Election Digest

At current count, Dems picked up seven Senate seats for a total of 54, and we're still waiting to see if we get two more, which seems likely at the moment, though definitely surprising. Dems also won the House comfortably, so the internet chatter is mostly arguments about whether Hakeem and Chuck should really be majority leaders. Hakeem Jeffries himself seemed to think the exciting news Tuesday night was that he was going to be the first black Speaker of the House, which I guess was his way of saying, "You'd better keep me, or you're going to have to explain why you refused your big chance for the first black Speaker of the House." But there are so, so many more exciting stories in the results.

I was really hoping Angie Nixon would take the Senate seat in Florida, even though the polls looked grim, but alas, she got no support from the Democratic establishment and ...well, she came within less than three points, which is pretty amazing, and there's no doubt that her great ground game kept those seats in the House that the GOP tried to gerrymander away, so yay for her, and fortunately Moody has to run for re-election in 2028 and this time Angie should be able to beat her.

Meanwhile, in Mississippi, we are all watching in awe waiting for them to make it official as the Republican appears set to lose; with 95% of the vote in, Democrat Scott Colom is at least a point ahead! Nobody saw that coming. Not quite so shockingly, there's still nail-biting in the Alaska race where Democrat Mary Peltola is over a whole point ahead with only 74% of the vote in.

In Georgia, not only did Ossoff win handily, but this is the first state ever to elect a black female governor, in Keisha Lance Bottoms. (Sweetener: I believe that's her granddad, Major Lance, on the cover of the album Paul McCartney is carrying into the airplane on leaving the US for the first time.)

Peggy Flanagsn won her race handily in Minnesota, Troy Jackson knocked out Susan Collins in Maine, to everyone's relief, and Abdul El-Sayed took the Michigan seat by a comfortable margin despite the deluge of cash dumped on the campaign against him, which still saw him winning the heavy Jewish districts and pretty much the same percentage of the Jewish vote as other Democrats get. Not gonna hold my breath for those people who kept saying, "But El-Sayed can't win!" to admit they called it completely wrong. And thanks to Graham Platner, without whom that victory in Maine doesn't happen.

Texas saw every statewide seat turn blue (except Cruz's), so Paxton and Abbott are both out. Gratifyingly, Annie Andrews took the seat in South Carolina that has been occupied by Lindsay Graham and before that Strom Thurmond for most of my life, putting a cap on Lindsay's sister's short political career, it looks like.

Here is the dynamic Senate map, easy to check for changes when Mississippi and Alaska report.

In the House Democrats flipped 42 seats for a majority of 253 over 157. They seem to have flipped several state houses as well, gaining several trifectas.

In referenda of note, Missouri voters killed an amendment to their constitution that would have repealed the right to abortion and banned all transgender care for minors.

"Montana Voters Overwhelmingly Pass Ballot Initiative to Ban Corporate Cash From Political Campaigns" Every state should be putting it in their state constitution and making it a requirement of any charter to do business in the state.

But in California Newsome managed to defeat the billionaire tax for his morbidly rich friends. But he still has his sights set on the White House so I guess he hopes his turning around and commuting all the sentences on death row will make us feel better.