Election Updates: Rubio Wins, Grayson Loses, Nikki Haley Wins, Feingold Loses, West Wins, Ellmers Wins

Final thoughts:

With 60+ losses for the Democratic party in the House and 6+ losses for the Dems in the Senate, I'd say it was a pretty good night for Obama's enemies. However...

The MSM and milquetoast Republicans would like to blame the Tea Party movement for the GOP's failure to reclaim the Senate (as if the GOP ever had a good chance). Reminder: In the 2006 and 2008 elections, the GOP lost control of the House, the Senate and the White House without any help from the Tea Party. Last night, in the wake of the lightning speed of the Tea Party movement's influence, the GOP made respectable gains in the Senate and bounced all the way back from its cumulative four-year losses in the House ― and yet somehow we're supposed to believe the Tea Party is getting in the way?

Taking the past decade into consideration, the Republican Party really has no business blaming anyone other than itself for its current problems.

Update: The conservative movement is back & growing

BTW, this was the biggest midterm "wave election" since 1938! This was a tsunami.

Election updates...

• Congratulations, Chip Cravaak! Oberstar out.
• Congratulations, Bobby Schilling! Phil Hare out.
• Mark Kirk wins... Cap and Tax RINO gets a promotion!
• Vicky Hartzler wins, Ike Skelton loses!
• AZ-7: Ruth McClung 47.6%, Raul Grijalva 46.9%... 14.6% reporting
• Renee Ellmers wins! Defeats Bob "Headlock" Etheridge.
• Racist Teabaggers Elect Allen West, Nikki Haley, Tim Scott & Marco Rubio
• 10:45 p.m. Congratulations Nikki Haley!
• 10:42 p.m. Mike Lee wins in Utah.
• Scott Walker and Ron Johnson win in WI.
• NC-2: Renee Ellmers (R): 49.3%, Bob Etheridge (iD): 49.0%... 65.6% reporting
• 9:37 p.m. George Soros Hickenlooper running away with it in CO: 57.8% with 4.5% reporting.
• MD-1: Harris (R) 50.9%, Kratovil (iD) 45.8%... 5.8% reporting
• MD-5: Lollar (R) 52.6%, Hoyer (iD) 46.1%... 10.7% reporting
• An interesting Anna Little lead in NJ-6. 50.7-47.9
• Early, but whoa! MO-5: Turk (R) 2,199, Cleaver (iD) 1,536
• @michellemalkin: SWEET: Daniel Webster boots MSNBC host-to-be Alan Grayson.
• LegInsurrection: Obama works his magic, Perriello loses #VA05
• TX-25 (Austin): Dr. Donna Campbell (R) 71.4%, Doggett (iD) 27.9%
• Early results: Canseco (R) 50%, Rodriguez (iD) 46.1%
• GA 12; early returns have Rep John Barrow (D-GA) down 54-46%
• WTH! SC-Gov: Haley 40.3, Sheheen 58.5 (early results)
• CONGRATULATIONS SENATOR RUBIO!!
• 22% in Florida Governor's race and Rick Scott (R) leads Alex Sink (D) 51-45%
• NC-11, Asheville: Miller (R) 55%, Shuler (incumbent D) 44%
• GA-2 Keown 56%, Bishop (incumbent dem) 44%
• cwgarrett:Fox calls Blunt for Senate for Missouri
• cwgarrett:Fox calls Mikulski, Ayotte, Shelby all as expected for Senate.
• cwgarrett: Fox calls Rubio for Florida Senate on their web page
• In Florida, Republican Dan Webster is up big over Alan Grayson (D) 63-29% with 6% of the vote in
• 7:31 From @michellemalkin via twitter: Fox calls OH Senate for Repub Rob Portman

7:27 From Michelle Malkin:

EXIT POLLS:

Arkansas: Boozman (R) defeats Lincoln (D) Ohio: Portman (R) defeats Fisher (D) North Dakota: Hoeven (R) defeats Potter (D) Wisconsin: Johnson (R) defeats Feingold (D)

