2024 - A Blank Canvas

[Kahane's Grave Is A Gender-Neutral Bathroom]

Not happening if DeSantis expects goodwill and some sort of honeymoon. Besides Republican's can afford to be magnanimous in victory, but if Democrats try any shenanigans in attempting to undermine DeSantis as they did with Trump; Republican's will likely respond ruthlessly and Cornyn nor Scalise will give Democrats diddly squat. All they can expect is nothing but crumbs from the Republican's high table. My cautionary word to Democrats is to "Behave".

Eh but DeSantis can't go too far right without generating backlash.

[SaintStan86]

While the clock strikes 2:00AM in New York City, more House results roll in...
AZ-04: Rep. Kelly Cooper defeats State Rep. Jennifer Jermaine.

CA-02: State Sen. Mike McGuire defeats fellow Democrat and State Asm. Marc Levine, succeeding Jared Huffman.

CA-09: Rep. Tom Patti defeats former Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs.

CA-11: Rep. Catherine Stefani defeats fellow Democrat and former San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin.

CA-13: Rep. Adam Gray defeats farmer and businessman John Duarte in a rematch.

CA-14: Fremont City Councilmember Jenny Kassan defeats former State Asw. Catharine Baker, succeeding Eric Swalwell.

CA-18: San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo defeats fellow Democrat and former U.S. Rep. Josh Harder, succeeding Zoe Lofgren.

CA-22: Rep. David Valadao defeats Bakersfield City Councilman Andrae Gonzales.

CA-31: Former State Sen. Ed Hernández defeats attorney and 2022 nominee Dan Martinez, succeeding Grace Napolitano.

CA-40: Rep. Young Kim defeats attorney Florice Hoffman.

CA-41: Former State Sen. Melissa Melendez defeats former federal prosecutor Will Rollins, succeeding Ken Calvert.

CA-45: Rep. Michelle Steel defeats healthcare advocate Mark Anthony Paredes.

CO-07: Rep. Erik Aadland defeats former State Sen. Brittney Pettersen.

CO-08: Rep. Barb Kirkmeyer defeats State Sen. Kevin Priola, a former Republican.

Editor's note: Whereas I originally had State Sen. Faith Winter penciled in as the Democratic nominee in 2024 against Barb Kirkmeyer in this TL, I switched to Kevin Priola - who originally was listed as having won the newly-minted 8th as a moderate Republican in the very early stages of this TL - in light of the recent news that he switched from the GOP to the Democrats. Priola IRL is term-limited but can serve until 2024, and it's fair to say that Kirkmeyer has aggressively called out Priola (who IRL is going to be sought after to run against Kirkmeyer should she win this year) as a "craven opportunist" in her advertising against him in this TL.

CT-02: Rep. Mike France defeats State Rep. Gregg Haddad.

HI-01: State Rep. Sonny Ganaden defeats fellow State Rep. and former Miss Hawaii Lauren Matsumoto, succeeding Ed Case.

IL-05: In one of the biggest upsets, former Schaumburg Township Trustee Nimish Jani defeats Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi following the incumbent's raid by the FBI on corruption charges involving favors to pharmaceutical lobbyists. Krishnamoorthi has denied the allegations, and even suspects that "race could be a factor in his inquiry".

IL-11: Will County Republican Central Committee Chairman George Pearson defeats former Rep. Lauren Underwood in an all-Black congressional battle.

IL-12: Rep. Mike Bost defeats State Rep. Katie Stuart.

IN-01: Commercial pilot and Air Force reservist Jennifer-Ruth Green defeats Rep. Frank Mrvan in a rematch.

MD-06: State Del. Neil Parrott defeats Rep. David Trone in a rematch.

MA-09: Businessman and Marine Corps veteran Jesse Brown defeats State Sen. Julian Cyr, succeeding Bill Keating and becoming the first Republican to represent Massachusetts in the House in 28 years.

MI-07: Rep. Tom Barrett defeats Michigan Circuit Court Judge Rosemarie Aquilina, best known for her role as the judge in the Larry Nassar sexual abuse trial.

MI-10: State Sen. Mike MacDonald defeats Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel, succeeding John James, whose race for Senate remains undecided.

NV-02: Rep. Mark Amodei defeats Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve.

NV-03: Rep. April Becker defeats former Rep. Susie Lee in a rematch.

NM-03: Environmental engineer Alexis Martinez Johnson defeats Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez.

NY-03: Rep. George Santos defeats former North Hempstead Town Supervisor Jon Kaiman.

NY-17: Former State Asm. Mike Lawler defeats Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney in a rematch.

NY-18: Rep. Colin Schmitt defeats former Rep. Pat Ryan in a rematch.

Editor's note: In light of Pat Ryan's special election victory on Tuesday, I am substituting his name in lieu of Dutchess County Legislator Yvette Valdés Smith. In this TL, the Biden administration offers Ryan a key post in their administration relating to veterans' affairs. After Biden announces his retirement, Ryan decides instead to run against Schmittt.

NY-19: Rep. Marc Molinaro defeats Broome County Executive Jason Garnar.

NY-22: Rep. Brandon Williams defeats former State Sen. David Valesky.

NC-06: State House Majority Whip Jon Hardister defeats Rep. Kathy Manning.

OH-15: Rep. Madison Gesiotto Gilbert defeats former State House Minority Leader Emilia Sykes in a rematch.

OR-05: Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer defeats attorney Jamie McLeod-Skinner in a rematch.

TX-32: Rep. Colin Allred defeats former Dallas County GOP Chairman Phillip Huffines in a rematch.

WA-05: Spokane County Treasurer and former State Sen. Michael Baumgartner defeats State Senate Majority Leader Andy Billig, succeeding Cathy McMorris Rodgers whose race for Senate remains undecided.

The network news teams have all pretty much gone home, save for the cable networks and PBS. But there is still plenty of election news to talk about...

(On CNN...)
VAN JONES: ...You had some pretty notable pickups in the House for the Democrats. For example, in Alabama you now have two African-American members of Congress - with Kirk Hatcher joining Terri Sewell in the House. And in Georgia, James Beverly, the State House Minority Leader standing up to Gov. Kemp on the so-called "election integrity" bill, defeated one-term Republican Chris West in the 2nd District in southwest Georgia.

DAVID AXELROD: Don't forget Hillary Scholten winning in her third try, taking out John Gibbs, the Trump loyalist who beat a more moderate one-term Republican who voted to impeach Donald Trump, in the 3rd District in Michigan. And Mike Matson, the Mayor of Davenport, Iowa, who beat Mariannette Miller-Meeks in southeast Iowa, 1st District. He ran as a moderate problem solver and that is what fits the district like a glove. Something Democrats need to take note of for 2026.

So don't fret, Democrats are clearly looking forward to capitalizing on the DeSantis presidency overreaching and going too far, doing the same overt pandering to the Fox News crowd. You won't know it, because whereas Donald Trump farted with his mouth, DeSantis is going to do it while you sleep, just like Reagan did when Mondale promised to raise taxes in advance instead of covertly.

ANDERSON COOPER: Alright, gentlemen, thank you for your input. We'll go now to Wolf Blitzer for an update.

