So now, how long does Wisconsin go forward *without
yet *another Koch Bros. lap dog at the titular head of
that State ?
2
This was an election showcasing the battle lines of the our city’s Urbanites vs the Clodhoppers of rural orientation.
2
Good for the Minnesotans. I wish Floridians had learned their lesson after 8 years of Rick Scott. But they didn't. We have not heard the last of Gillum though.
DeSantis is an accolade for Trump so we'll have another inept governor of FL. Will people ever learn?
5
DeSantis won’t be doing anything to combat red tides, that’s for sure...and not many tourists are going to want to go frolic in algal blooms for their spring break.
Of the 1.4 million felons in Florida that can now vote, a third are African American. Let’s hope some of them choose to tip the scales in favor of a non-racist candidate next time around .
5
Glad to hear that flim-flam man, Kris Kobach, is out. Feathered his nest with a lie and peddled it to other states where he collected fees to defend the indefensible. Good riddance to bad rubbish.
6
What a relief for Kansas, I can tell you. That leech has been living off our revenues for far too long. He can continue to peddle his song and dance elsewhere.
5
Here's one investigation I'd like the Democrats to take on: voter suppression in the South and on Indian Reservations.
I also hope they will look for any irregularities when it comes to counting the votes. I would like to think that the Republicans won fair and square in all of those states, but something just doesn't feel right. And it would be good to know for sure that these elections (and those into the future) are legitimate.
If Trump means what he says about working together, this would be a great opportunity for both parties to ensure that every eligible voter in this country gets to vote, and that their votes are counted.
16
@avrds
Absolutely agree. Especially in the south (Georgia and Florida). The government should do a full investigation into voter suppression and perhaps worse. How many times do we have to have unreliable & nonsensical results out of Florida until they finally get with the program? No more electronic/broken voting machines. We need paper ballots and the option for absentee ballots like they have in Colorado and California.
There should also be an investigation in North Dakota because the Native American vote was clearly abridged.
2
it's amazing to me the GOP could win FL, with a majority of over 55 white voters going for Scott. I am also amazed tbe Democrats cannot seem to hammer home that the GOP wants to turn Mecicare into a voucher program, and cut SS. Older rural voters are very dependent on these programs. undocumented immigrant rights, voter suppression, and LBGTQ issues are not on these people's radar. If the Democrats want to regain the Senate and Presidency, they have to change their focus and message in these areas. while I support all those topics, outside suburbia all they do is make people angry. Howevet. they love their Medicare.
5
@m cummi s
Reagan granted amnesty to undocumented immigrants. Obama wanted to establish a pathway to citizenship with appropriate fines paid, and vetting. If no immigrants come in, who is going to stand on their feet all day in meat packing plants, and chicken plucking factories? Who will arrive to harvest Georgia's peaches, if those who are skilled and return ever year are refused admittance?
Remember, the US Senate voted to confirm judge Brett Kavanaugh to the supreme court, handing Donald Trump a major victory and America a bench expected to tilt to the right for the next generation.
2
If one looks at a map of Kansas and counties won by Kris Kobach and Laura Kelly, it is overwhelmingly red. The blue areas are where cities like Kansas City, Wichita, Topeka and Lawrence are located. Cities with their larger populations largely vote blue. Most of Kansas is rural. Kelly claims to be a moderate. Time will tell if that is true or not. Many people voted for her because of that. I suspect she will turn out to not be moderate, though not likely one of those crazy Democrats that Claire McCaskill (D-MO) claimed she wasn't and hopefully not a replay of former KS governor Kathleen Sebelius either. We don't need an increase in taxes and government overly involved in our lives. We are still a very red state and proud of it.
1
@Sandy
You don't need government in your life? The clean air you breathe depends on supporting the EPA, established by Nixon. Your retirement might depend on a solvent SS; if not, millions of other lives do depend on it. Medicare provides basic care for seniors. The inter-State highway system depends on Federal funds; Congress has starved it to the point where many State roads are better. The IRS is how you pay the taxes necessary to operate a country with over 300M citizens. There might be a reason why people are not flocking to Kansas, despite low taxes. A fifth generation Californian, I have paid taxes for decent government, good highways with professional highway patrol officers. We maintain our shoreline. We protect consumers. We lost our community health centers under Reagan who also de-funded community health centers nationally. We now have cotton farmers from India depleting the water table to produce hop sack quality cotton; that is a water fight waiting to happen. We also have growers in the Central Valley using so much water that their land is sinking. Developers in Sacramento have built miles of homes with no water hook ups. Water use will be California's next major problem, if the drought continues.
10
@Sandy
It seems almost impossible to find a Republican who is gracious; guess you just can't find it in your heart to say congratulations?
7
@Sandy What a laugh! Rural Kansans just love those (federal) farm supports, don't they? Trade advantages for their crops? Give those up for your "independence" from government involvement and more of us will be admire your "standing on your own."
10
What are Republican voters of Georgia thinking when they don't question their secretary of state, who oversees elections, also running as a candidate for governor? This may come back to haunt them should Democrats come back to control the statehouse.
