Unhappy With The Election Results

Unhappy With The Election Results? Just Look At The People Your Neighbors Voted Into Office

As the dust settles and we take a closer look at Tuesday night's election results, we can't help but wonder what some voters were thinking. As with every election, there were the incumbents who were able to win re-election, like Rep. Michael Grimm (R-N.Y.), who threatened to throw a reporter off a balcony, Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.), who just won a 23rd term in Congress despite being found guilty of a number of ethics violations in 2010, and Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska), who joked about suicide just weeks before the election.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg in Congress. All hail the power of incumbency.

But there are some even stranger figures who got elected across the nation this week. Here are a few of them.

Jody 'Abortion Is Worse Than Hitler' Hice

Republican Jody Hice of Georgia had no problem winning his state's deep-red 10th Congressional District on Tuesday. Salon documents some of the most controversial viewpoints of the soon-to-be congressman: Hice has said Islam is not a real religion and doesn't deserve First Amendment protections, that legal abortion is "worse than Hitler's six million Jews or Mussolini's three hundred thousand," and that the gay community is trying to seduce and sodomize your children.

There's more. From supporting nullification to wanting to re-litigate the Civil War to suggesting that women should ask their husbands for permission to enter politics, the list goes on. And on.

(It's worth noting that Hice will take the seat formerly held by Rep. Paul Broun, who once declared that evolution and the Big Bang are "lies from the pit of hell." It seems fair to predict that Hice will represent the district with a similar mindset.)

Ryan 'Hillary Clinton Is The Anti-Christ' Zinke

Former Navy SEAL Ryan Zinke of Montana handily won a seat in Congress on Tuesday, despite expressing a number of controversial views throughout his campaign. Perhaps the most surprising of these was calling former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton the "anti-Christ." Zinke later claimed the comments were a joke.

Zinke has been an equally ardent critic of President Barack Obama. He previously led an anti-Obama super PAC that claimed the president "conveniently took credit for killing Osama Bin Laden for political gain." Earlier this year, Zinke also appeared to suggest that he would support impeaching Obama if given the option when he gets to Congress.

Glenn 'What Do We Need Weekends For, Anyway?' Grothman

Glenn Grothman, a Wisconsin Republican running for the seat of retiring GOP Rep. Tom Petri, cruised to victory over his Democratic challenger on Tuesday. Grothman, like Hice, has established himself as a far-right politician with a number of divisive views. He once told The Huffington Post it was "a little ridiculous" that Wisconsin had laws against a seven-day workweek. In 2012, he claimed to the Daily Beast that women get paid less because "money is more important for men."

Grothman also believes that teachers should be banned from discussing homosexuality in the classroom because it could turn kids gay, that people on food stamps eat too well and that Planned Parenthood is "the most overtly racist organization." These are just some of the views Grothman will be taking to Washington.

Michael 'The Gays Are Out To Recruit Your Children' Peroutka

Michael Peroutka, a former Constitution Party candidate who has since turned Republican, won a seat on the Anne Arundel County Council in Maryland on Tuesday, receiving 53 percent of the vote against his Democratic opponent. Peroutka attracted scrutiny throughout his campaign for his involvement with the League of the South, a Southern secessionist group, which he severed ties with last month amid the controversy.

In October, Peroutka also decried what he called the LGBT "deathstyle," which he said needed to "recruit your children" to maintain its ways. He has also suggested that "there is no such thing as a civil right," and that gay people don't deserve protections because of their sexuality.

Mark 'Let's Go To War With Mexico' Walker

Republican Mark Walker secured an easy victory Tuesday in his race to replace retiring Rep. Howard Coble (R-N.C.). Walker raised some eyebrows on the campaign trail when he suggested that a solution to southern border violence and undocumented immigration would be to "blitz somebody with a couple of fighter jets for a little while." He went on to say he had no qualms with going to war against Mexico, though he later claimed he was joking.

Gordon 'Obama Is Literally Possessed By Demons' Klingenschmitt

Gordon Klingenschmitt cake-walked to a seat in the Colorado state house on Tuesday, taking nearly 70 percent of the vote in the state's heavily Republican House District 15. Klingenschmitt, a former Navy chaplain, has made a name for himself as a prominent voice on the religious right. He has frequently made extreme anti-gay claims and suggested in his book that Obama is possessed by "demonic spirits," which, according to the Bible, has led the president to actions that are "worthy of death."

(Read more about Klingenschmitt at Right Wing Watch, which has tirelessly tracked his career.)

Saira 'NRA-Endorsed College Freshman' Blair

On Tuesday, 18-year-old Saira Blair won a seat in West Virginia's state legislature, securing the distinction of being the youngest lawmaker in the nation. Blair began her campaign at the age of 17 and, according to the Wall Street Journal, did most of her campaigning out of her college dorm at West Virginia University, where she is enrolled as a freshman. In May, she defeated a 66-year-old Republican incumbent in the GOP primary, and in the general election on Tuesday, she trounced her Democratic opponent, 44-year-old attorney Layne Diehl.

Blair is ultra-conservative. She has the NRA's endorsement and believes life begins at conception. She opposes Plan B contraception, gay marriage and labor unions, and says her focus is bringing jobs back to West Virginia.

The 18-year-old will join her father, a sitting state senator, in the upcoming legislative session, at which time she says she'll defer her spring semester of college. Source

The Democrats Lost Generation

The Democrats’ Lost Generation

As Democrats take stock of their grievous losses in the 2014 elections, party leaders are confronting a challenge perhaps even more daunting than their defeats in the House and Senate: the virtual wipeout of the Democratic talent pool across the country.

After the Republican waves of 2010 and 2014, the party is depleted not just in its major-league talent, but also in its triple-A recruitment prospects. It amounts to a setback, Democrats say, that will almost certainly require more than one election cycle to repair.

At the start of the 2014 campaign, Democrats envisioned an election that would produce new national stars for the party in at least a few tough states – Georgia Sen. Michelle Nunn or Kentucky Sen. Alison Lundergan Grimes, for instance, or maybe even Texas Gov. Wendy Davis. Even if the party fell short in those “reach” states, Democrats hoped to produce new heavyweight blue-state Democrats – Maryland Gov. Anthony Brown, the country’s only black state executive; or Maine Gov. Mike Michaud, who would have been the first openly gay candidate elected governor.