WOLF BLITZER: Anderson, we are about to make another projection for President. In Connecticut, CNN projects that the Constitution State will go for President-elect Ron DeSantis, its seven electoral votes going Republican for the first time since 1988, when George H.W. Bush, the son of former Connecticut U.S. Senator Prescott Bush, won that state. True, it is only a plurality, but DeSantis's strong support in eastern Connecticut, Litchfield County, along with Andrew Yang's strong performance here tonight, puts DeSantis at 48 percent, to 43 percent for Vice President Kamala Harris, and seven percent for Yang.

That leaves us with just 39 electoral votes remaining, 19 in Illinois, 12 in Washington, and 8 in Oregon. Those last two states will take some time, as they are still processing their ballots. Almost all of those ballots, we know, are mail-in ballots.

JAKE TAPPER: And this just in, Wolf, CNN projects now in the race for Governor of North Carolina - one of three very crucial races that has taken all night because they are so close - that Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson will win and become North Carolina's first African-American Governor. We are projecting him the winner with 48 percent to 46 percent for state Attorney General Josh Stein, who was hoping to succeed term-limited Gov. and one-time presidential candidate Roy Cooper. The Libertarian candidate has five percent, mostly coming from backlash over some of Robinson's more controversial comments, but with support from the DeSantis campaign, Donald Trump and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, Robinson has managed to win the race despite what supporters called "a kitchen sink of gross insults", some of them racially tinged.

But with 99.5 percent of the votes in and any potential recount not likely to change the results, we are safely able to go ahead and project Robinson the winner.

That leaves us with two outstanding gubernatorial races. In Indiana, Tom McDermott has taken the lead; the Mayor of Hammond has a lead of 47.9 percent to 47.1 percent for state Attorney General Todd Rokita, with the Libertarian candidate getting under four percent. The overperformance in northwest Indiana, his base, as well as in Terre Haute, South Bend, Evansville and Fort Wayne, as well as some voters in the Indianapolis suburbs, clearly factoring into McDermott's narrow lead now.

Rokita, of course, has had some issues during the campaign. You had the whole abortion issue, for instance, in which Rokita defended his handling of the matter despite obvious backlash from female voters as well as employers like Salesforce, Cummins and Eli Lilly who recoiled from economic investment in the state due to the issue, as well as a group of protestors who disrupted an Indiana Pacers game last week over the matter in which a group of women taped themselves and their mouths to the hallways leading into Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

That proved to be very controversial between Rokita accusing the Pacers of "enabling terrorism against fans" and McDermott attacking his opponent for "stoking the fires of division", and what he called "running away from serving Hoosiers first". McDermott also had significant appeal to blue-collar DeSantis voters outside of the Indianapolis area, and a series of TV ads where he vowed to continue the moderate style of governance favored by outgoing Gov. Eric Holcomb versus the sort of conservative hardline that Rokita has taken.

McDermott also condemned the ad that aired during the NFL kickoff game as well as Harris's response to it, which he called "a slap in the face to hardworking Hoosiers who would like to have a choice that focuses on"what makes us great here in Indiana instead of the same old talk you get out of San Francisco". So obviously, McDermott is giving a pretty good template that Democrats can use for upcoming elections next year in Virginia and New Jersey, plus of course the midterms in 2026.

The other race we're looking at is in Missouri, where Jason Kander not only is winning over DeSantis voters in the suburbs, but also rural Josh Hawley voters as well, competing well in rural "Miz-zur-rah" and doing quite well in the Kansas City and St. Louis suburbs. Right now, he is at 48.5 percent to 48.2 percent for Jay Ashcroft, who succeeded him as Secretary of State in 2016. Ashcroft, as you know, is the son of former Governor, U.S. Senator and Attorney General John Ashcroft, and a couple of ads from the Kander camp may explain his struggles in this race.

The first one pointed to Ashcroft's failure to win a Republican-held State Senate seat in an affluent suburban St. Louis district during a strong Republican year in 2014, his efforts to block Medicaid expansion despite voter approval of it, and of course the voter fraud claims from former President Trump, since debunked. But the second one was more intriguing, featuring Republican DeSantis and Hawley supporters who criticized Ashcroft for even having the gall to investigate improprieties in 2018 surrounding then-Attorney General Josh Hawley, which ironically were made by of all persons, Nicole Galloway, whom Hawley just defeated tonight.

Kander has used the iconic Creedence Clearwater Revival song, "Fortunate Son", as his main campaign rally song, to contrast his story - almost winning the other Senate seat in 2016, then shelving a bid for Kansas City Mayor to deal with his mental health and depression struggles, and bouncing back to run for Governor - with that of Ashcroft, and the "Fortunate Son" comparisons, which Ashcroft rightfully condemned, stating "I am my own person, and my purpose is to serve the people of Missouri, not some sort of entitlement I never asked for", stuck like a sore thumb.

(Fast forward to later in the evening, when CNN is able to make a Senate projection... >>)

JAKE TAPPER: CNN now projects that Republicans will achieve a filibuster-proof majority in partisan votes, as we are now calling Michigan for Congressman John James, who will become the first African-American Senator from the Great Lakes State, ending the comeback bid of former Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Whitmer performed strongly in Detroit and also in Flint and other Democratic bastions, but she was soundly defeated in most counties and narrowly lost in the critical suburban counties of Oakland and Macomb; this obviously sunk her bid as James finishes with 51 percent and Whitmer above 47 percent.

That means that Republicans will now have 60 seats in the Senate with eight GOP pickups, surpassing the elections in 1908 and 1920, and one shy of the 1868 and 1906 elections in which 61 Republican Senators were elected - the most ever for the GOP in both cases, albeit with fewer states - there were only 46 states in 1906, as Arizona, New Mexico, Alaska and Hawaii were not states yet. In the cases of all four examples - there were Republican trifectas.

...before CNN calls it a night, and Wolf Blitzer calls it a career - at least in regards to presidential election night coverage sweeps...

WOLF BLITZER: Folks, it has been a great pleasure to be here tonight for yet another fascinating presidential election, each with their own twists, surprises and shockers. I have been fortunate to be a part of nine presidential elections here at CNN - including tonight, with an unprecedented - at least in the modern era - trifecta. When I made the decision to retire earlier this year, I did it with plenty of self-reflection and lots of gratitude for the people here at this network, who have been here for the best and worst of times, through corporate branding and ownership changes - from Ted Turner to Time Warner to now Warner Bros. Discovery, and through evolutions in technology that have happened multiple, multiple times.

And I honestly say, it has been an honor to preside over a presidential election one final time, and it is truly one that is never to be forgotten.

From all of us here at CNN in the United States and around the world, I'm Wolf Blitzer here in Washington, wishing you all a pleasant good night and good morning, and will see you on The Situation Room later this evening at 6:00PM ET. We now turn over to our newsroom at CNN Center in Atlanta for more coverage of Election Night in America, as Republican Ron DeSantis takes his place in history.

Next: Will there be any calls at 3 A.M.?...

[2016]

Illinois will be called after 3am I think. Also Pennsylvania Senate & Nevada Senate might be called.

BUT two massive Races were called in this 2am Hour: Michigan Senate and the even bigger one North Carolina Governor and guess what: Both won by African-Americans.

North Carolina will likely have rougly a 30 % Black Electorate in 2024 and yet Harris doesn't get the 16 Electoral Votes AND Voters elected a Republican African-American Governor. This is absolutely a shot in the armour to Democrats.