10
@Kaari I sincerely hope there is a very wide and deep investigation into that outrage! The SOC apparently thinks he is one of the ruling class, not subject to the commoners opinions.
4
While the defeat of Scott Walker and Kris Kobach helps my mood, the colder reality is that the Republican wins in Ohio, Georgia, and Florida, represents some 7-14 "stolen" seats in Congress for the GOP, because of gerrymandering, and an almost 60 vote advantage in the electoral college, because of GOP voter suppression. The only bright spot (so far) is that Florida voted to end lifetime felon disenfranchisement, which affected almost 10% of FL adults.
Also, we need some time to gather all the facts, before we find any group especially responsible for the election outcomes.
6
@stephen beck no one seems to be talking about the effects of gerrymandering and how the GOP sliced up so many communities making them GOP friendly, GOP safe and Ohio is no exception. Look at the map. Most communities outside of NE Ohio are "red." Plus Dems haven't yet perfected their message and appeal to rural voters in the way that Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown has. Until that happens, gerrymandering aside, things won't change,
1
Why did Andrew Gillum concede so early? He should have pressed on like Abrams. I suspect there is legitimate reason for a recount or runoff in Florida. He should press on for, as Abrams put it, to respect all those voices and votes who support him.
4
Let’s be real: State government is very different from federal government. Massachusetts re-elected its Republican governor. Should we be concerned? Of course not. Democrats have a vice-like grip on the Illinois legislature. Rauner had won in 2012 by embracing socially liberal positions. He was supposed to fix the state’s finances, but he didn’t. (To be fair, it’ll take more than 6 years.) Winning or losing that state’s governorship only matters for optics. (...and he lost by 15 points.)
To the extent that governors matter, it’s impossible to overstate the importance of the victories in Wisconsin and Michigan. They need to come back to the Democratic fold. Trump won those states by mere thousands, and the hopes some liberals were pinning on the South as a possible counterweight to the Upper Midwest haven’t panned out. Democrats should continue to build up their infrastructure in Texas and Georgia but must refocus on Wisconsin and Michigan (and Pennsylvania).
8
I am very sorry Floridians didn't elect Gillum. Not good thinking on their part. Glad Scott Walker got beaten but sorry Abrams didn't win though I hope there is a recount there. She was far superior to her opponent. Glad the Democrats won the house. Very Very glad. There were lots of good outcomes last evening.
20
Against Me! said it best: 'Sink, Florida, sink.'
13
Sending Scott Walker to Fox News is a reason to believe America is still great.
And speaking of Fox News, we haven't seen the last of Beto. Texas wasn't ready for him but he's great on TV, and that's Trump's only political skill unless you include lying.
Now that it's over, I think people will tune out for awhile because it's going to get even more ugly and dishonest. If the economy is good in 2020, Trump wins. If not, the Democrats will have to dig the country out, yet again.
14
@JR
Mueller will report to Congress before 2020. That is what terrifies Trump; that is why he is firing Sessions; he wants a loyalist as AG, someone who will intervene against Mueller. Mueller, a former Marine, head of the FBI, incorruptible. Trump, none of the above.
1
More than anything, these elections manifested a vibrant democracy with citizen eager to participate in the political process. Which is as it should be.
I find it encouraging that the pragmatic wing of the Democratic party succeeded as the fire-breathing identity politics partisans sank... which demonstrates that voters appreciate commons sense and working together rather than working apart. So it's all good.
14
@Kai
President Obama was not fire-breathing; he received no cooperation with the GOP Congress. He nominated a respected, very moderate Superior Court judge to the SC, Merrick Garland. The GOP refused to give him a hearing; now we have a Catholic ideologue on the Court: Kavanaugh whose sexual predatory prep school behavior was buried by Trump. We have a corporate shill, Gorsuch, who ruled in favor of an employer who fired a truck driver for leaving a container full of hair spray cans, so he could drive his rig safely over an icy highway; he would have frozen if he had stayed to protect a truck full of commercial products. On 9/11, Bush downed all flights, except for those which flew Saudis out of the country from FL. Trump sat down with Putin and insulted his own CIA. Now he wants to fire Mueller whose probing might unearth the Russian loans to Trump via The Bank of Cyprus and Deutsche Bank. He wants to fire Sessions, because he believes the AG is his personal lawyer. Trump is a grifter, a salesman with no experience in government. He is uneducated without a H.S. diploma or a college education: expelled from a military academy, and given a purchased "degree" from Wharton. He is a draft dodger with fake bone spurs. We are on a dangerous path for a democratic Republic; Trump is an autocrat whose D.C. hotel violates the Emoluments Clause. He insults Canada and Australia, and fawns over a Russian kleptomaniac, Putin.
2
This election cycle gave the GOP some wins where they shouldn't have won, Gerrymandered districts and voter suppression being two of their tools.
I have the feeling that the GOP is heading for disaster in 2020. They've now completely tied their brand to Trump, they've elected candidates that are more an more Trump like.