Any of them could have landed on a vice presidential short list in 2016.

Instead, all of them lost.

Joining them were numerous down-ballot Democrats widely viewed as future contenders for high office: attorney general candidates in Nevada and Arizona who looked like future governors; aspiring state treasurers in Ohio and Colorado who could have gone on to bigger things; prized secretary of state candidates in Iowa and Kansas as well as countless congressional hopefuls around the country.

Arizona Rep.-elect Ruben Gallego, a state lawmaker who will be one of the few Democratic freshmen in the next Congress, said the party will need to redouble its efforts at recruitment and voter registration in order to bounce back. Along with other state and local Democratic leaders, Gallego predicted that city- and county-level officials would be the best place to look for ground-level Democratic recruits in the years ahead, thanks to the party’s strength in urban America and these officials’ relative insulation from national trends.

“The way we rebuild is really by having a deep investment in our local city council races and state races, by really starting to recruit and pipeline strong local candidates,” said Gallego, a 34-year-old Marine Corps veteran. “That’s where your good congressional candidates in the future are going to come from.”

Some Democrats hope their better-performing candidates will take another try at statewide office – and soon. New Hampshire Democratic Party Chairman Ray Buckley said he would encourage Democrats like Nunn and Georgia gubernatorial candidate Jason Carter to seek rematches in “a more favorable climate in 2016 and 2018.”

“People were swept out this year because of the red tide,” Buckley said. “I can envision them running again in a few years.”

Democrats, many of whom argued Wednesday that the election’s painful outcome reflected little more than off-year voter apathy, cautioned that there were a few bright spots on the recruitment front. They elected at least three new House members who could stand for statewide office: Gallego, Florida Rep.-elect Gwen Graham and Massachusetts Rep.-elect Seth Moulton, a decorated veteran who took on an incumbent Democrat during primary season.

And a pair of new governors, Pennsylvania’s Tom Wolf and Rhode Island’s Gina Raimondo, have the potential to prove themselves as national figures. In a few states, Democrats add, they have already established powerhouse figures with obvious statewide and national potential, including several of California’s constitutional officers and the mayors of Los Angeles and Chicago.
Source

Mia Love Barack Obama Republican Party

Mia Love, The Barack Obama of the Republican Party?

LOS ANGELES: Even her name is media friendly. Mia Love instantly became the darling of the Republican Party on Wednesday, after being elected as its first black female member of Congress — and she is a Mormon to boot.

She has also rapidly drawn comparisons with Barack Obama, not least since she wowed her party's 2012 national convention with a tale of rags-to-political-riches, much like the young Senator Obama did in 2004.

"Many of the naysayers out there said that Utah would never elect a black Republican LDS woman to Congress," she said at her victory rally, referring to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or Mormons.

"Not only did we do it, we were the first to do it," said the 38-year-old, who was previously mayor of Saratoga Springs, a city 35 miles (56 kilometers) south of Salt Lake City.

Born Ludmya Bourdeau in Brooklyn to Haitian-American parents, Love catapulted herself into Washington's political spotlight by winning the Mormon-dominated western US state's Fourth Congressional District.

Love's parents came from Haiti in the mid-1970s, and she recalls in interviews how her father at times took second jobs cleaning toilets to pay for school for their three children.

She graduated from the University of Hartford, Connecticut with a degree in Fine Arts. A Catholic by upbringing, she found the Mormon faith before finding her white Mormon husband Jason Love.

Love is a minority in both her state and church: barely one percent of Utahans are black or African American, while only an estimated three percent of Mormons are. Mormons make up about 60 percent of Utah's population.

(In this file photo, Mia Love smiles after speaking at a rally, in Lehi, Utah.)

She is fond of recalling what her father told her on her day of college orientation: "Mia, your mother and I never took a handout. You will not be a burden to society. You will give back," she notes on her own website.

Love made headlines when she took the stage at the 2012 Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida — which nominated Mitt Romney, also a Mormon, as its presidential nominee.

"My parents immigrated to the US with 10 dollars in their pocket, believing that the America they had heard about really did exist," she told the crowd.

"When times got tough they didn't look to Washington, they looked within."

Damon Cann, politics professor at Utah State University, said Love is bound for greater things in Washington.

"Since the election of Barack Obama, the Republicans have been more serious about trying to showcase the diversity within the Republican Party," he told the Salt Lake Tribune.

"And Mia Love is potentially the poster child for diversity in the party," he added.

Despite proclaiming her first-black-Republican-congresswoman credentials in her victory speech Tuesday night, Love was keen Wednesday to downplay suggestions that her race or gender won the election.

"I wasn't elected because of the color of my skin, I wasn't elected because of my gender," she told CNN in an interview.

"Understand that Utahans have made a statement that they're not interested in dividing Americans based on race or gender, that they want to make sure that they are electing people who are honest and who have integrity.

"That's really what made history here. Race, gender had nothing to do with it."

Commentators agreed that Love is a real asset for the Republicans. She "is poised to become an important symbol for the GOP as the party seeks to broaden its appeal among blacks and other minorities, who typically vote overwhelmingly Democratic," noted the Christian Science Monitor.

The Washington Post added: "A party threatened with electoral extinction among African Americans and immigrants now has someone to brag about in Washington.

"Love's compelling personal story is an oasis. She's not just a black face in what's often described as a party full of angry old white men. She's a path forward," it said. Source

Modi likely to reshuffle Cabinet by Monday

Modi likely to reshuffle Cabinet by Monday; Parrikar may get defense

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to reshuffle his Cabinet by Monday amid strong possibility of Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar joining the Union Cabinet.

Along with Parrikar, Birendra Singh, Jat leader from Haryana who crossed over from Congress before the assembly polls, is likely to be accommodated in the Cabinet.

Hansraj Ahir, Lok Sabha member from Chandrapur in Maharashtra; Giriraj Singh, who won the poll from Nawada in Bihar; and Jayant Sinha, who successfully substituted his father, former finance minister Yashwant Sinha, in Jharkhand's Hazaribagh constituency, are likely to find a place in the council of ministers. There are likely to be more names as sources had told TOI after the last round of assembly polls that the Cabinet reshuffle would be a "comprehensive" affair.