Here is what President DeSantis should absolutely do on Day 1:
Sign Executive Order to end all COVID-19 Restrictions including welcoming both vaccinated & unvaccinated Foreign Travellers back into the Country.
Secondly Appoint Special Investigator to investigate Anthony Fauci who did irrepairable harm to the Country for the last 4 years.

[PRESIDENT STANTON]

Basically once Illinois is called and very likely DeSantis get those outstanding 19 electoral votes; the only thing to do is make a few more Senate race calls. A suggestion, which I think would be cool, is to begin another storyline called "2028-A Blank Canvas", pretty much a study of a potential DeSantis administration, plus a storyline covering the 2026 midterms, the lead up to the 2028 election.

[2016]

I expect DeSantis to name his WH SoS some time today at the earliest or on Thursday at the latest.

[PRESIDENT STANTON]

Why not Brad Herold for WHcos? He was once Executive Director of the Florida Republican Party, before he became manager of DeSantis's first gubernatorial campaign; he has a long history with DeSantis. He was manager of DeSantis's shortlived U.S. Senate campaign in 2016, while Marco Rubio was running for the Republican presidential nomination. He has been President of Parabellum Strategies since 2016.

[2016]

Why not Brad Herold for WHcos? He was once Executive Director of the Florida Republican Party, before he became manager of DeSantis's first gubernatorial campaign; he has a long history with DeSantis. He was manager of DeSantis's shortlived U.S. Senate campaign in 2016, while Marco Rubio was running for the Republican presidential nomination. He has been President of Parabellum Strategies since 2016.

Possible but I still think that either Byron Donalds, Brian Mast or his direct Successor in Congress Mike Waltz will be his WH CoS.
Donalds of course would sent a message to the Country like hey, I will be President for all Americans. A Minority CoS hasn't happened too often in this Country.

[PRESIDENT STANTON]

Possible! Perhaps Brad Herold becomes Deputy Chief of Staff or Special Advisor. It will be interesting to see who gets what. I think David McCormick gets Treasury if he loses to Casey. There is precedent for a losing candidate getting a position in an administration, look at Henry Cabot Lodge, after he lost Senate reelection to JFK in '52, Ike made him Ambassador to the UN; Nixon did likewise with GHWB making him Ambassador to the UN after he lost a Senate contest to Lloyd Bentsen in 1970. I think DeSantis will have to think outside the box when naming his Defense Secretary, someone who can start removing the bloated spending practices within the Pentagon. Maybe Josh Bolten? He was Dubya's WHcos during the second term. I think he ran OBM during the first term. He'd be best placed to caution DeSantis on how to tame wasteful Pentagon spending habits  and usher in a regime of lower costs and efficiency.

[2016]

Absolutely it will interesting who gets what.

My guess is that Senator Marco Rubio gets Secretary of State and Dina Powell might get the UN-Gig.

As for SecDef I thought Tom Cotton was the Frontrunner for that Cabinet Post. Maybe he isn't any longer who knows.

I thought Senator Tim Scott would be a good choice for Veterans Affairs but DeSantis could surprise us all and pick someone like Gabbard.

I also think DeSantis will resign his Governor Seat very soon, in the next two to three weeks. GWB did resign his Governor Seat in December 2000 I think when he was Governor of Texas and won the Presidency.

[PRESIDENT STANTON]

Okay I'm going to park the speculation about who's in and who's out! The thing is I for one lost count of how many seats both party's have in the House of Representatives; the Senate we all pretty much the seat distribution. But the House is a bit more trickier. Would be interesting to know how many popular votes DeSantis, Harris and Yan garnered.

[2016]

Okay I'm going to park the speculation about who's in and who's out! The thing is I for one lost count of how many seats both party's have in the House of Representatives; the Senate we all pretty much the seat distribution. But the House is a bit more trickier. Would be interesting to know how many popular votes DeSantis, Harris and Yan garnered.

I agree with you. I also would like to see how the General Election Turnout was. Probably a little bit lower compared to 2020 since this wasn't a Pandemic Election but still resonably high given that we had two Women on the Tickets + Andrew Yang.

[PRESIDENT STANTON]

Does Atlas Forum have a blank nationwide county map? I am going to attempt to extrapolate how the counties went by using what the CNN and other networks described the way the counties went. Combining the best of GHWB, GWB, Romney and Trump performed. Might get a pretty interesting picture.

[SaintStan86]

While the networks have largely gone to bed, there are still calls being made in various races across the country, but it's clear the networks are in a down period as they transition from the frenetic pace of their Election Night crews to the morning teams...

• On ABC, World News Now is updating the latest results, with the candidates' speeches and foreign press reports on reaction to DeSantis's win overseas filling most of the time, in addition to the anchors' usual irreverent banter and some offbeat stories about unusual election candidates and how they turned out.
• On CBS, the CBS Overnight News is for the most part live, with the anchors of the CBS Morning News presiding instead of the usual repeat of the CBS Evening News (including the story from Steve Hartman about Dixville Notch, New Hampshire) followed by updates and other material such as an earlier interview with Casey DeSantis on CBS Sunday Morning by Jane Pauley.
• NBC News Overnight (launched during this TL by NBC) has the crew from Early Today anchoring, with more updates on the election as well as analysis from Steve Kornacki, who admits to being "very high" on caffeine during one point in the broadcast.
• The other networks, for the most part, are starting to wind down as a new day approaches...

(And for those who may be wondering, as expected things were very quiet over at ESPN, as the sports world took a break on Election Day to emphasize the importance of voting. As evidenced by the rolling late-night repeats of SportsCenter...)
LINDA COHN: The sports world took a break on Election Day to assist in voter outreach across the country, aiming to get voters to the polls. NBA & NHL teams have utilized their arenas for various election purposes, not just to serve as Election Day polling precincts, but also even to count the ballots and host watch parties for various candidates across the country. NFL teams also took the day off, using the day to encourage their fans to go out and vote, with individual players also doing their own voter outreach efforts - including several Arizona Cardinals players, through the Pat Tillman Foundation, who took retired veterans to the polls with assistance from their local VFW chapters, as well as the Miami Heat opening up FTX Arena to serve as a polling place, and the Miami Heat's own home court being used as a floor for counting some well over one million ballots in Miami-Dade County.

(Fast forward to an excerpt from the 11:00PM SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt >>)
SCOTT VAN PELT: There is no doubt that this election is a very important one. So much so that 'stick to sports' seems like mere postulating for halcyon days where voter turnout was so next to nil that they required you to attend jury duty. But doing your civic duty is indeed very important - after all, these juries ensure a fair trial for both civil cases where a business may have ripped you off and criminal cases where misdemeanor traffic tickets or felony capital murder charges hang in the balance.

And the impact has indeed been very strong. 75 percent of adult Americans are believed to have cast a ballot in this election. That is good for democracy. But it's also good for our posterity and vision of who we desire to be as a nation. Whether it's opening up arenas and stadiums for voters, counting ballots, providing water and other refreshments since campaigns cannot do that by law, or taking groups like disabled veterans to the polls, athletes and teams have exercised their civic duty to the American people on this day.

And it's hard to say "stick to sports" when you have both sides and others getting athlete endorsements, whether it's LeBron James and Steph Curry vouching for Kamala Harris on the very same court in which they routinely embarrassed the Houston Rockets at the Democratic National Convention, Jack Nicklaus and other golfers vouching for Ron DeSantis - who himself is hosting his watch party tonight on the very same lawn at TPC Sawgrass where the winner of the PLAYERS Championship is crowned every March, Colin Kaepernick going door-to-door for some Norman Solomon dude in the Bay Area, or Roger Goodell, Adam Silver, Dana White, Mike Helton, Al Michaels, Ernie Johnson and others reaching out to Donald Trump, among others, after the ad heard 'round the world at the beginning of the NFL season, it's hard to ignore politics.

