vs. Campbell-R), and MN-8 (Oberstar vs. Cravaack). Any combination of three or more of these seats will be one of the final signs that Democrats are spiraling out of control in this election. From those states which wrap their voting up during this hour, at least 16 or 17 seats should switch from Democrats to Republicans. Some of the biggest gains are likely to come from New York where the GOP will pick at least 4 seats, (NY-1, 19, 20, and 29), but possibly as many as 6 with wins. A remarkable chance exists for Republicans to take back the 13th CD which is encompasses the Staten Island and Southwest Brooklyn section of New York City’s five boroughs. This seat has been the only one in which New York City sent a Republican to occupy. It was in Republican hands for decades but last year fell to Democrats after Congressman Vito Fossella received a DUI charge in Virginia and subsequently revealed that while he was away in Washington from his Staten Island family, he spent time with his mistress and illegitimate child in Virginia. The candidacy of Michael Grimm and the anti-Democrat environment we are in, makes this a good last chance to take this seat back.
The other New York race that is well worth watching is out on the Southern tip of Long Island where Tim Bishop, (D, NY-1) could find himself a victim of a trend that began on Long Island last November when one of its two counties was taken by surprise when Republican Ed Mangano came from nowhere to defeat a safe Democrat incumbent in a race that was largely seen as uncompetitive. Although that was Nassau County and NY-1 is in Suffolk County, there is not much that differentiates the one county from the other when it comes to political sentiments. In this congressional district, Republican Randy Altschuler is certainly giving incumbent Tim Bishop a run for his money and if there are going to be a lot of surprises on November 2nd, NY-1 is as a good a place as any.
`
10:00 pm: Arizona, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Nevada, Utah
It may not be made official for an hour or so but the biggest news of the night will happen not long after the stroke of 10 when Sharon Angle embarrasses Democrats by taking down their Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid. Further embarrassment will include the ridiculously lopsided loss of Harry’s son Rory Reid, who is running for Governor of Nevada. Hopefully the Reid family will take the message and crawl back under the rock they emerged from.
In this same round of poll closings Iowa will give the GOP a statehouse pickup in Iowa. House seats to watch include AZ-7 where a win by real life rocket scientist, Republican Ruth McClung could defeat incumbent Raul Grijalva. McClung is not favored to win but if she did, it would be indicative of 2010 being much more than a Republican wave election. Other races which are suppose to remain in Democrats hands but could be upsetting the establishment are AZ-8 (Gabrielle Giffords-D vs. Jesse Kelly-R), ID-1 (Walt Minnick-D vs. Raul Labrador-R), IA-3 (Boswell-D vs. Brad Zaun-R) NV-3 (Titus-D vs. Heck-R), ND-At Large (Pomeroy-D vs. Berg-R), and UT-2 (Matheson-D vs. Morgan Phipot-R).
`
11:00 pm: California, Washington and Oregon;
In this round of poll closings, the GOP will simply be putting the icing on the cake House, but could determine whether or not they take control of the Senate.
In California, Republicans may very well control in Sacramento with the defeat of Meg Whitman to Jerry Brown and while only a major last minute development can save her, Carly Fiorina will in my opinion fare far better and ultimately pack Boxer up with a victory of a percent or less.
Washington state is likely to produce an upset by sending republican Dino Rossi to Washington and retiring incumbent Patty Murray by another slim margin of victory, but mail in ballots will prevent this from being confirmed for days, at least.
The most interesting House race to be watched will be in California where Democrat Loretta Sanchez is in the tightest race of her nearly two decade in office as she tries to beat off a challenge Van Tran. Vietnamese Tran, a California state legislator, is unifying the significant 15% of the district populations which is Vietnamese, along with a coalition of Independent Hispanics, African-Americans and Caucasians, along with a sizeable Republican vote. Together, these groups are countering the overwhelming 69% Hispanic makeup of the district. But that is a pretty solid voting bloc and if Van Tran can pull this one off, it will in large part be due to the strong undercurrent that is sweeping Democrats away. Sanchez should win this election the surprise factor has great promise in CA-47.