Besides them, West Bengal — which figures high on BJP president Amit Shah's list of priorities — is also likely to find representation, though indications are that the leadership may look farther than the present crop of MPs from the state.

Sources said Parrikar may be given charge of defence should Modi decide to relieve finance minister Arun Jaitley of the additional charge of the sensitive ministry. Telecom, which Ravishankar Prasad holds simultaneously with law, can be a possible option for the Goa CM, should Modi decide to continue with Jaitley in defence.
Parrikar met the PM and BJP chief Shah on Wednesday evening amid indications that he may not be excessively eager to shift to Delhi.

The reshuffle, the Modi government's first, can happen either on Sunday or Monday, depending on the convenience of President Pranab Mukherjee. Sources said Modi, who will be in his Lok Sabha constituency of Varanasi on Friday and Saturday, will sound out Rashtrapati Bhavan soon.

The inclusion of Birendra Singh, grandson of legendary Jat leader Sir Chhotu Ram, will be a gesture towards Jats after the BJP picked a Punjabi, Manohar Lal Khattar, to head its maiden government in Haryana. Birendra's wife Prem Lata defeated Om Prakash Chautala's grandson Dushyant in Unchha Kalan constituency in the recent state polls.

Manohar Parrikar, chief minister of Goa with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a meeting in New Delhi on Thursday. (PTI Photo)

Birendra quit as general secretary of Congress and his Rajya Sabha seat to throw his lot with the BJP. He stands to get much more in compensation, considering that the Congress leadership mysteriously decided against appointing him as a member of Manmohan Singh's Cabinet in 2013 virtually at the last minute.

Coming just ahead of Delhi polls, his elevation will be a message to Jats, who are an important part of the Capital's electorate and had supported BJP in both the last assembly and Lok Sabha polls.

Giriraj Singh had seemed a certainty for inclusion in the first lot, but the party leadership made him wait because of his "communal" remarks during the Lok Sabha campaign. He represents Bhumihars, who staunchly backed the BJP in the LS polls. Giriraj's inclusion will deny rivals the opening that they are seeking with the community by claiming that their affection has not been reciprocated.

Shiv Sena Join Government After Trust Vote Devendra Fadnavis

Shiv Sena Can Join Government Only After Trust Vote: Devendra Fadnavis

MUMBAI: BJP has turned the tables on Matoshree on Wednesday, making it clear that Shiv Sena can join the new government only after it backs the trust vote on November 12, which is the new regime's top priority now. NCP's statement last week that it will vote in favour of BJP, and not abstain from the trust vote, has apparently emboldened BJP to dictate terms to Sena.

Just a day earlier, Matoshree had issued an ultimatum to BJP on the issue, demanding that Sena ministers must be sworn in before the trust vote is moved in the state assembly. It meant a share in power was a pre-condition for the Sena's support.

However, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has virtually thrown the Sena ultimatum out of the window. Talking to mediapersons after the state cabinet meeting in Mantralaya, Fadnavis said cabinet expansion will take place only after his government proves its majority on the floor of the assembly. He added that the Sena ministers to be inducted in his team would be decided in New Delhi.

The government will have to win a trust vote at the special three-day session of the Maharashtra legislative assembly starting November 10. BJP wanted Sena to make up its mind on extending support by Saturday.

Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis along with his Cabinet ministers pays tribute to late Balasaheb Thackeray at Shivtirth in Mumbai. (PTI Photo)

Fadnavis's move has left the Sena with hardly any choice now: it will have to either opt for the opposition benches in the assembly, or quietly fall in line, say observers. Sena will decide its next move on at a meeting of party legislators on Sunday, it is learned. Uddhav Thackeray will spell out his party's position on the support issue and announce the name of the legislature party chief, sources said.

The Sena has for over a week been haggling with the BJP for more than 10 portfolios in the state cabinet, including the deputy chief ministership. While the BJP had summarily rejected the demand for the deputy chief minister's post, it had hemmed and hawed over the other demands, even as back channel negotiations were under way between the two former allies.

A section in the state BJP has apprehensions about seeking NCP support, considering that the latter was in Fadnavis's cross-hairs for a full five years, when he was the opposition leader, over corruption and financial scandals in the irrigation department. In his poll speeches in Maharashtra, Prime Minister Narendra Modi too had lashed out at NCP on the corruption issue.


Urban development minister Venkaiah Naidu chats with Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray at the swearing-in ceremony of Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis in Mumbai. (PTI Photo)

BJP has chosen NCP over Sena in view of the latter's unpredictable ways of functioning, said a key state BJP functionary on Wednesday. "We think that handling Sena as a post-poll partner would be a risky proposition vis-a-vis NCP. Matoshree has this habit of making new demands. Worse, it could even pull the rug from under the government's feet," he said.

With 63 MLAs, Sena is the largest party after BJP in the state assembly. If it decides to sit in the opposition, the party's legislature party leader would become the leader of the opposition.

Talk of Central berths for Sena

Reports that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to expand his ministerial team fuelled speculation on Wednesday that the PM may offer one Union cabinet portfolio and one minister of state berth to the Shiv Sena. However, a senior Sena functionary said there has been no official communication from the PMO on this. "We are not sure if the PM would induct two of our MPs in his ministry at this critical juncture," he said.

The names of several senior MPs were doing the rounds in Sena circles, including those of Sanjay Raut, Bhavna Gawli, Chandrakant Khaire, Anandrao Adsul and Anil Desai. BJP is likely to induct MP Hansraj Ahir and RPI chief Ramdas Athavale in the Union cabinet. Source

Is Mayawati’s Flirtations With Brahmans Over

Is Mayawati’s Flirtations With Brahmans Over?

Mayawati on Wednesday gave Rajya Sabha tickets to two dalits, Bir Singh and Raja Ram,

 ignoring the claims of party’s two brahmans MPs Brijesh Pathak and Akhilesh Das.

LUCKNOW: BSP chief Mayawati's bonhomie with brahmans seems over. She has decided to return to her core constituents, dalits, after the continuous slide in BSP's electoral fortunes since the 2012 assembly elections.