• WHDH-TV (Boston's NBC affiliate) is reporting that Barney Frank's camp is "worried."
• SeanBielat: Continue to hear words like: "wave", "tsunami", "miracle" & "Reagan Democrat" from across MA
• MissElizabeth: Yay ballot cast! *middle finger to Harry Reid*
• SissyWillis: @KingShamus I can see #MarcoRubio's presidency from my front porch. @Cubachi
• SissyWillis: Tea for Three: Coates, Paul, DeMint Win Senate Seats...http://drudge.tw/cqsPgG
• Democrats Already Taking Legal Action http://fxn.ws/cjIcry
• 7:01 criticalnarrative: Fox projects Rand Paul
• 7:00 Legal Insurrection Blog: Fox projects Coates in Indiana

Partially cross-posted at Left Coast Rebel

Predict Correctly and Win a Prize

How many seats will Republicans win in the U.S. House of Representatives? Vote below! Leave your prediction in the comment section if you would like to be glorified and immortalized in a follow up post on Wednesday morning. Throw in a prediction for the Senate if you're feeling especially clairvoyant. Winner(s) will be rewarded with a giant, incredibly conspicuous link to their favorite URL (e.g., your blog, your Facebook page, your favorite charity).

Good luck!

Poll closes at 7:00 p.m. Eastern on 11/2/10.

Cross-posted at Left Coast Rebel

Update:

Prediction? Pain:

Hat tip: Allah

The Toxicity of That “R.”

In the wake of the primary elections that have been held thus far this year, the Other McCain provides discerning halftime analysis:

Democrat candidates can fake being conservative a lot easier than Republican candidates can escape the toxicity of that “R.”

Notice, for example, that in the May 18 Arkansas primaries, the turnout on the Democratic side was more than 300,000 while the highly-contested GOP primary — with eight candidates — drew less than half that. In fact, Lincoln’s vote in Tuesday’s Democratic runoff (about 135,000) was nearly twice what John Boozman got (about 75,000) in the Republican primary.

If Republican primary turnout is so low in Arkansas — not exactly a bastion of liberalism — it’s obvious the GOP still has a lot of work to do in order to rid itself of the toxic taint of Bushism.

And that’s why we have the Tea Party. The Tea Party is an easily recognized and accessible antidote for GOP establishment toxicity. Tea Party candidates are running against the nasty, corrupt, incompetent, and unprincipled Republican good ol' boy network.

Nikki Haley is as good an example as any other…when Tea Party principles are sincerely embraced, conservative Republicans can enjoy great success, even in the most toxic GOP environments. (Scott Brown reminds us that this is not just a "red state" phenomenon). And that's why the Tea Party scares people on both sides of the aisle.

More

Recovering from Republican Brand Damage is a Process:

Lipstick ain’t enough

The Other McCain: Don’t Bet Your Hopes

Discussion at Memeorandum

Here we go again...

More disgusting sleaze from South Carolina:

There are too many old-school establishment Republicans who only care about maintaining the "good old boy" status quo. They don't care if they have to ruin families; they don't care if they have to ruin the country.

We can't continue on with business as usual. Our country is in trouble. We don't have time for these games.

It's time to lead, follow, or get out of the way. I think Nikki Haley is ready to lead:

More

Slime from the South Carolina Cesspool

Sacred Honor Compels Me To Confess To An Affair With Nikki Haley That Coincidentally Helps My Boss

Haley vs. Bauer

Nikki Haley guts Andre Bauer on live television.

We’re hip-deep in filth here.

LOL: Microwaving a cell phone.

Intrade: GOP gains 35 seats in the House

Via the AP:

House Republican leader John Boehner recently said the GOP could pick up 100 seats this November. Now, the Republican National Committee's political director says the party has its eye on 130.

"Our scoring as of today has us looking at about 130 House seats as potentially competitive," Gentry Collins said Tuesday. He hastened to add: "Just to be clear, I'm making no claim that we are going to pick up 130 House seats."