I can't help but believe that Ron Desantis will be a disaster of a a governor in FL and Brian Kemp's blatant voting suppression will eventually turn voters against them both.
10
I was born and raised in FL. I was proud of my hometown's (Daytona Beach) tolerance and egalitarian sense of fair play as demonstrated by - 1. Jackie Robinson playing his first game for the Brooklyn Dodger organization in the ballpark now named for him, 2. gradual acceptance of biker culture at a time when it was mistakenly regarded as dominated by criminal gangs, 3. the welcome extended to the organizers of Black Spring Break. 4. the high regard held by its citizens of Mary McLeod Bethune.
I wonder if now, Daytona has become as frankly racist as apparently half the citizens of the rest of Florida are, as evidenced by the election of Ron DeSantis. Additionally, acceptance of genuine criminality (i.e., not merely perceived) in the persons of Rick Scott (Medicare fraud) and Donald Trump (crimes too numerous to mention) seems to be Florida's only example of real tolerance.
Until it is proved otherwise, I will never go to Florida again, not the least because if I were to travel south by car, I would have to pass through Georgia to get there. And don't get me started about that . . . unfortunate state.
24
In case anyone cares, Democrat Kate Brown held onto her seat in Oregon.
23
That the Democrats flipped 7 governorships is significant. Four of the flips were accomplished by women. One victory was in a state where there hasn't been a Democratic governor since 1994. A person who made unfounded claims about voter fraud for DJT went down to defeat in another state. And an incumbent who wreaked havoc on teacher unions lost in another. Why is there not more coverage and analysis?
20
Ron DeSantis sure was impressive in exploiting the elderly Jewish vote, and making his family look like polystyrene props of the RNC.
Florida, man.
20
The blue wave became a purple puddle. But, I’ll take it, especially here I need Kansas. I can actually breathe, now.
Seriously.
22
I agree with Donald and Jeff Sessions. There was massive voter fraud. That's the only way Republicans could have won their seats.
28
Thank you, Kansas. You give the rest of us hope that we may someday get out from under the oppression of one-party Republican rule in Texas and other midwestern states.
48
Which party would you rather be? The one that depends on hatred and racism, voter suppression and gerrymandering? Or the one that received 7% more votes nationwide?
56
Good riddance to bad rubbish in Wisconsin! And even better not letting Kobach take over Kansas!
Good start, but you've just begun.
Now it's up to the Dems to come up with a solid message (which is more that simply anti-Trump), with a solid candidate, for 2020. This will start at the state level where there have been more gains.
You have about a year. Get to work!
65
Just wait until 2020 when the Republicans will once again have full control of government.
3
Democrats need to do what Republicans did - build from the ground up, starting with local governance. We've spent too many years focused on presidential politics only. If we really represent the interests of the people, we have to start winning at the local level.
32
There were some heartwarming victories yesterday, despite the GOP attempt to cheat their way to power with gerrymandering and voter suppression, but the south remains a heartbreaking disappointment and a terrible embarrassment. How can southerners continue to support white supremacy? Will they ever change?
40
We went from a college dropout to a Ph.D.! Excellent, and with a margin that will make Walker spend some of his 35-million in donations on a recount to prove he did not win! Get out the broom to sweep out the cronies in state agencies sent to spy on employees, reopen the administrative law process to the general public, and stop the sale of coveted parcels on public lands to political cronies.
What a relief!
And a tip o' the hat to Maine where Janet Mills won handily!
45
@Jules Verne As far as I know, Walker can't even file for a recount. Evers won by 1.2%, and Walker, being the idiot he is, signed a law 8 months ago which stated that recounts are only allowed with a margin of 1% or less.
14
As a Wisconsinite, one of the best days ever was yesterday, farewell to Scott Walker.
I don’t want to hear his voice, see his face, live under his crooked rule.
He appointed a woman, Cathy Stepp, no college degree, to head our Department of Natural Resources - one of our most pristine sources of pride, gone down the tubes. Maybe finally something will be done about the manure in our waters.
He took away teacher and government employees’ salaries and benefits.
He did not deal with chronic wasting disease disease at all. Thus a great opponent of his was born - “Wisconsin Outdoorsman Against Walker”.
He devoured our school fundings - the UW system, and our public schools. He has forced taxpayers to pay tuition for religious schools while public schools have had to scrape the bottom of the barrel to educate our kids.
His “miraculous” Foxconn deal will deteriorate our Lake Michigan Resources.
He turned his back on healthcare, forbid Medicaid expansion, and thus made people scrape for healthcare benefits, while lying straight out about pre-existing condition issues.
Scott Walker came into this state to “divide and conquer” - his words. Not even a college graduate, he has been one of the worst governors we have ever seen. His greed will never be missed. We are counting the days for his departure. I’m so proud to show my grandkids pictures of their Grandpa and Grandma protesting in the snow in 2011. Finally this man will be gone!
83
@MIMA: I'm celebrating with you!
30
@MIMA Last night at 1:30 in the morning, when the absentee ballots from Milwaukee came in and Evers took a 30,000-vote lead, was one of the best moments of my life. Walker has been a disaster for Wisconsin and should have been booted out in the recall. But now he will finally be gone! Good going Wisconsin!