Mayawati on Wednesday gave Rajya Sabha tickets to two dalits, Bir Singh and Raja Ram, ignoring the claims of party's two brahmans MPs Brijesh Pathak and Akhilesh Das. A miffed Das quit party, while Pathak, usually present during Mayawati's news conferences, was noticeably missing. The party's Brahmin face, Satish Chandra Mishra, kept impassively silent as she announced candidates' names.

Mayawati's rainbow coalition of dalits and brahmans was said to be the reason why she won a virtual landslide in 2007. Thereafter, the formula has failed to yield results and now even the dalits appear to be drifting away from her to the BJP.

Despite setback in 2012 assembly elections, Mayawati gave tickets to 37 brahmans in 2014 Lok Sabha elections but all of them lost as dalits voted in large numbers for the BJP. The party's poor show continued in UP bypolls and the assembly elections in Maharashtra and Haryana.

Brahmans are 12% of UP's population and hold sway on 30 Lok Sabha and 90 assembly seats. Until the Mandal and Mandir movements, the community voted mainly for the Congress. brahmans, who have traditionally been on the side of the party in office, went with BSP in 2007 when it gave tickets to 81 brahmans, of whom 37 won. This equation has changed now. SP and BSP perceive a shift in Brahmin loyalty towards the BJP. So the two parties are beginning to ignore brahmans and reverting to their core constituents. Source

Akhilesh Das Offered Rs 100 Crore For Rajya Sabha Ticket Mayawati

Akhilesh Das Offered Rs 100 Crore For Rajya Sabha Ticket: Mayawati

Mayawati alleged that former Union 

minister Akhilesh Das had offered her Rs 100 crore

 for renominating him to the Rajya Sabha.

LUCKNOW: BSP chief Mayawati on Wednesday alleged former Union minister Akhilesh Das, who quit the party a day earlier, had offered her Rs 100 crore for renominating him to the Rajya Sabha. Das's term in the Upper House ends on November 25.

Addressing the media at the party headquarters in Lucknow, Mayawati said the BSP would field Raja Ram and Bir Singh, both SC candidates, for the forthcoming Rajya Sabha elections. "I would not have offered a ticket to Das even if he offered Rs 200 crore," she said. "He even failed to mobilize the support of members of his Vaishya community. I've decided to provide tickets to Dalits only."

About the party's decision to deny tickets to OBCs, Muslims and upper castes, Mayawati said it was taken to prevent others from feeling neglected.

Das countered Mayawati's allegations. The former BSP national general secretary said he had not offered any money and it was the BSP leadership that extorted money from candidates contesting assembly and parliamentary elections.




"It's the BSP culture to force MPs, MLAs and office-bearers to cough up funds for the party," Das told the media soon after Mayawati's press conference. "It is not true that I had quit the Congress and requested for a BSP membership. In fact, it was Mayawati who had pursued me to join the BSP. She had even dictated my resignation letter." Source

2014 Midterms Marijuana Money Candidates

Marijuana Wins, And So Do Money-Backed Candidates

The big winners of Tuesday’s midterm elections were Republicans — specifically Mitch McConnell, who’s expected to assume the role of Senate Majority Leader.

And change also came for states that voted on recreational marijuana use. Those in Oregon and Alaska voted to legalize pot use, while others took smaller steps towards legalization.

Finally, need a sure-fire way to predict which governors won last night? The amount of money they spent on TV ads.

Watch above for the things you need to know right now about Tuesday’s midterm elections.

Source

Election Results Republicans Seize Senate Gain Full Control of Congress

Election Results: Balance of Power Shifts as Republicans Seize Senate, Gain Full Control of Congress

A Republican tide ripped the Senate away from Democrats Tuesday, giving the GOP full control of Congress and the power to pin down President Barack Obama during his last two years in office.

The thumping win upends the balance of power between the White House and Capitol Hill only six years after Obama’s Democrats swept to power and marginalized Republicans in a rush to reform health care, Wall Street and pass a huge stimulus package.

Now, it’s Democrats who will take the back seat on Capitol Hill, relying mostly on the power of the filibuster to stymie Republicans and keep Obama’s legacy intact.

“For too long, this administration has tried to tell the American people what is good for them and then blame somebody else when their policies didn’t work out,” Mitch McConnell, who is expected to become the next Senate majority leader, said in a victory speech.

In the House, the GOP won 246 seats, its largest majority since World War II. Speaker John Boehner, celebrating a widened majority, said he is “humbled by the responsibility the American people have placed with us.”

“But this is not a time for celebration,” he said. “It’s time for government to start getting results and implementing solutions to the challenges facing our country, starting with our still-struggling economy.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who has controlled the Senate since 2007, congratulated Republicans on their victory.

“The message from voters is clear: they want us to work together,” Reid said. “I look forward to working with Senator McConnell to get things done for the middle class.”

But there was silence from the White House after Tuesday’s results became clear. Obama will make a public statement Wednesday on an election many will see as a repudiation of his presidency, and he will host bipartisan leaders on Friday to try to chart a way forward.

Democratic losses pile up

Democratic fears of a rout came true, as party candidates struggled to defend seats won in the 2008 Obama wave in conservative territory, and couldn’t get out from under an unpopular president limping through his second term. The losses in Colorado and Iowa will sting especially hard, as those two states enjoyed a fabled place in Obama’s world, as drivers of the president’s unlikely bid for the White House in 2008.

The GOP also piled up wins in Montana, South Dakota, Arkansas, West Virginia and North Carolina — all seats that had been in Democratic hands — to surpass their magic number of six net gains. With seats still to be decided in Virginia, Alaska and Louisiana — where there will be a runoff in December — the GOP currently has 52 seats in the Senate.

Republican numbers stood up when the GOP managed to hold on to seats in Kansas and Georgia which had threatened to fall from their grasp and complicate the Senate math.

It was a night of almost unrelenting misery for Democrats:

–In Iowa, Iraq war veteran Joni Ernst became the first woman elected to Congress from her state, after turning around her Republican campaign with an ad in which she boasted about castrating hogs.

–In North Carolina, Democrat Kay Hagan was felled by Thom Tillis, who repeatedly pummeled her for standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Obama.

–Arkansas Sen. Mark Pryor lost Tom Cotton, who, like Ernst, is an Iraq war veteran. Pryor’s loss comes despite former president Bill Clinton’s efforts to save him in his beloved home state.

