A predictably cocky Rand Paul giving his victory speech.
Admittedly, I dig Rand about as much as Rand digs Jack Conway.
I do get the sense that Mr. Paul has a series of rude awakenings in store when he arrives in the Senate. One from the senior Senator from his own state.
I’ll believe it when I see it, but Dems are still holding out hope for Feingold, say the exits have it about even.
CNN says Wisconsin is too close to call. So at minimum may be a bit tighter than we’d been expecting.
8:42 PM: Michael Steele has really been kind of a clown as RNC Chair. But here he is on a night when the GOP is having a really really good night — no matter what the final results. And the CNN reporter is asking him whether it isn’t in spite of him rather than because of him that the Republicans are doing so well. To be clear, I think it’s a pretty good question. But still, must be fun getting that one.
8:30 PM: As I’ve been telling you, the Chandler (D) race in Kentucky is going to be a key tell. He’s had a lead all night but now it’s down to a 500 vote margin with about 80% of the vote in. Here’s the point at which you want to know what precincts are still out. That could tell the story.
8:32 PM: Boucher (D) goes down in Virginia, according to AP. Lotta races still out but Virginia is looking really bad for the House Dems.
8:24 PM: Only a trickle of results so far. But exits pointing to Nazi reenactor Richard Iott going down in Ohio 9.
8:01 PM: Calls for Ayotte (R-NH), Coons (D-DE), Rubio (R-FL). No surprises.
8:02: PM: Hearing too close to call in PA and IL.
8:10 PM: Chandler (D) still holding on in Kentucky with about two-thirds of the votes in. But it’s getting really tight.
8:21 PM: Looking really rough across the board in Virginia for the Dems.
7:52 PM: AP calls it for Yarmouth (D) in Kentucky. No call yet on Chandler (D) but he seems to have a steady if pretty narrow lead. Look at the Kentucky House results here. The polls had the Yarmouth race basically right.
7:24 PM: We’ve got West Virginia closing in a few minutes. The results out of the Senate race will be a big tell for the evening. If Manchin wins then you’re looking at basically what the polls have told us. Obviously if he outperforms the polls, could be good sign for Dems. If he goes down, that wouldn’t just put the Senate in play for the GOP but would suggest that GOP might actually outperform the polls which already look very good for them. Exit polls suggest things looking positive for Dems. But file those exit polls away along with your grains of salt.
7:35 PM: Nothing clear yet out of West Virginia. Though early signs look promising for Dems. Again, it’s really a must Dem hold if they want anything good out of tonight. Also interesting, Ben Chandler still holding on in Kentucky with about half the vote in. Same with Yarmouth, but with a lot fewer votes in. Looking more ominous for Baron Hill in Indiana. But not that many votes in.
6:46 PM: We’re in election night tea leaf reading mode now. So far the very very early exit polls on the Senate side show about what you’d expect them to show from the polls, maybe slightly more favorable to the Dems than you’d expect. But the key to remember — very important — is that exit polls have a tendency to trend R as successive waves and adjustments come in.
6:48 PM: Key races to watch real early are Baron Hill in Indiana and Ben Chandler in Kentucky. These are the kinds of races you’d expect to go Republican if the GOP has the kind of night most people are expecting. If the the Dems are swamped, probably very long evening. If these guys don’t go down, then maybe the Dems outperform expectations. But those are two early places to watch. And you can watch them in our live results board to the right or on our scoreboard page.
7:07 PM: Let’s hear it for Evan Bayh! Well done ….
7:11 PM: Key thing to remember. We haven’t seen anything yet that gives us a clear read of what’s happening tonight. Frankly, not really anything that’s been particularly surprising. Important to remember.
7:22 PM: Keep those emails coming in. Next up West Virginia, a big, big tell for the evening.