34
@MIMA I don’t live anywhere near Wisconsin but Walker is pure evil and greed so happy he’s out!
22
What a joke.
The article says, "But Republicans fended off strong Democratic challenges to hold on to the governorships of Florida, Ohio and Iowa, maintaining their control of three states likely to be crucial in the 2020 presidential elections."
They CHEATED in every way possible to suppress the democratic/independent votes. They didn't "win". The International Mafia top .01% inherited/stolen wealth Robber Baron/radical religion Good Old Boys' cabal won.
There is nothing good or honorable about it and WE THE PEOPLE - good, average Americans - will make sure it doesn't stand in OUR United States of America.
Not now. Not ever again.
30
@njglea
I have not read of any significant voter suppression problems in Florida and I do read! . Yes, there were the DeSantis slurs This comment makes you sound more like a ranting Trump supporter. In reality Gillum was a nice guy but not a great candidate his experience is pretty thin since the office Mayor of Tallahassee is mostly an honorary post. He spent too much time talking about his Granny and not enough on policy. He was not a male clone of Stacey Abrams who is a very accomplished woman who did face very real voter suppression issues.
2
Great to see Walker go. Maybe now I can once again be proud to be from Wisconsin.
38
My mother's home state of Kansas rejected the immigrant-bashing vote-suppressing hate-mongering Kris Kobach. And my adopted state of Wisconsin came to its senses and got rid of the union-bashing vote-suppressing corporate puppet Scott Walker. Maybe there's hope after all.
62
@Richard Kelly 48%-Kobach 43% Not a gigantic difference and in most of Kansas' counties, Kobach won. Rural areas naturally have lower populations than cities which tend to vote blue which is how Laura Kelly won, but they were also hoping she is the moderate she claimed she was. Kobach was against illegal immigrants voting or illegal voting period. How is that hateful? How is it vote suppressing to require picture ID (which is not difficult to obtain).
1
@Sandy
23,000 citizens of Wisconsin were prevented from casting ballots in 2016 because they had either been purged from the voter rolls or did not possess one of the four approved forms of ID (not all picture IDs count). The vast majority were minorities. No one has ever presented any evidence they were actually ineligible. If that's not suppressing the vote what is?
4
@Richard
Are you willing to travel to a few more states to share your apparent magic? Thank you!
What about covering Janet Mills' win
in Maine?
23
The Dems. dodged disaster last evening, barely. They need a strong National leadership not the farce of Chuck and Nancy. Schumer is hiding this morning as Nancy crows about her great victory. I expect her to now tell us we shouldn’t be that concerned about looking too deeply into the traitor in the WH’s uber corrupt business and that we need to go all bipartisan with him and the GOPUTIN. Good luck in 2020 with these losers at the helm.
10
Are you still dreaming of impeachment without a senate?
2
The great thing about Nancy Pelosi becoming speaker is that she is not going to waste time or political capital pursuing impeachment. She has the smarts and political wisdom to pick her battles wisely, setting the Dems up for further success in 2020.
3
Scott Walker seemed completely out of his depth when he was on the panel of 17 Republican presidential candidates in 2016. He fumbled and mumbled his answers; hard to believe back then that he was actually a Governor of anything. So now, the Wisconsin halo is gone. It's goodbye to Paul Ryan, a big disappointment as Speaker who shockingly buckled under to Trump; adieu to the unmemorable Mr. Walker and, of course, we cannot forget the charming but chaotic formerChief of Staff Reince Preibus-- all Wisconsin good old boys.
40
Just as two Democratic candidates for OH Supreme Court wrung out a victory to bring a widened perspective to the formerly all-Republican high state court, the formidable Republican machine led by veterans DeWine and Husted sailed to victory with long administrative coattails. We must now accept the fact of one-party state rule in Ohio. Sherrod Brown got a free pass because he aligns with Trump on tariffs. He win by double digits, yes. But given the weakness of his opponent, Jim Renacci, Brown ought to have won by a much higher margin.
Ohio joins Indiana as a less diverse state, more loyal to the Republican brand despite perhaps preferences on manners and even ideology. So long for 2020 to consideration as a swing state. PA, MI, and WI will assume that role.
14
I've lived down there, and it's a good old boy system when it comes to elections. The people who protested the recount in 2000 were bussed in from other states, I heard them joking about "what part of Florida" they were from ("Dallas" for example") and saw the license plates on the busses they came in on. Katherine Harris and Jeb Bush put people on the "Felons" list to disqualify them from voting and those people had never been in jail. There was a street that led to a minority district voting area where the police stopped cars and spent an inordinate amount of time searching them. There were places where there was outright voter intimidation also conducted by the police.
So if DeSantis won by a slim margin, I doubt he actually really won. I will remain doubtful until the "good old boy" system is no longer the norm.
And considering how many people in Florida are still Trump fans down there it is, obviously, the norm.