–Democrats thought they had Colorado, with its mix of young voters, Hispanics and students locked down for a generation. But Sen. Mark Udall tumbled to charismatic challenger Cory Gardner who shook off claims he was anti-women.

–Virginia Democratic Sen. Mark Warner is having a tougher ride than expected against Republican challenger Ed Gillespie in a state Democrats had thought was reliably theirs after Obama won it twice.

A rare ray of hope for Democrats came in New Hampshire, where Senator Jeanne Shaheen bested challenger Scott Brown. And Pennsylvania’s governor’s mansion reverted back to Democrats when Tom Wolf unseated Republican Gov. Tom Corbett in a marquee race.
Governors

Two other Republican governors meanwhile won reelection and stirred buzz for their own 2016 White House prospects — John Kasich in swing state Ohio, and conservative Republican Scott Walker in Wisconsin. In New Mexico, Republican Gov. Susana Martinez, often mentioned as a possible GOP vice presidential pick, strolled to reelection.

Maryland — a traditionally Democratic state — elected Republican Larry Hogan as governor. And Illinois, Obama’s home state, ousted its Democratic governor.

Republicans will now look with some optimism on the 2016 presidential election.

But Democrats will console themselves with a more favorable Senate map in two years time and the belief that shifting demographics and an unresolved war between the Republican grassroots and the party establishment will make the next presidential race a tough climb for the GOP. Source

Obama Get Stuff Done Midterms Elections

Obama Says He Wants to ‘Get Stuff Done’

Funding the government, fighting ISIS and Ebola at the top of the list

President Barack Obama refused to give Republicans the satisfaction of characterizing his party’s midterm election trouncing Wednesday, telling reporters he is focused on finding a way to work with the new GOP majority.

President Barack Obama answers questions at a news

conference in the East Room of the White House in 

Washington D.C. on Nov. 5, 2014.

Facing the press from the White House East Room a day after Senate Republicans secured enough votes to retake the majority in the next Congress and House Republicans expanded their lead in that chamber, Obama acknowledged that Tuesday was “a good night” for the Republican Party, and that turbulent political times are ahead for his administration.

“Congress will pass some bills that I will not sign,” he said. “I’m sure I will take actions that some in Congress will not like.”

But Obama said he’s focused identifying common ground. “The American people overwhelmingly believe that this town doesn’t work well,” he said.

“I’m eager to work with the new Congress to make the next two years as productive as possible,” added said. “The most important thing I can do is just to get stuff done, and to help Congress get some stuff done.”

Obama said he believes he and Republicans can find common ground on infrastructure spending and expanding international trade agreements, the latter an area that has found more Democratic than Republican roadblocks in recent years.

In the near term, Obama said he will work with the lame duck Congress to pass a government funding measure, provide a new legal justification for the campaign against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), and allocate additional funding for the global effort to stop the spread of Ebola.

Obama acknowledged that he and likely Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell don’t know each other well, saying, “He’s always been very straightforward with me.” “I would enjoy having some Kentucky Bourbon with Mitch McConnell,” Obama added. “I don’t know what his preferred drink is.”


“I think we can have a productive relationship,” he said.


Obama said Tuesday’s results would not deter him from taking unilateral executive action to execute some aspects of immigration reform, despite McConnell warning earlier Wednesday it would be “a big mistake,” and “like waving a red flag in front of a bull” for conservatives.


“What I’m not going to do is just wait,” he said, repeating that his preference is working with Congress to pass a bill. Obama reiterated that he will act before the end of the year.

With little introspection, Obama tried to put the election results in the past. “Every election is a moment for reflection,” Obama said as reporters repeatedly asked Obama to express regrets or open up about staff changes at the White House. “Everyone in this White House is going to stop and think, what do we need to do differently.”

Obama expressed openness to Republican reforms to his signature health care law, the Affordable Care Act, saying he would consider a GOP proposal to repeal the medical device tax. But he said he would not consider efforts to undermine the law by repealing the so-called individual mandate.

Source

Democrat John Hickenlooper Wins Colorado Governor’s Race

Democrat John Hickenlooper Wins Colorado Governor’s Race

DENVER—Democrat John Hickenlooper defeated Republican challenger Bob Beauprez in a tight Colorado governor’s race, the Associated Press projected Wednesday morning.

Mr. Hickenlooper, who had been widely seen as a lock for re-election just months earlier, trailed Mr. Beauprez late Tuesday evening. But he overcame the deficit and had pulled ahead by a 48.3% to 47.1% margin with more than 93% of precincts reporting Wednesday morning.

Under Colorado law, the governor’s race could trigger an automatic recount if the difference between the two candidates ends up being half a percentage point or less, and both campaigns had been preparing for that possibility.

On Wednesday morning, Democratic lawmakers crowded into the state Capitol to watch Mr. Hickenlooper speak, many of them bleary eyed and visibly relieved that he had managed to win a race that many Democrats found surprisingly close.

“We could not have done it without the encouragement of people from all over Colorado,” Mr. Hickenlooper told an emotional group of supporters, clearly exhausted, but smiling as he spoke. “Colorado has and will continue to grow. So let’s get on with it.”

The apparent victory of Mr. Hickenlooper, a former Denver mayor, oil geologist and brew-pub owner, provided a much needed sliver of victory for Colorado Democrats in a state election that had gone terribly for them.

The Colorado GOP was buoyed Tuesday evening by several state victories including Rep. Cory Gardner’s defeat of Sen. Mark Udall, part of a Republican wave that allowed the party to seize control of the Senate. In one of the most expensive House contests in the country, GOP Rep. Mike Coffman also soundly beat Democrat Andrew Romanoff in an immigrant heavy district that Democrats once believed they would pick up.

Mr. Hickenlooper had trumpeted his affability and attempts to tack to the center in a state where independent voters outnumber either party. But the last several years saw him presiding over Colorado during an unprecedented period of political tumult. The easygoing governor was often caught in the midst of bitter debates over issues like gun control and the death penalty, which shadowed him during the campaign.

Mr. Beauprez, a bison rancher who had lost a race for governor last decade, wasn’t initially regarded as a serious threat to Mr. Hickenlooper, who had cruised to an easy first-term victory in 2010. But he ran a tightly messaged campaign in which he sought to cast Mr. Hickenlooper as a liberal who had pushed politically purple Colorado too far left and eschewed tough decisions.