Republicans see the potential for significant gains this November as support for President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats slide. The GOP needs to win 40 seats to reclaim control of the House. Currently, Democrats hold 254 seats and Republicans 177 with four vacancies.

Via electoralmap.net:

The chart above depicts a prediction of the outcome of the 2010 US Congressional races based on betting data from Intrade.com

Each bar represents an individual Intrade contract in which wagers are placed on the likelihood that the Republican party will pick up that number of seats.

Current prediction: Republican gain 35 seats (Updated 5-12-2010)

Contracts which are trading below the 50/50 mark are shaded a lighter red. Contracts above that mark are shaded dark red. This shading helps visualize the threshold between events that are not forecasted to happen and events that are. Historically the party in power loses seats during mid-term elections, and 2010 looks to be no exception. Intrade is in concurrence with major polls which forecast a Republican gain in seats ― but in a prediction market, traders aren't just answering a pollster's questions; they are putting their money where their mouth is.

The Senate...

The map above depicts a prediction of the outcome of the 2010 US Senate Races based on betting data from Intrade.com

States where there is no 2010 Senate race are colored gray. States where the Democrat is leading the Republican are colored blue, and red states indicate a Republican lead.

Net pickup: +8 (R)

Primary Elections in May

Marco Rubio PSA

The constrained government and freedom that we enjoy are no accident of history.

Save America. Support conservative candidates like Marco Rubio.

Marco Rubio, Tea Party Conservative Republican

Heads Up: Nikki Haley

There are few conservative bloggers whose viewpoints are as important as Erick Erickson's. In anticipating the most important political stories, Erickson is often light-years ahead of the pack. Example: Erickson, a conservative from Georgia, was regularly blogging about Doug Hoffman and NY-23 in July.

Now, Erickson draws our attention to a rising star in South Carolina:

I want to make sure you all knew that Jenny Sanford, wife of South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford, has endorsed Nikki Haley for Governor.

This is a big deal in the Palmetto State. Jenny Sanford has long been viewed apart from her husband as solidly conservative, both fiscally and socially. It’s not just that Jenny Sanford is instinctually conservative, but she is truly a conservative — unashamed to be in the trenches, getting her hands dirty, fighting for the conservative cause without apology.

In an open letter to South Carolina voters, Mrs. Sanford says, “Our state’s future is too important to leave to just another go-along-get-along career politician. Nikki Haley is the best person to be South Carolina’s next Governor.”

Nikki Haley in 2010. Pay attention to this one. Learn more here, here, here, here and here.

Erickson: "I don’t care which state you are in. We need to support the good guys nationwide where their election will impact conservatives across the board."

More:

Waterloo in 2010

Even die-hard liberals now admit that the elections of 2010 are likely to decimate the Democrats. The results of a new question added to the DK tracking poll portends doom:

QUESTION: In the 2010 Congressional elections will you definitely vote, probably vote, not likely vote, or definitely will not vote?

Voter Intensity: Voting/NOT Voting

Republican Voters: 81/14

Independent Voters: 65/23

Democratic Voters: 56/40

Delving a little deeper into the numbers, 15% of Democrats say they're definitely not voting, compared to only 5% of Republicans who say the same.

Another thing to keep in mind while looking at these numbers: Lately, as a group, Independents have been drifting further to the right. If these numbers hold up, Democrats will be crushed in 2010.

If the Democrats seem suicidal in their quest to upend the health care system, it's because they are expecting massive losses in 2010 no matter what they do in the interim. They are on a kamikaze mission. Don't expect the Dems to be swayed by concerns about self-preservation.

Via Memeorandum

More

Poll Paints Ugly 2010 Picture for Democrats

Apples & Oranges: Don't let the pundits mislead you on ObamaCare polling

Dems' kamikaze mission: Health care by New Year's

Krauthammer: Kill the Bills. Do Health Reform Right

Transcript: Obama's West Point Afghanistan Speech

R. S. McCain: Is Kathleen Parker's Evil Underrated?