27
@Jbugko
Well, Jeb did manage to elect the "Worst President Ever" per historians. That title will now be passed to Trump, "Worse than the Worst President Ever".
3
We were planning on renting a house/condo in the FL Keys for a few weeks this coming winter. After last night's election results, we will rent a house for a few weeks, just not in FL.
33
@readalot19 Oh good. That leaves an opening for me.
5
Colorado Proud! Well done Jared Polis.
Beto 2020
29
@Susan Look closer to home. Your pragmatic, hard-working outgoing governor Hickenlooper in 2020!
3
Scott Walker can get one free meal coupon at Mar-a-Lago.
The embodiment of the rotten “nationalist” - GOP - is out. One less cottage cheese head in Wisconsin.
38
Just revised our vacation plans for 2019 to enjoy a state that's not led by a racist.
42
The new Democratic Governors Elect may be the most significant win for the Democrats. We start rebuilding and gaining seats at the local level, one race at a time. It will take years to overcome the concerted and well organized movement of the past 10 years or so by the GOP to gerrymander their wins regardless of popular vote.
So now the Democrats have the opportunity when redistricting comes. Let's be forward thinking and look to creating fair and balanced districts and making it unlawful to gerrymander to the extent the GOP did it.
Yeah, I know, we have the opportunity for tit for tat and that may feel right but from the standpoint of what is best for the country maybe getting rid of the practice is best?
That of course would go along with states making reforms about voter registration, how we vote, the voting infrastructure, etc.
25
It's appalling but not at all surprising to be reading about voting "irregularities" in Georgia. As a Floridian I'm equally appalled and way more surprised by reports that voter turnout was low in Democrat-leaning areas like Miami-Dade and Broward. What the heck has to happen to shake people from their apathy and out to the polls? Have they not learned from 2016, when voters who had previously turned out for President Obama stayed home? Already I've had to listen to one of my college student daughter's friends lamenting this result. "But did you vote?" I asked. Cue guilty expression. This is a bad result for Florida long-term. Our environment here will not recover from this.
83
@Nomad, I hate to say it, but you have to keep harassing your daughter's friend until the next election. I harassed one of my 20-something year old co-workers until she went to vote. She thought it would be "a pain to sit in traffic and wait in line." I told her it might be a bigger and longer pain if she didn't vote.
34
@ChrisH Yes, I definitely will... it's especially frustrating given we have a vote-by-mail option in Florida (me and my daughter utilize it).
17
When Gillum unexpectedly won the primary in August, I said that a black man couldn't win a statewide office in Florida. I wish I had been wrong, but that fact remains that De Santis's overtly racist campaign succeeded (this may well prove true in Georgia too). If the Democratic vote hadn't been split by 4 other Democratic candidates in the primary election, we might well have a different outcome and a female governor-elect. The flipping of two steadfastly Republican seats in the house in Miami Dade testifies to the inroads Democrats can make. I will leave aside Bill Nelson, who was a weak candidate by virtue of his incredibly low profile in the Senate.
Mayor Gillum's "progressive" platform also didn't help, and that should be a message, a strong one, to Bernie Sanders and crew: Florida is a purple state. "Democratic socialism" isn't going to prevail here.
18
True to form here in Wisconsin, our new Governor-elect Evers noted in his victory speech that his priority is to "solve problems, not pick partisan fights". Compare this to defeated incumbent Scott Walker, who has neither the grace to concede defeat nor the courage to show his face to supporters at his election night watch party.
Actions speak louder than words, Mr. Walker, and your refusal to put the welfare of WI citizens ahead of your quest for power shows just how ill suited you were for the job of public servant as governor of Wisconsin.
Good riddance.
73
Taxes for the rich and corporations , no health care and climate deniers were voted out. I am still amazed that the culture of corruption Republicans still own the senate. How did Colorados Proposition 120 stop fracking do? I hope that soared to victory to help save our water supply. We need to first act of business end the electoral college in January and may the best man or women win the popular votes they win.
20
The Democrats managed to avoid disaster. But as a life long party member, they have disappointed again. No clear positive message, and no clear strategy across the US. They will stop the worst of Trump for a couple years....but the losses in the Senate and in the Governors' mansions will haunt them. Here's hoping they are smart enough not to have Pelosi be Speaker. She has presided over a decade of disaster. Speaking from the center of the county, it is time for new leadership and a new message from the Demcratic Party.
20
@Skier
Nancy Pelosi is our Most Valuable Player and the Republicans will be ecstatic if their little stealth campaign to cleave support from her bears fruit
4
@Skier
Nancy Pelosi knows more about getting good legislation passed than any Speaker in recent memory. She will no doubt mentor a smart successor. She didn't come to power as a grifter and a crook. She didn't establish a phony university and sell bogus degrees. She has not presided over a decade of disaster; she saved the ACA. Ryan had to flee home before he was defeated due to his plan to destroy Medicare. McConnell might be the most corrupt Senator we have seen in decades. We might not have produced the right message yet; however, we did not produce Ryan, McConnell, Zinke, or Trump.
5
@Skier "The losses in .. the Governor's mansions"??? We picked up 7 seats.