In the months leading up to the election, Mr. Hickenlooper made a series of blunders that allowed Mr. Beauprez to overcome some of the goodwill the governor had earned from shepherding the state through a tide of natural disasters and the mass shooting at an Aurora movie theater.

In the aftermath of the mass shooting, Mr. Hickenlooper signed a set of controversial gun restrictions passed by the state’s Democratic-controlled legislature in 2013. But he appeared to backtrack on his support earlier this year, telling a group of sheriffs who opposed the laws that he hadn’t realized they would be so divisive.

Mr. Hickenlooper defended his approach on the campaign trail, saying he tried to heed multiple viewpoints on difficult issues. His supporters also pointed to his role in forging a compromise between environmentalists and Colorado’s oil and gas industry that kept antifracking measures off the ballot as evidence of his leadership in a divided state. Source

2014 Midterm Elections Winners Losers

5 Winners and Losers From the Midterm Elections

On a night when Republicans took over the Senate and Democrats experienced even more losses than they were originally expecting, some of the longer-term winners and losers were people who didn't have their name on a ballot.

Fortuitous fundraising and a focus on presidential prospects helped a few Republicans on Tuesday, while two candidates who tried to game the system -- by physically moving to another state in one race and moving to a new political party for another -- didn't work out for them in the end.

WINNERS

Mitch McConnell

Not only was Mitch McConnell able to hold onto his job as Senator from Kentucky, but now he gets a promotion as well after Republicans were able to tilt the balance of power in the Senate.

Chris Christie

The tough-talking New Jersey governor wasn't listed on any ballots this year but, because of his role as the head of the Republican Governor's Association, he increased his national presence and has the results to prove it. With some races left to call, at least 21 of the 34 candidates that he stumped for ended up winning.

Scott Walker

After keeping his post as Governor of Wisconsin, Scott Walker has essentially shown his critics that his constituents are fans of his attempts to break unions. This also secured his spot as a top Republican presidential contender.

House Republicans

While the Senate was the center of most analysts' attention during the race, Republicans in the House also had a good night because now their majority is even stronger than before.

Kay Hagan

The incumbent Democratic Senator no longer has a job, but she also lost her job in the most expensive race of the entire election. The cumulative fight between Hagan and Republican challenger Thom Tillis is estimated to have cost more than $1 million.

LOSERS

President Obama

Many are casting these midterms as a referendum on President Obama's policies and a general reflection on Americans' general displeasure with this administration. His low approval ratings and attempts by candidates to distance themselves meant that the president tried to steer clear of the campaign trail for much of the lead up to the election, but he still ended up being the biggest loser on Tuesday night.

Harry Reid

The Nevada Senator did not have a race to run himself but -- because of how the other races played out -- ended up losing a title out. Reid will have to hand over the Majority Leader mantle to McConnell.

Charlie Crist

The fan behind his podium wasn't enough to keep his campaign cool, as Charlie Crist now has the distinct honor of being considered a loser for each political party. He started his political career as a Republican, but decided to rebrand himself an Independent when Marco Rubio beat him in the 2010 Senate race. His time as an Independent didn't work that well either, so he registered as a Democrat in 2012. He lost as a Democrat on Tuesday.

Scott Brown

Though he never switched parties, former Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown did try running in another state this time around, but that didn't turn out too well. Brown, who has had a summer home in New Hampshire for years, lost that state's race against incumbent Democrat Jeanne Shaheen.

Martha Coakley

The former Massachusetts Attorney General isn't going to be able to lose her unfortunate nickname (of "Choakley") after Tuesday's race. She was first appointed to fill Ted Kennedy's Senate seat after he died, but then was beaten by Scott Brown in a special election. This time around, her former foe had moved up north in hopes of friendlier folk in New Hampshire, but that didn't help her new gubernatorial cause as she still ended up losing this race to Republican Charlie Baker. Source

Marijuana, Minimum Wage Abortion Night's Key Ballot Measures

Marijuana, Minimum Wage and Abortion: How Last Night's Key Ballot Measures Did

Voters across the country opted for change, not just in their representatives but on ballot issues that included legalizing marijuana, raising the minimum wage -- which passed everywhere it showed up on a ballot -- and tighter controls on gun sales.

VICTORIES

ALASKA – MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION This is the second time in recent years that Alaskans voted on legalizing marijuana. The last attempt in 2004 failed 44 percent to 55 percent. Having legalized marijuana this year, Alaskans can expect Snoop Dogg to perform for them sometime soon. He promised a concert in Alaska if they passed Measure 2.

OREGON – MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION Oregon becomes the fourth state with full marijuana legalization, after Colorado and Washington last year, and joining Alaska Tuesday night. This also happens to be the third time Oregonians voted on pot legalization in their state, having rejected the ballot initiatives in 2012 and 2010. One of the reasons this attempt was successful may have been that voters aged 30-44 turned out at a slightly higher rate than those 65 or older. Residents will be able to possess eight ounces of marijuana at home and one ounce in public. But it won’t go into effect overnight: The Oregon Liquor Control Commission will have until Jan. 1, 2016 to implement all necessary rules and procedures necessary to regulating marijuana in the state.

WASHINGTON DC – MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION Revelers celebrating the passage of Initiative 71 which legalizes pot possession should hold off on smoking in the streets – this is far from over. Any law passed in Washington DC, including by ballot initiative, is subject to a Congressional review period and already one member of Congress, Republican Andy Harris of Maryland, has pledged to work to overturn it. And now that the Senate has turned red, Congress can more easily overturn the DC vote. Pot sellers should also probably lay low for a while. I-71 does not regulate the sale of marijuana, which means it’s technically still illegal to sell weed, even if obtaining it isn’t – another aspect of the measure that the city council might try to fix legislatively.

MINIMUM WAGE: Arkansas, Alaska, Nebraska, South Dakota Minimum wage measures are consistently popular with voters. In 2006, all seven measures on ballots around the country passed, as did a 2013 measure in New Jersey. So it’s no surprise that voters supported raising the minimum wage in all four states where that question was on the ballot this year. A fifth state, Illinois, also passed a minimum wage ballot, but that was only a way for voters to express their personal preference and was non-binding.