`
12:00 pm: Alaska, Hawaii
At this point, Republicans may be needing a victory by Joe Miller to take control of the Senate. But despite losing the GOP nomination in Alaska, Miller’s closets opponent in the race, Lisa Murkowski, is still a Republican and if her outside chance of successful write-in candidacy comes true, she is still likely to caucus with Republicans and in that regards, accomplish the same goal as far as who will control the Senate. Either way, expect Alaska’s results to no be made official for quite a while.
In Hawaii, CD-1 will be an attention grabber. Here, Republican Charles Djou recently won the seat in a special election. Yet observers favor his opponent, Democrat Colleen Hanabusa to take this seat back for Democrats. I think Djou can keep it, albeit by a small margin, but by a majority nonetheless. As for the governor’s race in Hawaii, while Republican Duke Aiona has made this race a tossup between popular retiring Congressman Neil Abercrombie, I fear Abercrombie is just to popular to defeat in Hawaii. The fact that Aiona has made this race as close as it is, is a tremendous credit to him, but in the end, I see Republicans losing the hold they had on the Hawaii statehouse with retiring Republican Governor Linda Lingle, to Neil Abercrombie.
No matter what, Republicans will be back in a position of power that will make it at the very least alter the Obama agenda and make it impossible for the President and Democrats to try to circumvent them. If the GOP happens to take control of both the Senate and the House, you can rest assured that President Obama is going to be a different President than he has been over these past 22or so months. Will he abandon his agenda and moderate in order to work with Congress or will he stick to his guns and risk an endless stream of rejection from Congress? When Bill Clinton was faced with the Republican Revolution of 1994, he was reduced to having to explain to a reporter how he would be relevant to the political process during the second half of his term.
Now, with the Republican Rejuvenation of 2010, President Obama may be faced with the same need to prove how relevant he will be. This will certainly be the case if Republicans can exploit the small chance of taking over the senate as well as the House. But Bill Clinton was able to prove that he was indeed relevant. He began to pay attention to the pulse of the people and began working with the G.O.P. instead of constantly working against them. This will be harder for President Obama to do though. The has publicly told Republicans to sit on the back of the bus and called Republicans “the enemy”. Still, unless President Obama wants to endorse gridlock and seek to get reelected by claiming that the GOP is still in the way of his agenda which has proven to be a failure, he will be forced to moderate. How he reacts to the new political in America will be quite interesting. If he is the politically charismatic genius that some claim, he could turn things around and resurrect himself among mainstream and moderate America and the powerful Independent vote.
As for Republicans, it must be remembered that they are not winning because people like, trust or want them. They are skeptical of the GOP and not fully convinced that they understand that the people do not want to compromise on the issues of big government, big spending and further encroachment of our constitutional rights. This means that Republicans must be unafraid of saying “no” to the President. They must not backtrack on attempts to repeal government healthcare, cut the size, scope and cost of government or cave in to political correctness and fail to live up to the promises made in 2010.
The final political effect of the 2010 election results will be seen in the 2012 race for President a contest that will begin on the Republican side on Wednesday November 3rd. On the Democrat side it may not begin start up quite as fast. President Obama will be spending some time outside of the country in the days to follow the election. And when he returns home he will be making every single policy decision with 2012 in mind and others. But others like Hillary Clinton may also be doing the same. People like her might feel that the devastating losses that Democrats will have suffered, will require them to save the Party from President Obama and the nation from his policies. Such thinking could be behind the resignation from her position as Secretary of State some time during the beginning of 2011.