Because as much as we hate to say it, eventually everything comes downstream from politics. And that is why your vote today for the candidate of your choice matters, and that is a right - whether it was for Kamala or Ron or some guy named Andrew Yang who believes in a national lottery of free cash for everyone - that is sacred and deserves to be respected.

(Around 3:30AM on Fox News, where the crew for Fox & Friends - or at least its early counterpart - took over after 2:00AM...)
TODD PIRO: We can now project that Speaker Kevin McCarthy will become Senator Kevin McCarthy, as his 57 percent of the vote with 70 percent of the votes counted has remained consistent. He was facing former U.S. Ambassador Ric Grenell, who was endorsed by former President Donald Trump, in an all-Republican runoff that ensued after the Democratic Party's splintered primary vote led to them being shut out, turning a seat that favored the Democrats into a lock for the GOP, and setting the tone for a big Republican swing across the country this past evening.

We are not projecting a party flip, because as we said it was already going to go Republican by default. But we can project which Republican it will be, and it will be Kevin McCarthy.

(Sometime after 4:00AM on PBS, where the West Coast crew has taken over...)
STEPHANIE SY: We have a projection to make now here in the West in the Senate, where the Associated Press is now projecting that Sen. Jacky Rosen has been defeated in Nevada, losing to Army veteran Sam Brown, who ran for the GOP nomination in 2022, losing to Adam Laxalt, but is now set to join Laxalt in the Senate, winning 50 percent of the vote to under 47 percent for Rosen.

And with that news, the Republicans will now tie for the most Senators it has ever elected in American history, at 61, with 1868 and 1906. A very significant sea change from the current Senate of 52 Republicans and 48 Democrats.

(And on CNBC, shortly after 5:00AM and the beginning of "Squawk Box"...)
BECKY QUICK: Well, there is another projection coming in now, and this is for Illinois, where Ron DeSantis has held a narrow lead in the polls for most of the evening. NBC News can now project that Illinois and its 19 electoral votes will go to the Florida Governor now set to become our 47th President in 75 days. DeSantis's strong performance in the downstate parts outside of Chicago, as well as the GOP's resurgence in the Chicago suburbs where DeSantis also did well and the GOP made some gains - including a surprising pickup near O'Hare Airport, played into his victory where only Cook County and Chicago itself came in strong for Kamala Harris. That now takes DeSantis to an eye-popping 400 electoral votes, to just 118 for the Vice President.

Also, for those of you football fans, including us in the NBC universe through Sunday Night Football, who may be wondering whatever happened to Michele Tafoya? Well, she was running in Minnesota for the U.S. Senate, and we can now project that she will in fact be going there. NBC News is calling the open Senate seat in Minnesota for Michele Tafoya, who defeats Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan with 49 percent to 46 percent. That means there will be 62 Republican Senators - which will be the most ever in American history.

Flanagan had hoped to follow in the footsteps of other notable progressives from her state including another NBC alum, Al Franken from Saturday Night Live, as well as the late Paul Wellstone and going back to Eugene McCarthy, but Ron DeSantis's historic win in Minnesota - first since 1972 - which clinched the election for him last night, and both strong support in rural Minnesota and resurgent support around the Twin Cities suburbs, did her in. Tafoya will succeed Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who chose to retire and make a run for the Democratic nomination for President, her second after the one in 2020.

And as we look at Europe now, it appears the markets are reacting positively to the news. In London, the FTSE is up four percent with optimism that the election of Ron DeSantis will be a "watershed moment" for relations between the US and its most storied ally, particularly as the US aims to cull its foreign aid load while also resolving its debt issues, including IOUs from China, Germany and other nations to which the US owes debt on such matters as military and defense - including foreign bases such as those in Germany and others it shares with NATO. Defense stocks, unsurprisingly, are mixed given that a DeSantis administration will likely look to be more cautious on future spending while also paying attention to whatever obligations may exist from previous administrations.

(Then, across the street on Fox Business shortly after 6:00AM...)
MARIA BARTIROMO: We can now project that, and this is the first in a while for the Democrats, we can project that Sen. Kyrsten Sinema has won reelection in Arizona with 51 percent - under 51 percent that is, to 45 for the Republican, David Schweikert. You may recall the divisive primary in that state where it took weeks to determine a winner between Schweikert and two fellow members of Congress, Andy Biggs and Paul Gosar - who held out on Schweikert citing his colleague's "degree of conservative principles" as well as his ethical troubles which became cannon fodder for criticism from Sinema's campaign, the media and even some Republicans.

Schweikert, of course, has denied any ethical improprieties, but obviously that and Sinema's moderate record as one of the more bipartisan Senators in Washington - which at one point left her for dead in the eyes of the Democrats' far-left base - worked to her advantage in the end. With her victory, there will now be 33 Senators - all but one of them officially Democrats, with the one exception being Sen.-elect David Zuckerman of Vermont, who won a three-way battle with the endorsement of retiring Sen. Bernie Sanders, and is likely to be one of the staunchest voices on the left, especially on economics as Sanders has always been, in the new Senate.

With that news, a bright spot for the Democrats in what otherwise has been a disastrous night for them, they are now at 32 Democrats and one Vermont Progressive Party newcomer caucusing with the Democrats, with a record 62 Republicans and 5 Senate seats remaining to be called.

(And, on "Fox & Friends" as they start...)

STEVE DOOCY: Good morning and welcome to Fox & Friends on this Wednesday morning, November the 6th. I'm Steve Doocy here with Ainsley Earhardt as we begin another "hump day" with Thanksgiving and the endless barrage of Christmas music on the horizon - oh please, can we keep Mariah Carey bottled up for a little longer? But first, we need to go straight to Brian Kilmeade who has a projection to report.

("Fox News Alert"...)

BRIAN KILMEADE: Thank you, Steve. Fox News is now projecting that Sen. Martin Heinrich has been defeated in New Mexico. Ronchetti had been leading most of the night as the GOP vote that swung the Land of Enchantment towards Ron DeSantis, particularly in suburban and Hispanic communities across the state, not unlike what we've been seeing since last night. Heinrich was running for a third term, but it appears the former TV meteorologist has put an end to those plans, and Mark Ronchetti will be the next U.S. Senator from the state of New Mexico, the first Republican since Pete Domenici whose son Adam Laxalt, himself the grandson of Paul Laxalt, serves from the Senate in the latter's former seat.

AINSLEY EARHARDT: And that will now take the Senate to 63 Republicans, a huge mandate for President-elect Ron DeSantis, and a big challenge for Senate Majority Leader John Cornyn, who will be speaking with us shortly on the results of last night's election.

And...some more House races were called overnight...

CA-12: Oakland City Councilmember Loren Taylor defeats fellow Democrat and State Asw. Mia Bonta, succeeds Barbara Lee.

CA-16: Saratoga City Councilmember Rishi Kumar defeats fellow Democrat and Mountain View City Councilmember Sally Lieber, succeeds Anna Eshoo.