WASHINGTON: GUN CONTROL A ballot measure that would mandate background checks on gun show buyers and online sales passed handily, while a dueling measure that would have prevented the expansion of background checks failed. Had both gotten a majority "yes" vote, the state supreme court would have likely had to work out the legal implications.

Elise Stefanik Youngest Woman Elected Congress

Meet Elise Stefanik, the Youngest Woman Ever Elected to Congress

Republican Elise Stefanik has become the youngest woman elected to Congress in history, winning her race against Aaron Woolf in New York's 21st open district 56-32, ABC News projects.

She's the first Republican to win the district, which had been held by Democratic Rep. Bill Owens since 1993.

Stefanik, 30, is seen as a new face and image for the GOP. House Speaker John Boehner and Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy both campaigned for her on the trail, offering a preview of the attention she's sure to receive at the Capitol as she projects an aura of energy and vitality for a party hoping to appeal to younger demographics.

The formerly youngest elected Congresswoman was a fellow New Yorker: Democrat Elizabeth Holtzman was 31 when elected to Congress in 1973.

Stefanik is no stranger to Washington. She worked in President George W. Bush's administration on the Domestic Policy Council and oversaw economic and domestic policy in the chief of staff's office for Josh Bolten.

She also served as director of debate preparation during Rep. Paul Ryan's vice presidential campaign, and helped author the Republican National Committee's platform in 2012.

Despite a perceived proximity to many GOP insiders who have frustrated voters, Stefanik was able to capitalize on the Republican base in her district.

She moved into her family's vacation home in Lake Champlain in 2012, and she started work in marketing and management for Premium Plywood Products, a family-owned company, which allowed her more face time with the district's residents. Source

Election Results 2014 Republicans Control Governorships MD, AR

Election Results 2014: Republicans Take Control of Governorships in MD, AR, IL, MA

Republicans, now projected to take control of the Senate and build on their House majority, also made a strong showing in gubernatorial races around the country. GOP candidates in Maryland, Arkansas, Illinois and Massachusetts all took control of governor's seats that were previously held by Democrats.

Maryland

In a major upset, Republican candidate for Maryland governor Larry Hogan is now projected to win the state’s highest office, according to ABC News. Hogan, a businessman, will replace outgoing Democratic Gov. Martin O’Malley, representing a party switch for the state. In the last 45 years in the state, Robert Ehrlich Jr. was the only Republican to serve as governor and for only one term from 2003-2007.

Massachusetts

Massachusetts’s highest office is now projected to switched party hands again. According to ABC News, Republican Charlie Baker will likely defeat Democrat Martha Coakley, and take over for outgoing Deval Patrick, a Democrat. The last serving Republican governor in the state was Mitt Romney, who was elected in 2002. Baker is a Massachusetts native from Needham, just outside Boston. He ran on a centrist platform, highlighting his previous business and management experience as both a former healthcare CEO and former Secretary of Administration and Finance under Governors Weld and Cellucci in the early 1990s. Coakley, a two-term attorney general, also lost a statewide race for Senate in 2010 to Republican Scott Brown. Coakley and Baker came down on opposite sides of several key initiatives on the Massachusetts ballot this year, including a repeal of an incremental gas tax increase, a 5 cent plastic bottle deposit, and expanded requirements for paid sick leave.

Vermont

In a surprising development, neither incumbent Democratic Gov. Peter Shumlin, the chair of the Democratic Governors Association, nor Republican challenger Scott Milne in Vermont is projected to reach the 50 percent needed to win the election. The race will now likely be decided by the state legislature, which is currently controlled by the Democrats.

Shumlin was expected to win the election handily, coming in with a much stronger donor base and name recognition. According to the latest campaign finance report, Shumlin raised four times as much money as Milne. Polling throughout the election had Shumlin consistently ahead by a wide margin -- the latest poll by CBS/NYT/YouGov showed Shumlin with a 12-point lead. The day that Milne filed his candidacy for the governorship of the Green Mountain State, he put his chances of winning the election at 1 percent. Milne has never held elected office and is the president of his family-owned business, Milne Travel. Shumlin is seeking his third two-year term, as there is no term limit in the state.

Maine

Despite heavy storms and power outages across the state Tuesday, Mainers have voted and ABC News is projecting that the blunt and sometimes inflammatory Republican Gov. Paul LePage will win a second term. LePage faced a tough race with two challengers: Democratic candidate Mike Michaud and Independent Eliot Cutler. Culter was polling around 10 percent heading into Election Day and may have siphoned off enough votes from Michaud to help LePage secure a victory. In 2010, LePage won with only 38 percent of the vote. He faced tough criticism during the majority of his first term after making some large tax cuts.

Florida

Based on ABC's analysis of the vote so far, Republican Gov. Rick Scott is projected to fend off a tough challenge from Democratic candidate Charlie Crist. In a brutal and expensive campaign that will likely be remembered for how unpopular both candidates emerged from it, Scott defeated his Republican-turned-independent-turned-Democrat opponent Crist, ABC New projects.

Crist attempted to seize on Scott’s sagging poll numbers in the state, while Scott looked to paint Crist as a candidate who would take any position just to get a vote. One of the more memorable exchanges between the two came when Scott refused to debate for nearly 10 minutes over a fan that was set up below Crist’s podium. Carlos Lopez-Cantera will stay on as Scott’s lieutenant Governor.

Illinois

ABC News can project that Republican Bruce Rauner has defeated Democratic incumbent Gov. Pat Quinn, in a campaign that doubled fundraising records in President Barack Obama’s home state. Rauner threw millions of his own fortune into the race, running as a socially moderate anti-corruption businessman.

Georgia

Georgia Republican Gov. Nathan Deal is now projected to secure a second term and defeat Democratic challenger Jason Carter, in a race that was neck-and-neck heading into Election Day. Deal suffered from low approval ratings for most of his first term after facing ethical investigations related to campaign finance rules. Carter, grandson of former President Jimmy Carter and a former state senator, was able to run a successful campaign and kept the race exciting until the end. He pitched himself as a defender of the middle class.

Wisconsin

In one of the most closely watched races of the midterm election, Wisconsin incumbent Republican Gov. Scott Walker has defeated Democratic challenger Mary Burke, ABC News projects.