Republican House Pickups
Results bewtween 6:00 pm and 8:00 pm
- Indiana 8 - Larry Buschon over Trent Van Haaften
- Indiana 9 – Todd Young over Baron Hill
- Florida 2 – Steve Sutherland over Allen Boyd
- Florida 8 - Daniel Webster over Allen Grayson
- Florida 22 - Allen West over Ron Klein
- Florida 24 - Sandy Adams over Suzanne Kosmas
- Virginia 2 - Scott Rigell over Glenn Nye
- Virginia 5 - Robert Hurt over Tom Perriello
- South Carolina 5 - Mick Mulvaney over John Spratt
- Georgia 2 - Mike Keown over Sanford Bishop
- Georgia 8 – Austin Scott over Jim Marshall
- Ohio 1 – Steve Chabot over Steve Driehaus
- Ohio 15 - Steve Stivers over Mary Jo Kilroy
- Ohio 16 - Jim Rannaci over John Boccieri
- Ohio 18 – Bob Gibbs over Zach Space
- North Carolina 8 - Harold Johnson over Larry Kissel
Seat changes that would indicate a trend toward Democrats losses much higher than expected
** -indicates seats that if Democrats lose will be a sign of a Republican pickup of 65 or more seats if
- Georgia 12 - Raymond McKinney over John Barrow**
- Indiana 2 – Jackie Walorski over Joe Donnelly**
- Kentucky 3 - Todd Lally over John Yarmuth
- Kentucky 6 – Andy Barr over Ben Chandler
- Virginia 9 - Morgan Griffith over Rick Boucher
- Virginia 11 – Keith Fimian over Gerry Connolly
- Ohio 6 – Bill Johnson over Charlie Wilson**
- West Virginia 1 – David McKinley over Mike Oliverio
- West Virginia 3 – Spiike Maynard over Nick Rahall
- North Carolina 11 - Jeff Miller over Heath Schuler
Results bewtween 8:00 pm and 9:00 pm
- Connecticut 5 - Sam Caliguiri over Chris Murphy
- Illinois 14 - Randy Huttgren over Bill Foster
- Illinois 17 - Bobby Schilling over Ohil Hare
- Maryland 1 – Andy Harris over Frank Kratovil
- New Hampshire 1 - Frank Guinta over Carol Shea Porter
- New Hampshire 2 – Charlie Bass over Ann McLane Kuster
- New Jersey 3 – Jon Runyan over John Adler
- Pennsylvania 3 – Mike Kelly over Kethy Dahlkemper
- Pennsylvania 7 – Bryan Lentz over Patrick Meehan
- Pennsylvania 8 - Michael Ftzpatrick over Patrick Murphy
- Pennsylvania 10 – Tom Marino over Chris Carney
- Pennsylvania 11 – Lou Barletta over Paul Kanjorski
- Tennessee 6 - Diane Black over Brett Carter
- Tennessee 8 – Stephen Fincher over Roy Herron
- Texas 17 – Bill Flores over Chet Edwards
- Florida 2 - Steve Sutherland over Allen Boyd
- Arkansas 1 - Rick Crawford over Chad Causey
- Arkansas 2 - Tim Griffin over Joyce Elliot
Seat changes that would indicate a trend toward Democrats losses much higher than expected
** -indicates seats that if Democrats lose will be a sign of a Republican pickup of 65 or more seats if
- Alabama 2 - Martha Roby over Bobby Bright **
- Connecticut 4 – Dan Dibecella over Jim Hines **
- Massachusetts 4 – Sean Bielat over Barney Frank **
- Mississippi 4 – Steven Palazzo over Gene Taylor **
- New Jersey 6 – Anna Little over Frank Pallone **
- New Jersey 12 - Scott Sipprele over Rush Holt **
- Pennsylvania 4 – Keith Rothfus over Jason Altmire **
- Pennsylvania 12 – Tim Burns over Mark Critz **
- Tennessee 4 – Scott DeJarlas over Lincoln Davis
- Texas 15 – Eddie Zamora over Ruben Hinjosa
- Texas 25 – Donna Campbell over Lloyd Doggett **
Results bewtween 9:00 pm and 10:00 pm
- Colorado 3 - Scott Tipton over John Salazar
- Colorado 4 - Cory Gardner over Betsy Markey
- Louisaina 3 - Jeff Landry over Ravi Sangisetty
- Kansas 3 - Kevin Yoder over Stephene Moore
- Michigan 1 - Dan Banishek over Gary McDowell
- Michigan 7 - Tim Walberg over Mark Schauer
- New York 19 - Nan Hayworth over John Hall
- New York 20 - Chris Gibson over Scott Murphy
- New York 23 - Matt Doheny over Bill Owens
- New York 29 – Tom Reed over Matt Zeller
- New Mexico 2 - Harry Teague over Steve pearce
- South Dakota -AL - Kristi Noem over Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin
- Texas 23 - Quico Canseco over Ciro Rodrigues
- Wisconsin 7 - Sean Duffy over Julie Lassa
- Wisconsin 8 - Reid Ribble over Steve Kagen
Seat changes that would indicate a trend toward Democrats losses much higher than expected