CA-26: Rep. Matt Jacobs narrowly defeats State Asw. Jacqui Irwin.

CA-27: Rep. Mike Garcia defeats nurses' advocate Pilar Schiavo.

CA-30: State Asw. Laura Friedman defeats fellow Democrat and West Hollywood City Councilmember Lindsey Horvath, succeeds Adam Schiff.

CA-47: Former Orange County GOP Chairman Scott Baugh defeats former Rep. Harley Rouda, succeeds Katie Porter.

CA-49: Rep. Brian Maryott defeats San Diego County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher.

IA-03: Rep. Zach Nunn narrowly defeats State Senate Minority Leader Janet Petersen.

MI-08: Trump administration alumnus and former TV news anchor Paul Junge narrowly defeats Rep. Dan Kildee in a rematch.

MN-03: Former State Sen. Melisa Franzen narrowly defeats State Sen. Julia Coleman, succeeds Dean Phillips.

NV-01: Rep. Mark Robertson narrowly defeats healthcare reform advocate Amy Vilela.

NV-04: State Senate President Pro Tempore Mo Denis defeats Rep. Sam Peters.

NM-01: Rep. Melanie Stansbury defeats former State House Majority Leader Nate Gentry.

NY-04: Rep. Anthony D'Esposito narrowly defeats Nassau County Legislator Kevan Abrahams.

VA-10: Rep. Jennifer Wexton narrowly defeats retired Navy captain Hung Cao in a rematch.

With 263 Republicans and 157 Democrats, 15 other House races remain uncalled by 7:00AM ET, including five in Washington (2nd, 3rd, 4th, 8th, 9th), three in California (4th, 25th and 43rd), two in Oregon (4th and 6th), Montana's 1st District, the at-large district in Alaska, Georgia's 14th District and Pennsylvania's 8th District. Louisiana's 3rd District is already confirmed to go to a runoff.

(Meanwhile, it's 7:00AM on NBC...)

(NBC chimes sound...)
(clip with Ron DeSantis proclaiming "Tonight is the beginning of a New Day for America...")
HODA KOTB: This morning, America is waking up to a new President, as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis defeats Vice President Kamala Harris in a rousing defeat of depths not seen in decades, with many states that haven't gone Republican in years doing so. Once chastised by his rivals - both Democrat and Republican - for defying science in the COVID-19 pandemic in favor of an aggressive reopening, DeSantis persists and now prepares to head from the Sunshine State to the White House, with his wife and young family in tow. We'll also hear the latest from former President Donald Trump, including his newly released statement on last night's victory.
(clip with Kamala Harris proclaiming "It was not the outcome that I wanted to see happen, but the voters made the final decision...")
CRAIG MELVIN: Also, history delayed again, as Kamala Harris fails to become Madam President as America will have to wait at least another four years before the glass ceiling shatters, eight years after Hillary Clinton's shock defeat by former President Trump.
HODA KOTB: Joe Biden's legacy in perspective. How last night's election may or may not alter the perception of his administration. Where one saw great change and a return to normalcy, while others expressed doubts on his accomplishments. How does Biden stack in the pecking order of former Presidents and their legacies?
CRAIG MELVIN: A look at Casey DeSantis, her inspiring story including overcoming breast cancer, and what we can expect from our next First Lady, could a royal pit stop have harmed Harris's chances on Election Day?, and how the markets are reacting as the DeSantis era begins in America on this Wednesday, November 6, 2024...

(Today begins...)
ANNOUNCER: From NBC News, this is Today! With Hoda Kotb and Craig Melvin, live from Studio 1A in Rockefeller Plaza!
CRAIG MELVIN: Good morning, and thank you for joining us on this Wednesday morning, November the 6th. I'm Craig Melvin here with Hoda Kotb, Al Roker who is outside our studio has the latest weather on this sunny Wednesday...

(Meanwhile, on C-SPAN...)
C-SPAN ANCHOR: Next call on open phones...Rusty Shackelford from Texas, Republican line... (This is NOT a joke, btw...)

Next: Let the Hunger, er, Cabinet Games begin...

[Kahane's Grave Is A Gender-Neutral Bathroom]

Hopefully Ron DeSantis governs the way he said he would instead of letting the Congressional GOP do everything a la Trump.

[Da2017]

I wonder what the popular vote will be. Probably somewhere in the high single to low teens. Biggest victory since George HW in 1988.

[SaintStan86]

Hopefully Ron DeSantis governs the way he said he would instead of letting the Congressional GOP do everything a la Trump.

The congressional GOP never governed Trump's way for the most part. When you hear about where Republicans "increased deficits" while "Democrats reduced deficits", remember that the GOP never had a truly conservative Congress for either George W. Bush or Trump to rely on. Clinton's boast about how he reduced the deficit is largely a by-product of the Newt Gingrich Congress, and it's important to note that there was a report on excess defense spending that was about to be released when 9/11 occurred and led to our extreme security state that the neocons were happy to push.

Because DeSantis has a big enough Republican majority to where he can largely pass a lot of what he wants, and since Republicans are going to be hard pressed by their base to ACTUALLY reduce the deficit, keep taxes low, balance the budget, shrink the size of government and encourage work instead of beefing up the welfare and warfare states, I don't see DeSantis following the rulebook of the old congressional establishment. Yes, Cornyn is most definitely middling in his political views, but the newcomers in the Senate as well as long-time conservatives like Rand Paul are going to want more than just excuses like "we're sorry we didn't do this time, but we'll try again if you reelect us". Excuses like that aren't going to cut it anymore with the base, and Republicans who either continue to push "Jesus, guns and babies" because they're too chicken to put on their big boy pants and do some ACTUAL conservative governance - even in areas where Democrats are willing to break bread - deserved to be primaried out of office.

Don't get me wrong, with a majority like this, there are going to be many disappointed Republicans if DeSantis's demands are not met or his 100 days not fulfilled because some Republicans want to play "pattycake" because some "I'm pro-life but..." voter either from an impoverished rural area government actually failed or some pressure group tries to accuse you of being "heartless" or of "killing Granny" or of "offending little Timmy" or some other excuse to break your promise to your voters or potentially violate the Constitution in the name of "family values" or "doing what the people want", to where effectively Republicans fall back on "Nothing to see here, just say the right things about Jesus, guns and babies, pass another tax cut and don't rock the boat" like past Republicans have done - even under Trump. "Compassionate conservatism" and "neoconservatism" explain why Republicans have to deal with being called "hypocrites" about the deficit, spending, reforms, etc., and it's almost why Mitch McConnell deserves to be stripped of his title as Senate Minority Leader. I would like to see Rand Paul, Ted Cruz, Ben Sasse or Josh Hawley run the damn joint...I don't care if Paul is a libertarian, Cruz is a Religious Right nut, Sasse voted to convict Trump or Hawley raised a fist over the results of 2020 and stood with Bernie in support of COVID "relief" - I care that Republicans actually follow the majority of their principles and stop worrying about some supposed "popular opinion".

[Kahane's Grave Is A Gender-Neutral Bathroom]

Hopefully Ron DeSantis governs the way he said he would instead of letting the Congressional GOP do everything a la Trump.

The congressional GOP never governed Trump's way for the most part. When you hear about where Republicans "increased deficits" while "Democrats reduced deficits", remember that the GOP never had a truly conservative Congress for either George W. Bush or Trump to rely on. Clinton's boast about how he reduced the deficit is largely a by-product of the Newt Gingrich Congress, and it's important to note that there was a report on excess defense spending that was about to be released when 9/11 occurred and led to our extreme security state that the neocons were happy to push.