Walker, a possible contender for the GOP presidential nomination in 2016, wins his third gubernatorial election in four years -- becoming the first governor to achieve the feat in U.S. history.

On Oct. 28 in Milwaukee, President Obama made a rare campaign appearance with Burke, a former business executive and commerce secretary under former Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle. Her loss is a major disappointment for state and national Democrats, who were hoping to take Walker out of the 2016 presidential conversation before it began.

Texas

The gubernatorial race in Texas has also made national headlines. The race to replace Republican Gov. Rick Perry was thrust into the national spotlight after Democrat Wendy Davis emerged as a star after her 11-hour filibuster to block an anti-abortion bill last summer. However, ABC News projects that the highest office in the Lone star state will stay in Republican hands with Republican Greg Abbott.

From the beginning, Davis faced a long uphill climb. The Lone-Star state hasn't elected a Democratic governor since 1990, and Abbott made a name for himself among conservatives after battling to the Supreme Court to keep the Ten Commandments on display on the grounds of the State Capitol complex in Austin.

Pennsylvania

Democrats have already enjoyed one major upset in Pennsylvania. Democrat Tom Wolf is projected to beat incumbent Republican Gov. Tom Corbett in an historic election. In 40 years, since the state started permitting two gubernatorial terms, no sitting governor seeking re-election had been defeated before tonight.

Corbett was understood to be one of the most vulnerable governors this campaign season. He spent most of his term facing strong opposition to his dramatic cuts in the state's education budget and faced a gap in charisma and likeability compared to Wolf.

Arkansas

Republicans have also netted one party switch. Republican Asa Hutchinson is projected to beat Democratic candidate Mike Ross, and take over from outgoing Democrat Mike Beebe in Arkansas.

Source

Election Results 2014 Key Races Close

Election Results 2014: Here Are the Key Races That Are Still Too Close to Project

Voters in states across the nation handed Republicans control of the U.S. Senate on Election Day 2014, strengthened their majority control of the House of Representatives and also made a strong showing in gubernatorial races.

But several key contests remain undecided as of this morning, and may not be resolved for some time, even sparking talk of recounts in some states and districts. Here’s a roundup of the races that have truly come down to the wire.
5 Winners and Losers From the Midterm Elections

Virginia -- Senate

The Virginia Senate race between Sen. Mark Warner and Republican candidate Ed Gillespie was expected to be a bright spot in an otherwise bleak night for Democrats. But even one of the most favorable races for the president’s party ended much tighter than anticipated, with a recount all but certain. As of this morning, Warner leads Gillespie by just 12,150 votes, or roughly half a percentage point of the electorate: 49.1 percent to 48.6.

The race was one of several where third-party candidates received single-digit support that could have decided the contest: Robert Sarvis, a Libertarian, received 2.5 percent of the vote. While the race was too close for ABC News to project a winner, Warner declared victory by midnight on Election Night. “It was a hard-fought race. It went a little longer than we thought,” Warner told supporters. “I want to congratulate Ed Gillespie. He ran a hard fought campaign.” Gillespie has not conceded, and can request a recount under Virginia law, as the difference between the two candidates is less than 1 percent of the total votes cast. Brian W. Schoeneman, Fairfax County Electoral Board secretary, said such a count is possible. “We’re in recount territory,” he said.

Warner’s team said they do not envision the Virginia Senate race leading to a recount, but instead think it will be a victory for the incumbent Democrat.

“I don’t see any basis for a recount or a contest at this point,” Marc Elias, a lawyer for Warner’s campaign and chair of the Perkins Coie political law practice, said in a conference call today. “12,000 votes is a close election, but it’s not a recountable election.”

Asked if Warner jumped the gun by declaring victory Tuesday night despite the fact that the race had yet to be project, Elias said no, adding “He won this election and he appropriately declared victory.”

Alaska -- Senate

Polls closed early this morning, but the outcome of the Alaska Senate race could be unclear for days because of slow ballot-counting procedures in far-flung communities. First elected to the Senate the same year as Barack Obama won the presidency, Democratic Sen. Mark Begich is fighting to secure a second term in the U.S. Senate in a year when three of his Democratic colleagues lost their seats. He’s opposed by Republican Dan Sullivan, the state’s former attorney general and a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps. As of this morning, Sullivan leads Begich, 110,203 votes to 102,054.

Democrats are banking on their strong ground game in distant areas to help Begich keep his seat, but Republicans hope Sullivan’s efforts to link Begich to Obama will help him win another seat for the GOP. Over the weekend, Sen. Ted Cruz and former GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney swooped into the state to help Sullivan shore up support among the conservative base. With 100 percent of precincts reporting, Sullivan leads Begich by just over 8,000, votes, but the race has yet to be projected.

Arizona -- Second Congressional District

Possibly the most competitive House race this election between Democratic Rep. Ron Barber and Former Air Force Col. Martha McSally, a Republican, remains in play. As of this morning, the race is a 50 percent to 50 percent tie, with McSally holding a slim 36-vote lead. This race looked much like the duo’s 2012 faceoff, which was similarly tossup-race tight, when the victor, Barber, was declared 12 days after Election Day. The congressman squeaked by with fewer than 2,500 votes more than McSally to win in that race. The race likely will not be called until a full count of all absentee and early voting ballots are complete, an arduous, meticulous task given how few votes separated the two in 2012.

California -- 52nd Congressional District

It still remains unknown whether scandal-stricken former San Diego City Councilman and openly gay Republican Carl DeMaio was able to beat incumbent Rep. Scott Peters after a House race marked by nasty attack ads, allegations of sexual assault, and a mysterious campaign headquarters break-in. The race is razor this this morning. DeMaio leads, slightly with 72,431 votes compared with Peters, who won 71,679 votes.

New York – 25th Congressional District

Democratic incumbent Rep. Louise Slaughter, first elected to congress in 1987 and currently vying for her 15th term, remains locked in a tight race with Republican challenger Mark Assini. Though Slaughter initially claimed victory – “it wasn’t a landslide … but we did win and we’re happy about that,” she said last night -- as of Wednesday morning, the contest remains too close to project, with Slaughter leading Assini by just over 500 votes, 93,053 to 92,471. Slaughter is the ranking Democrat on the powerful House Rules Committee. Source