2
Walker defeated is music to my ears! Finally that lapdog of the Koch brothers is gone!!! I'm giddy to not have to ever look at his beady-eyed evil face ever again, and I don't even live in WI.
61
@MyOwnWoman We in Wisconsin are giddy too! That fool is finally out! Congrats to Tony Evers and to the state of Wisconsin!
8
Congratulations to Wisconsin and Kansas, who have dumped two of the most wretched embarrassments in American politics. Foul beyond fumigation.
67
Kris Kobach: Klone Of Brownback. NOT a misspelling. Good riddance, find yourself another Scam. HE will be joining the Trump Regime, guaranteed. And not just as a “ consultant “ but as a full time bootlicker. Seriously.
33
@Phyliss Dalmatian
It took me a minute but I finally got it!
Thank goodness Stacey Abrams has refused to concede in the Georgia Governor's race. According to latest reports, some of the largest counties have yet to count a single absentee ballot.
Some of the horror stories coming out of that race include: Voting machines at 7:30 am running out of battery power. Poll workers having to "go get" power cords to plug in the machines. Makes one wonder how voting machine batteries somehow lost all their juice before voting began.
Machines not working and long lines without workers.
All coincidental glitches or malevolence:Voter suppression takes curious forms. Here's hoping all ballots in Georgia are counted.
79
Georgia race should be suspect with Kemp ahead because he is helping count the votes. 1 for you, 1000 for me. Yeah that works. Ms. Abrams should sue if she loses.
57
Good riddance Gov. Walker. Don't let the door hit you on the way out.
41
@Len Actually I hope the door hits him hard on the way out!
4
Congratulations, Wisconsin, you have finally woken up to Walker's trickery.
Gov-elect Evers, a lot of work awaits but you can do it. Congrats!
43
While Ohio is stuck with Republican control for the next four years, at least we had the good sense to vote in a anti-gerrymandering issue back in 2016. Hopefully Republicans will not find a workaround to keep their big advantage.
There is also a suit pending in federal court that would provide new ungerrymandered congressional districts for the 2020 election. I have no sense of the likelihood of that prevailing.
13
I have no confidence in the Ohio vote counts for reasons going back to Bush-Kerry in 2004. The dubious GOP/Diebold (supplier of the majority of Ohio's voting machines) connections and the documented voting problems (broken machines, closed polling stations, etc) in the Cleveland area provided just enough to deliver Ohio to the GOP for Bush's second term. It's more than a coincidence, and given the close margins since there's little reason to suspect it's changed.
9
Hurrah Good People of Wisconsin and Kansas especially. You got rid of two of the very worst corrupters and democracy destroyers! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.
Thanks, too, to the Good People of other states that elected democratic governors. Robber Barons were frighteningly close to having enough governors and U.S. Senate/Congress operatives to call a constitutional convention and change the very basis of OUR lives to one of their liking.
WE THE PEOPLE have dodged a bullet but they will try even harder to destroy OUR United States of America. WE must stay engaged and fight like hell to stop them every single day.
WE have enjoyed wonderful, prosperous lives since Teddy, FDR/Elanor Roosevelt put social safety nets in place that protect 99.9% of us from the most insatiably greedy people who walk the planet.
WE must continue to fight to preserve/restore/improve OUR lives and prevent the Robber Barons from destroying them.
NOW is the time.
50
The article mentions redistricting as a partisan process but failed to mention that a ballot proposition passed in Michigan that takes redistricting out of partisan hands. Hopefully, this will be a model for the rest of the nation. It is time to take power away from the political parties and put it back in the hands of the voters.
42
@Jacqueline Gauvin
"a ballot proposition passed in Michigan that takes redistricting out of partisan hands": thanks for mentioning it. That is exactly the information I was looking for. (And now, I must find out how the marijuana proposition fared.)
7
@Jacqueline Gauvin
Yes and we finally got more broad absentee voting, expanded registration timeline (even day of) and automatic voter registration (unless declined) at the SOS. This should be the model for the rest of the country.
8
A fantastic night for republicans and sanity last night. Finally this country is waking up and beginning to understand just how bad the Democratic Leftists are.
2
@JP How So? Wisconsin did great when you considered we're gerrymandered like a pretzel...The real work of applying democratic principles is about to begin. We in Wisconsin are up to it!
44
@JP Sounds like a campaign slogan; now back it up wit relevant facts; I'll help you out:
It appears the nation did wake up and place the control of the federal purse strings and legislation in Democratic hands in Congress which is no light matter if you truly understand how Government works.
Many of the states with Republican Governors are Federal Tax Takers-contributing far less to the common good than residents of other states; Remaining poor isn't much to brag about.
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@JP I hope that one day we can restore real honest news to your part of the country. It is perfectly fine if news leans left or right. What is not fine is propaganda masquerading as news and the precisely defines FOX (cough) News.
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Interesting that, at the same time they elected a pro-Trump Republican Governor, Florida also passed a measure designed to reinstate voting rights to over 1 million convicted felons. The impact of so many presumably left-leaning votes could be materially significant in the next election cycles.