Because DeSantis has a big enough Republican majority to where he can largely pass a lot of what he wants, and since Republicans are going to be hard pressed by their base to ACTUALLY reduce the deficit, keep taxes low, balance the budget, shrink the size of government and encourage work instead of beefing up the welfare and warfare states, I don't see DeSantis following the rulebook of the old congressional establishment. Yes, Cornyn is most definitely middling in his political views, but the newcomers in the Senate as well as long-time conservatives like Rand Paul are going to want more than just excuses like "we're sorry we didn't do this time, but we'll try again if you reelect us". Excuses like that aren't going to cut it anymore with the base, and Republicans who either continue to push "Jesus, guns and babies" because they're too chicken to put on their big boy pants and do some ACTUAL conservative governance - even in areas where Democrats are willing to break bread - deserved to be primaried out of office.

Don't get me wrong, with a majority like this, there are going to be many disappointed Republicans if DeSantis's demands are not met or his 100 days not fulfilled because some Republicans want to play "pattycake" because some "I'm pro-life but..." voter either from an impoverished rural area government actually failed or some pressure group tries to accuse you of being "heartless" or of "killing Granny" or of "offending little Timmy" or some other excuse to break your promise to your voters or potentially violate the Constitution in the name of "family values" or "doing what the people want", to where effectively Republicans fall back on "Nothing to see here, just say the right things about Jesus, guns and babies, pass another tax cut and don't rock the boat" like past Republicans have done - even under Trump. "Compassionate conservatism" and "neoconservatism" explain why Republicans have to deal with being called "hypocrites" about the deficit, spending, reforms, etc., and it's almost why Mitch McConnell deserves to be stripped of his title as Senate Minority Leader. I would like to see Rand Paul, Ted Cruz, Ben Sasse or Josh Hawley run the damn joint...I don't care if Paul is a libertarian, Cruz is a Religious Right nut, Sasse voted to convict Trump or Hawley raised a fist over the results of 2020 and stood with Bernie in support of COVID "relief" - I care that Republicans actually follow the majority of their principles and stop worrying about some supposed "popular opinion".

Speaking of which did DeSantis run on any policies that were different besides actually doing what he promised? You don't win Delaware and Illinois on the current GOP platform. Are they finally accepting climate change or the ACA or something?

[SaintStan86]

Hopefully Ron DeSantis governs the way he said he would instead of letting the Congressional GOP do everything a la Trump.

The congressional GOP never governed Trump's way for the most part. When you hear about where Republicans "increased deficits" while "Democrats reduced deficits", remember that the GOP never had a truly conservative Congress for either George W. Bush or Trump to rely on. Clinton's boast about how he reduced the deficit is largely a by-product of the Newt Gingrich Congress, and it's important to note that there was a report on excess defense spending that was about to be released when 9/11 occurred and led to our extreme security state that the neocons were happy to push.

Because DeSantis has a big enough Republican majority to where he can largely pass a lot of what he wants, and since Republicans are going to be hard pressed by their base to ACTUALLY reduce the deficit, keep taxes low, balance the budget, shrink the size of government and encourage work instead of beefing up the welfare and warfare states, I don't see DeSantis following the rulebook of the old congressional establishment. Yes, Cornyn is most definitely middling in his political views, but the newcomers in the Senate as well as long-time conservatives like Rand Paul are going to want more than just excuses like "we're sorry we didn't do this time, but we'll try again if you reelect us". Excuses like that aren't going to cut it anymore with the base, and Republicans who either continue to push "Jesus, guns and babies" because they're too chicken to put on their big boy pants and do some ACTUAL conservative governance - even in areas where Democrats are willing to break bread - deserved to be primaried out of office.

Don't get me wrong, with a majority like this, there are going to be many disappointed Republicans if DeSantis's demands are not met or his 100 days not fulfilled because some Republicans want to play "pattycake" because some "I'm pro-life but..." voter either from an impoverished rural area government actually failed or some pressure group tries to accuse you of being "heartless" or of "killing Granny" or of "offending little Timmy" or some other excuse to break your promise to your voters or potentially violate the Constitution in the name of "family values" or "doing what the people want", to where effectively Republicans fall back on "Nothing to see here, just say the right things about Jesus, guns and babies, pass another tax cut and don't rock the boat" like past Republicans have done - even under Trump. "Compassionate conservatism" and "neoconservatism" explain why Republicans have to deal with being called "hypocrites" about the deficit, spending, reforms, etc., and it's almost why Mitch McConnell deserves to be stripped of his title as Senate Minority Leader. I would like to see Rand Paul, Ted Cruz, Ben Sasse or Josh Hawley run the damn joint...I don't care if Paul is a libertarian, Cruz is a Religious Right nut, Sasse voted to convict Trump or Hawley raised a fist over the results of 2020 and stood with Bernie in support of COVID "relief" - I care that Republicans actually follow the majority of their principles and stop worrying about some supposed "popular opinion".

Speaking of which did DeSantis run on any policies that were different besides actually doing what he promised? You don't win Delaware and Illinois on the current GOP platform. Are they finally accepting climate change or the ACA or something?

DeSantis effectively ran as the Reagan to Trump's Nixon, espoused his conservative "record of success" in the most important swing state in America, and vowed to run a 50-state campaign by running up the score in MAGA regions, getting back sizable chunks of the suburban vote that Trump lost in 2016, capitalized on GOP gains among demographic groups including Latinos, took Trump's line on gays and lesbians (where he is effectively nonchalant compared to past Republicans) and embraced effectively the Log Cabin Repubicans' on issues like gender transition (e.g. "Gender Altering Drugs Are For ADULTS Only!"), and also got a break through Andrew Yang siphoning off some more liberal votes.

In other words, his campaign left no state behind compared to past Republicans who in the past would have simply written off certain states for not being "red enough". Many voters were also swayed by concerns about the debt default and China, as well as the Harris campaign effectively self-inflicting damage upon itself as you've seen in this TL.

And...it's not over yet, but getting there...

[BigVic]

How do you customise Senate maps

[Kahane's Grave Is A Gender-Neutral Bathroom]

Hopefully Ron DeSantis governs the way he said he would instead of letting the Congressional GOP do everything a la Trump.

The congressional GOP never governed Trump's way for the most part. When you hear about where Republicans "increased deficits" while "Democrats reduced deficits", remember that the GOP never had a truly conservative Congress for either George W. Bush or Trump to rely on. Clinton's boast about how he reduced the deficit is largely a by-product of the Newt Gingrich Congress, and it's important to note that there was a report on excess defense spending that was about to be released when 9/11 occurred and led to our extreme security state that the neocons were happy to push.

Because DeSantis has a big enough Republican majority to where he can largely pass a lot of what he wants, and since Republicans are going to be hard pressed by their base to ACTUALLY reduce the deficit, keep taxes low, balance the budget, shrink the size of government and encourage work instead of beefing up the welfare and warfare states, I don't see DeSantis following the rulebook of the old congressional establishment. Yes, Cornyn is most definitely middling in his political views, but the newcomers in the Senate as well as long-time conservatives like Rand Paul are going to want more than just excuses like "we're sorry we didn't do this time, but we'll try again if you reelect us". Excuses like that aren't going to cut it anymore with the base, and Republicans who either continue to push "Jesus, guns and babies" because they're too chicken to put on their big boy pants and do some ACTUAL conservative governance - even in areas where Democrats are willing to break bread - deserved to be primaried out of office.

