And So the Counting Begins

This has become a tradition on my part, but I’m going to be here blogging until the election is set, or until I fall asleep in my seat. My primary concern is the Presidential election, but I’ll also be looking at other important local races, as well as returns in San Diego, where I live.

9:55 Pacific Time (1:55AM on the East Coast, 0555 GMT):
My thanks to Governor Romney for his gracious concession speech. It’s been a long night and I’m ready for bed and I’m grateful for his call to reach across the aisles and work for our future. And I’m grateful for his prayers.

9:30 Pacific Time (1:30AM on the East Coast, 0530 GMT):
Still waiting to hear from Governor Romney. I can’t go to bed until I hear his concession, but I have to work tomorrow.

9:00 Pacific Time (1:00AM on the East Coast, 0500 GMT):
We’re still waiting for the concession speech from Governor Romney. I’m not wishing for a repeat of the 2000 election.

8:25 Pacific Time (12:25 on the East Coast, 0425 GMT):
Even Faux News is projecting President Obama the winner. How cool is that?

8:15 Pacific Time (12:15 on the East Coast, 0415 GMT)
CNN is now projecting that President Obama the winner in Ohio. If it’s true, it puts the President over the 270 mark. I’m not going to stop watching (and blogging) until the concession speech, so stay tuned.

8:00PM Pacific Time (Midnight on the East Coast, 0400 GMT)
The polls just closed here in California. It’s no surprise, but it looks like President Obama carried it and our 55 electoral votes are a boost. PBS now projects that the President can claim 225 electoral votes. I’m pleased to see that in my home state of Virginia has elected Tim Kane (D) over George Allen (R).

7:00PM Pacific Time (10:00 East Coast, 0300 GMT)
The polls continue to close going west. The PBS web page is loading slowly and it’s making it harder to get fast results. The best news for me is the race for Senator in Missouri: Claire McCaskill has apparently beaten Todd Akin: he was the person who claimed that women can’t get pregnant from a “legitimate” rape. My complaint with him wasn’t just that he was wrong, it’s that he was stupid. If someone tells me something that unbelievably stupid, I’m not going to listen, and I’m certainly not going to repeat it. The fact that he was so willing to believe something that stupid because it was politically convenient tells me all I need to know about him. Congratulations Claire!

PBS is saying now that the President is leading the electoral college map 173 to 163.

6:30PM Pacific Time (9:30PM East Coast, 0230 GMT)
Governor Romney is still ahead in the projections, 153 to 123. It appears that President Obama should carry Pennsylvania with its 20 electoral votes, and Wisconsin with its 10 electoral votes. I appreciate PBS’s caution, but I’m also elated at the idea that Governor Romney and Congressman Ryan with both loose their states.

6:00PM Pacific Time (9PM East Coast, 2AM GMT)
As a Democrat, I’m getting a little concerned. At this point 4 years ago, Senator Obama was leading Senator McCain 175 electoral votes to 76. Right now Governor Romney leads President Obama 138 to 109. Here’s the optimistic part: Polls have closed in the Midwest, which is the Governor’s stronghold. It may be that he’s already gotten most of the electoral votes he’s going to get; Texas has already gone for him and at 38 electoral votes, it’s likely the largest state he’s going to get. California polls don’t close for another few hours and it will bring 55 votes for the President. As I look at the numbers there’s reason to be hopeful about Ohio. As I write this, 33% of the votes have been counted and President Obama leads 54% to 45%.

5:00PM Pacific Time (8PM East Coast, 1AM GMT)
I’m actually writing this at 5:10PM. Polls have already closed in several states and the votes are being counted. As I write this the projections on PBS are coming in. Right now President Obama leads the electoral vote race 64 to 40. The states line up like this: President Obama should win in Maine, Vermont, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Maryland, Delaware, and Illinois. Governor Romney is projected to win South Carolina, West Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana, and Oklahoma. Other networks have made bolder predictions, but I’d rather be right than fast, and PBS clearly agrees.

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