** -indicates seats that if Democrats lose will be a sign of a Republican pickup of 65 or more seats if
- Colorado 7 - Ryan Frazier over Ed Perlmutter**
- Louisiana 2 - *Cao over Richmond **~(see note below)
- Minnesota 1 - Randy Demmer over Tim Walz
- Minnesota 7 - Lee Byberg over Collin Peterson
- Minnesota 8 - Chip Cravaack over Jim Oberstar**
- Michigan 15 – Rob Steele over John Dingel**
- New York 2 – John Gomez over Steve Israel**
- New York 13 – Michael Grimm over Michael McMahon**
- New York 24 – Richard Hanna over Michael Arcuri
- New York 25 - Anne Marie Buerkle over Dan Maffei
- New York 27 – Leonard Roberts over Brian Higgins
- New Mexico 3 – Tom Mullins over Ben Ray Lujan
- Rhode Island - John Loughlin over David Cicilline**
- Wisconsin 13 - Dan Kapanke over Ron Kind**
Results between 10:00 pm and 11:00 pm
- Arizona 1 – Paul Gosar over Ann Kirkpatrick
- Arizona 5 - David Schwiekert over Harry Mitchell
- Idaho 1 – Raul Labrador over Walt Minnick
- North Dakota -AL – Rick Berg over Earl Pomeroy
- Nevada 3 – Joe Heck over Dina Titus
Seat changes that would indicate a trend toward Democrats losses much higher than expected
** -indicates seats that if Democrats lose will be a sign of a Republican pickup of 65 or more seats if
- Arizona 7 – Ruth McClung over Raul Girjalva **
- Arizona 8 - Jesse Kelly over Gabrielle Giffords **
- Iowa 3 – Brad Zaun over Leonard Boswell
- Utah 2 - Morgan Philpot over Jim Mathison
Results between 11:00 pm and 12:00 am
- California 11 - David Harmer over Jerry McNerny
- California 20 – Andy Vidak over Jim Costa
- Washington 3 - Denny Heck over Jamie Herrera
Seat changes that would indicate a trend toward Democrats losses much higher than expected
** -indicates seats that if Democrats lose will be a sign of a Republican pickup of 65 or more seats if
- California 18 - Mike Berryhill over Dennis Cardoza
- California 47 - Van Tran over Lorretta Sanchez**
- Washington 2 - John Koster over Rick Larsen**
- Washington 9 - Dick Muri over Adam Smith
- Oregon 4 - Art Robinson over Peter DeFazio
- Oregon 5 - Scott Brunn over Kurt Schrader**
Results after 12:00 am
- Hawaii 1 - Charles Djou over Colleen Hanabusa
Click the image below for more from POLITICS 24/7 
It has been reported that Jack Kemp has cancer.
he was President but during the mid 80's I also came to appreciate the Congressman from my home state of New York. Although Jack Kemp was from Buffalo and I was from Brooklyn, the distance did not takeaway any sense of the Congressman's i.mpact on me.
and they were supported by all that freedom in a free nation meant.
As the 1988 campaign began, I found myself traveling to campaign for Jack Kemp in New Hampshire and eventually became a low level field director. I will never forget sitting on campaign busses traveling from every Notch from Dixville to Zealand in the North White Mountains and Great North Woods to Portsmouth and Seabrook in the Seacoast region and Nashua, Concord and Manchester in between. I was often honored beyond belief to sit next Jack Kemp on the campaign bus and have the opportunity to brief the would be President on events at our next stops and update him on how the door-to-door events at previous stops went.
With his maverick image in place, in 1996 the Republican nominee for President, Bob Dole picked Kemp to be his Vice Presidential running mate. The selection was something of a surprise, not least because Kemp and Dole had policy disagreements in the past and had been rivals in 1988. Dole had generally been skeptical of massive tax cuts preferring to emphasize deficit reduction but the electoral dynamics of 1996 converted Dole to the merits of tax cuts. In this context Kemp was an ideal vice presidential choice. He symbolized vigorous tax cuts and was able to generate enthusiasm among Republican activists. Kemp was well known nationally because of his football career and visionary economic and defense policies; and it was hoped that Kemp's energetic style and manner would balance Dole's age.