Don't get me wrong, with a majority like this, there are going to be many disappointed Republicans if DeSantis's demands are not met or his 100 days not fulfilled because some Republicans want to play "pattycake" because some "I'm pro-life but..." voter either from an impoverished rural area government actually failed or some pressure group tries to accuse you of being "heartless" or of "killing Granny" or of "offending little Timmy" or some other excuse to break your promise to your voters or potentially violate the Constitution in the name of "family values" or "doing what the people want", to where effectively Republicans fall back on "Nothing to see here, just say the right things about Jesus, guns and babies, pass another tax cut and don't rock the boat" like past Republicans have done - even under Trump. "Compassionate conservatism" and "neoconservatism" explain why Republicans have to deal with being called "hypocrites" about the deficit, spending, reforms, etc., and it's almost why Mitch McConnell deserves to be stripped of his title as Senate Minority Leader. I would like to see Rand Paul, Ted Cruz, Ben Sasse or Josh Hawley run the damn joint...I don't care if Paul is a libertarian, Cruz is a Religious Right nut, Sasse voted to convict Trump or Hawley raised a fist over the results of 2020 and stood with Bernie in support of COVID "relief" - I care that Republicans actually follow the majority of their principles and stop worrying about some supposed "popular opinion".

Speaking of which did DeSantis run on any policies that were different besides actually doing what he promised? You don't win Delaware and Illinois on the current GOP platform. Are they finally accepting climate change or the ACA or something?

DeSantis effectively ran as the Reagan to Trump's Nixon, espoused his conservative "record of success" in the most important swing state in America, and vowed to run a 50-state campaign by running up the score in MAGA regions, getting back sizable chunks of the suburban vote that Trump lost in 2016, capitalized on GOP gains among demographic groups including Latinos, took Trump's line on gays and lesbians (where he is effectively nonchalant compared to past Republicans) and embraced effectively the Log Cabin Repubicans' on issues like gender transition (e.g. "Gender Altering Drugs Are For ADULTS Only!"), and also got a break through Andrew Yang siphoning off some more liberal votes.

In other words, his campaign left no state behind compared to past Republicans who in the past would have simply written off certain states for not being "red enough". Many voters were also swayed by concerns about the debt default and China, as well as the Harris campaign effectively self-inflicting damage upon itself as you've seen in this TL.

And...it's not over yet, but getting there...

Even in OTL if the Republicans did this they could easily win the popular vote.

[PRESIDENT STANTON]

I have an idea based on what we know of DeSantis so far, he has ambitions to do to the country what he has done in Florida; its a template which I imagine he'll utillize. And since he now has bragging rights on who owns the kind of victory that has come to pass, he will likely fulfil his agenda. As we have seen in this TL many of the Senate and House Republican's who ran on a localized version of DeSantis's creed, will be only too willing to go along with the DeSantis agenda. Cornyn for his part, might have little choice in the matter, as the gift of the majority leader's position pretty much belongs to the caucus that elects him. The same applies to Speaker of the House, Scalise. The caucus are beholden to DeSantis, so there will be unified purpose. The Democrats will have to accept that they don't have much say in the matter. They can protest on the streets, go on CNN and cry like whiny little bi**he's, who need their crayons and coloring books. I could imagine that Harris and other Democrats with the help of CNN and other left wing media outlets, will try to "Pee in the cup" (Piers Morgan, 2024), probably trying to promote a theory such as, that China interfered in the election or use the Russia 🇷🇺 interfered in the election scam again and that DeSantis colluded with Russia 🇷🇺. They probably reckon, "hey if it worked first time, why not again! People are so dumb...anything to derail DeSantis". They'll probably try some crap like that and find it lasts less than a weekend news cycle and boom! They are so screwed! So back to the Republican incoming Republican congressional crop, they'll be DeSantis's willing handmaidens, as he will have something that no Republican President since Reagan had, a genuine honeymoon period and knowing the opportunist that DeSantis is, he'll take advantage of this factor. As for the Supreme Court, I can imagine some liberal SCJ will will unexpectedly die, or Clarence Thomas will call it quits, and DeSantis will appoint Florida Supreme Court justice, Barbara Lagoa as a replacement. Biden will gracefully recede into his retirement and he and Jill will focus on the plans for a Joseph Robinette Biden Presidential Library in Wilmington, Delaware or at one of his old alma mater's. Harris for her part will be a spent force and will likely either stay in Washington and join some think tank or a K Street lobbying firm or go back to San Francisco and join a law firm.

[Kahane's Grave Is A Gender-Neutral Bathroom]

I'm curious how DeSantis will keep the Trump camp in line considering a significant part of the base are poorer Whites who like entitlements.

[SaintStan86]

UPDATE: Another sad update to report, this time on the Democratic side. Longtime Missoula Mayor John Engen, who I had pegged as the Democratic opponent to Rep. Ryan Zinke in this TL for Montana's 1st District, died last week after a battle with pancreatic cancer at the age of 57. Prayers be with the people of Missoula - a place that as a preteen I had the pleasure of visiting on a long roadtrip from Seattle back home to Texas - and with Engen's soul and the people who loved him and were blessed to have known him...may his memory be a blessing. As with the race in New York where a Republican nominee died IRL, I have also substituted his name. And yes, this race is in fact competitive in this TL...

And now, back to our usual timeline format...

"Congrats to President-elect, and the greatest Governor in the history of Florida, Ronald Dion DeSantis! He is going to be a fantastic President who will MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN like never before!

After four very, very miserable years of an illegitimate and creepy President Joe Biden - aka Joe the Basement Boy - I am eagerly looking forward to seeing the GREAT and AMAZING progress our country made when I was your President - still the greatest this country has ever seen - restored in all its living colors. Ron DeSantis is TOUGH on borders, TOUGH on crime, TOUGH on China, TOUGH on the warmongers who favor endless wars over ACTUAL peace and prosperity and TOUGH on the HORRIBLE NATIONAL DEBT that I deeply regret adding to, thanks to some very bad advisors like Mitch "the Ditch" McConnell, who insisted I go along with his crummy desire to send checks and bankrupt our country instead of getting Americans back to work and reopening America like we should have when the WONDERFUL vaccines came out - vaccines that represent the greatest victory for humanity in our nation's history!

Enjoy your retirement Joe Biden, because that creaky Amtrak ride back to Delaware will be the most fun you'll ever have in your presidency!"

-Former President Donald Trump

November 5, 2024
DeSANTIS ELECTED 47TH PRESIDENT, DEFEATS HARRIS IN ELECTORAL BLOWOUT; REPUBLICANS GAIN HISTORIC MAJORITIES IN HOUSE, SENATE
On Tuesday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was elected the 47th President of the United States, becoming the first Italian-American and first resident of the Sunshine State to win a presidential election, winning 53 percent of the vote in the biggest electoral blowout since 1988, when Republican Vice President George H.W. Bush also won by 51 percent in his defeat of Democratic Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis. Vice President Kamala Harris, who had hoped to become the first woman elected President as well as the first Asian-American one, only received 40 percent of the vote, the worst performance for a Democrat since George McGovern's 1972 landslide defeat by incumbent President Richard Nixon, with Andrew Yang and his Forward movement receiving 6 percent of the vote nationally.