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@Mike McD
Careful what you wish for... it's my observation that felonies are trending in waves among Republicans...
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@Mike McD Hoping for the best here, but unfortunately it isn't a given that the majority of re-enfranchised felons would vote Democrat. Many younger felons may not bother to vote at all, and many older felons may well lean Republican (and may have previously been Republican), since age tends to be associated with conservative political beliefs.
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@Mike McD
We voted to allow them to vote but they are not likely to be mostly democrats and that should never have been a consideration. Probably only a small percentage of them will ever vote.
Walker's defeat is not greatly surprising: Fatigue, and lots of money spent, from inside and outside both.
But why replace him with someone who contributed to the steady decline of public education in Wisconsin? We at colleges are receiving the products of that system, and their quality is sinking year-by-year. Money may be the most important thing for the Democrats, but what about teaching?
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I wouldn't put too much emphasis on the fact that Republican governors outnumber Democratic governors. While some states, such as Florida, Texas and Wisconsin have nationwide implications, most of the rest are more local than national. Vermont reelected its Republican governor (the only Republican to win a statewide office). In spite of his party affiliation, Governor Phil Scott signed into law the first ever gun laws in the state and he signed a bill decriminalizing recreational marijuana.
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@Michael in Vermont
Sounds as if you might have a Democrat hiding in a Republican skin...
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I am encouraged by governor outcomes in Kansas and Wisconsin. The similarity may be education spending. That could be a key winning issue for Democrats moving forward in other GOP controlled states. Both Brownback and Walker destroyed education spending. Kobach, without saying so, was sure to do the same.
The article states that Kansas is a long time GOP stronghold, but in reality, Kansas chooses Democratic governors in recent years when the president is a Republican. Due to the density of population around Kansas City and Wichita, it is not unheard of to see Democrats win. The rest of the state looks red on House maps, but like other rural areas, there is little population, so electoral maps that take into consideration land area make it seem like the Dems are not very popular.
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For Democrats Florida has to be the most painful and certainly the most bitter loss of the midterms. This was a very winnable race. To be fair Gillum did a good job of energizing the base and bringing out the vote even though he was too far to the left for most voters. DeSantis was a very weak Republican candidate. Now he will get to name replacements in January to three liberal-leaning justices who are term-limited on the State Supreme Court. Since the GOP has a super majority in the state legislature they will receive quick approval. Going forward Democrats need to fight for runoff elections when candidates don't get 50% of the vote. Gillum won the Democratic primary in August with 34% of the ballots because his opponents Graham, Levine, & Greene split the moderate vote. Had Gillum gone head to head against Graham he would have lost in a landslide. Had Graham been piited against DeSantis Florida Demswould be celebrating their 1st woman governor. There are no runoff elections in Florida. Their quirky election laws doesn't require a primary candidate to win 50% of the vote. After this election Democrats will be reluctant to support a candidate who is too progressive. The party will move to the center where races are won.
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As a Floridian I am once again devastated by the lack of diversity in voting results and candidates. There are some hopeful people in the Florida house. Hateful behaviors drive hateful leaders.
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@Bill Brown
Yet another example of why we need Ranked Choice Voting, in both primary and general elections.
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@Bill Brown As a Floridian, I completely agree. Gillum ran an excellent campaign but in this state his message was considered too extreme. Graham should be governor right now.
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The fact that two African American candidates in the deep south came close to winning governorships is a hopeful sign that there are cultural and political shifts occurring in that region. Although I was hopeful, my son, who has lived in the South for years---in Georgia and Texas---kept warning me that in his words, "Dad, it is still the South." But perhaps, this is changing.
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This is the brightest spot for Democrats in the election. Seven states that lean right now have Democratic governors. This will put a halt to gerrymandering and allow for fair voting to take place. By removing voter suppression tactics, a fair and honest vote can take place. This could be enough of a change to make electing Democratic presidents much, much easier.
Getting rid of Scott Walker is a blessing for the nation. Same goes for Chris Kobach. These two are toxic to our body politic and are threats to freedom. They are that bad. Kudos to my neighbors in Kansas.
Missouri passed a constitutional amendment to change the way congressional districts are drawn. This is a big step in the right direction to better represent the people and cut down on the gerrymandering.
These changes will reap benefits in 2020. In the meantime, we still have Trump to deal with.
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Andrew Gillum of Florida running for Governor made just one mistake but he made it over and over and over. At every opportunity he returned to talking about his childhood and his grandmother (who sounded a bit weird). He ended up looking like a man who was trying to return to his childhood. After I had heard these family homilies over and over I wanted to jump through the TV screen grab him by the neck and say, "Andrew you are not running for Grandchild of the year!"
Did his staff or the party talk with him about this? Did they even think of it? He was just lucky that DeSantis didn't notice it either or he might have lost by a larger margin.
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What a joy to have Walker voted out, and finally, finally a person supportive of public education headed to the governor's residence in Madison.
Maybe we can find a way to end partisan gerrymandering here for the next redistricting! And hey, maybe the DNR will be permitted to say the words "climate change" again! Maybe we'll finally fix the funding formula for our rural schools!
This feels like a new day at last in Wisconsin. Friends and neighbors mobilized a passionate, well-organized GOTV campaign here, and I'm so grateful to them.
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Wisconsin partially regains its sensibilitites and makes up for they're going to Trump in 2016, a stain History will never forget.
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Talk about draining the swamp? Want to know where the swamp is? It's Florida. Boy do these people make bad choices. Over and over again. They seem to want more guns, bad education, a destroyed environment and no health care. So they can get sick from the poisoned air, not be able to go to the doctor, lose their tourist trade and their beautiful natural beauty and spend their time raising stupid children. It's the Republican Tao; stupid, toxic, sick.
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Apparently, Republicans who lose elections move to Florida. That explains a lot.
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@Joanna Stelling I had a conversation just last week with a neighbor here who was bemoaning the red tide problem. And then put out her Rick Scott for Senate sign the next day.
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Finally! Now on to Felony Friday and Robert Mulluer's findings!
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7 more states will now prevent voter suppression, protect
pre-existing conditions, treat immigrants fairly.
Had Hillary won MI & WI, she would have been, what she wanted to be. Those States were GOP then, now blue..
The Democrats can now look at 2020 and hope for WH win..
DNC Chair Perez should take Nancy aside and say "well done" now step back and let the speaker be someone else..
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@Gyns How is it that Pelosi is the problem? The republicans demonize her so she must be doing something right. Here in Florida her image was used by the republicans in many attack ads usually with marks all over her face simulating small pox. Why did they feature her? She is intelligent experienced and seems to have good instincts. Should the dems replace her with someone younger and if so why? Can you explain?
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No real mention of Janet Mills' victory in Maine! That is huge. LePage announced he's moving to Florida. Good riddance!
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@Greener Pastures Hope he buys beachfront property. I'd like to see climate change have the last laugh.
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@Greener Pastures
Are you serious, with that statement of moving to Florida? He and Trump belong there.
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Since Florida chose a racist for governor, I won't be visiting Florida or spending my money there. I am so disgusted DeSantis won.
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@ChrisH I am too. The state also sent another rotten apple to the senate - Rick Scott.
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@ChrisH Yes neither will I. DeSantis joins Trump, another racist in a very high office. The whole election's results were very disappointing. Voter suppression is still working for the Republicans.
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@ChrisH I think I decided to not visit Florida well before what happened last evening, but thanks for reminding why I need to continue. Scott is a criminal right, embezzlement of Medicare funds and well DeSantis speaks for itself. I guess Florida will slowly slip into the ocean which is sad because I am sure the people who did not vote for Scott and DeSantis are the ones who will be punished. I don't see the ten changing when you can vote the next time either. Those rural areas are will above sea level.
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Bye bye, Scott Walker can't wait until January when you are officially out of office!
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Well done Kansas!
In Wisconsin, I'm sure the ghost of Robt. M. La Follette smiling today.
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Andrew Gillum is fighting corruption charges, which may have rightly altered perception. Meanwhile, Bob Menedez is faced with federal charges, and the good people of NJ still saw fit to re-elect him. Maybe we Dems need to clean our own houses, and stop over-looking the corrupt within our ranks.
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If I lived in New Jersey, I would have voted against Menendez BUT FOR Trump, who’s a one-person moral and ethical cesspool and has to be stopped.
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Trumped up charges, Joe yohka. Are you another victim of fox so-called news smear campaigns? Russian?
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Racism wins yet again in Florida, as do the white supremacists in Iowa. There's no surprise there.
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I hope this means Flint will get clean water
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Hallelujah! Finally, both Walker and Kobach are gone from the political scenne and hopefully for good.
For Wisconsinites its time to return to the the true populist and progressive principles of Robert ("Fighting Bob") La Follette that made Wisconsin a great state.
As for residents of Kansas, They soundly rejected Kobach, an extreme and dangerous ideologue who would surely have taken them further down the Sam Brownback Road to Ruin Memorial Highway. Good riddance!
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Here in Wisconsin, I'm happy that Walker was ousted before he could finish his program of "socialism for the rich". He dug deep into taxpayer pockets to bring Fox-con to Wisconsin. Apparently ignorant of how fast tech company fates turn over, he made a huge financial commitment to a foreign company that also got an "easement" on precious Lake Michigan waters. Giant Kimberly-Clark, seeing how easily the rubes could be played, had their hands out for more taxpayer largesse, with the not so thinly veiled threat that they'd cut bait and run if the taxpayers didn't pay a significant portion of the wages of their employees here in WI. Apparently "socialism" is okay if it benefits the corporate rich.
Sad to see Beto lose in Texas and that Florida went with DeSantis as gov. Watching the "red tide roll" in, it seems obvious that voters there have to decide if they want to continue to allow polluting big Ag to punish real estate, residential and tourism interests. With 21 million residents and a multi-billion dollar tourism industry it seems obvious that you can't have both.
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