As of 7:00AM ET, over 147 million votes were cast across the country, with DeSantis winning over 76 million votes and Harris over 57 million, followed by Yang with nearly 9 million votes, with several million more (mostly on the West Coast) to be counted. The race was called for DeSantis during the 11:00PM ET hour, when the networks called Minnesota for DeSantis, making him the first Republican to win the upper Midwestern state since 1972 when Richard Nixon won it in his national landslide; it was the only state to have never been won by Ronald Reagan, who narrowly lost it in his 1984 reelection against favorite son and former Vice President Walter Mondale. Washington and Oregon are the last remaining holdouts for the 2024 election, with the most recent call coming early Wednesday morning for Illinois, which narrowly voted for DeSantis with massive gains both in downstate Illinois and in the suburbs of Chicago.

"I am not excited, but rather I am grateful to be your next President of these great United States of America!", DeSantis proclaimed to his overcapacity victory party at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, an affluent suburb of Jacksonville that is home to the headquarters of the PGA Tour, for which the TPC Sawgrass's signature event, The Players Championship, is considered one of the tour's major tournaments. With mostly clear skies under the Florida moonlight, for which he remarked "There is no greater sunshine than what you see here in Florida. But even better than the Florida sunshine, is being under the moonlight right here in Florida!", and fireworks in the background at the end of his speech, DeSantis vowed "the beginning of a New Day for America", promising to bring the same "America First" conservative leadership DeSantis became known for - both in praise and in scorn - in Florida, and which defined the presidency of former President Donald Trump, who along with his family was in attendance on Tuesday.

Joining his wife Casey and their three young children were Vice President-elect and former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina Governor who will now become the second female and Asian-American Vice President (and the first Republican in both cases) in American history. Following the victory party, Haley tweeted "Eternally grateful to @RonDeSantis and the millions of voters who voted to Stand FOR America and against the enemies that seek to divide us! America is back! #FreedomMatters #MAGAForever", in a tweet that at one point broke Twiiter's servers for nearly 10 minutes.

While the mood in Florida was celebratory and festive, the mood outside San Francisco City Hall, by contrast, went from energetic and packed with celebrity to more resemblant of a wake - with a brief respite upon California, long one of the most liberal states in the country, being called for favorite daughter Harris when its polls closed at 8:00PM PT. In her concession speech, Harris looked back on her time as Vice President, "It has been the honor of a lifetime to be your Vice President, and I am especially proud of the hard work and dedication that you all have given to this historic presidential campaign", and urged the crowd in San Francisco to "not let this disappointment lead us down a road of despair", touting the accomplishments of the presidency of Joe Biden, and thanking her family as well as her running mate, Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan, along with her supporters which she called "the wind in my sails that keep me going, like a cool Pacific breeze".

While DeSantis and Harris, rain or shine - and definitely far more of the latter despite rain eventually falling in Northern California overnight, chose to hold their watch parties outdoors, Yang opted instead for a hotel ballroom at the Hilton hotel near the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, N.J., outside of New York City, joined by his supporters as well as his running mate, former GOP Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, known for his staunch opposition to Trump and his service on the controversial January 6th Committee. Yang reflected on his role "leading a movement to forever change the trajectory of America, with a movement that puts people before politics, and country before party", emphasizing such issues as voting and campaign finance reforms, "human-centered capitalism" and a tech-focused job training initiative, and vowing "Mark my words, our movement for a better, more unified America is only getting started!". While Yang drew support from both parties, including Kinzinger's fellow Trump critic in former Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming and other like-minded, mostly moderate Republicans, most of his support ended up coming from moderate Democrats and some progressives disillusioned with Harris.

Fast national ratings across all of television exceeded more than 70 million households, amounting to one-third of the country, including more than 15 million on Spanish-language networks such as Univision and Telemundo, as well as an additional 20 million streaming users on such services as Peacock, HBO Max and Paramount+. The coverage is most notable for CNN, where longtime political anchor Wolf Blitzer recently announced his retirement with this being his final presidential election, intending to retire sometime after DeSantis is inaugurated in January.

Republicans also made historic gains in the Senate, where the party won ten Senate seats held by Democrats on Election Night in addition to the win by default last June in California, where longtime retiring Sen. Dianne Feinstein is set to be succeeded by outgoing House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who defeated former U.S. Ambassador Ric Grenell despite the latter's endorsement from former President Trump as well as outsized support in the San Francisco Bay Area, where his potential to become California's first openly gay Senator drew outsized support. The party gained open seats in West Virginia, Delaware, Michigan and Minnesota, while also defeating incumbent Democrats in Ohio, Wisconsin, Virginia, New Jersey, New Mexico and Nevada. Four states - Pennsylvania, Washington, Montana and Maine have undecided races - with the latter expected to take days for a winner to be declared due to ranked-choice voting. So far, the Republicans have won 63 Senate seats - the most ever in the party's history - to 33 for the Democratic coalition of 32 Democrats as well as the Vermont Progressive Party's David Zuckerman, who won a three-way battle with the endorsement of outgoing Sen. Bernie Sanders.

At the House level, Republicans have made slight gains with 263 seats won - three more than their current levels at 260 from their surprisingly strong 2022 midterms, with Democrats winning 157 seats. 15 seats do not have a winner, with ten of these being undecided races on the West Coast as well as the congressional race in Alaska's lone congressional seat, where Republican incumbent and 2008 vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin only has a plurality of 45.86 percent against a Democrat, a more moderate Republican challenger and a Libertarian candidate.

Of the other four congressional seats outside the largely mail-in heavy West Coast, the most intriguing of the uncalled races is in Georgia's 14th District, where President-elect DeSantis won the northwest Georgia- and northwest suburban Atlanta-based district convincingly with over 81 percent of the vote, but where former Republican-turned-Constitution Party incumbent Marjorie Taylor Greene is trying to avoid a runoff with 49.11 percent. Her Democratic challenger Wendy Davis (NOT the former Texas gubernatorial candidate) has 22.85 percent, followed by a large number of write-in votes totaling 26.54 percent of the vote, with the lion's share of the latter presumed to be for GOP write-in candidate Jennifer Strahan, who qualified as a write-in candidate last September but who was also joined by various unlisted write-in choices from "Bugs Bunny", "Jimmy Carter", "Elvis Presley" and "Santa Claus" to even "Ted Turner", "Charles Barkley", "Robert E. Lee", "Lucas K. Duke" and "Harambe", perhaps to potentially depress Strahan's write-in chances enough to potentially deny a one-on-one matchup with the controversial Greene as Greene is overwhelmingly favored in a runoff with Davis in the most Republican congressional district in Georgia, and one of the most Republican in the nation.

The two other races that remain uncalled are in Montana's 1st District in the western part of the state - where Rep. Ryan Zinke is locked in a tight race with Democratic State Sen. Ellie Boldman, and in Pennsylvania's 8th District in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area where Rep. Jim Bognet is narrowly trailing former Rep. Matt Cartwright in a rematch of their 2022 race. Louisiana's 3rd District is expected to host a runoff on December 7th in the open seat being vacated by Rep. Clay Higgins, who announced he would not seek reelection and instead run for the U.S. Senate at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee against embattled incumbent Sen. Bill Cassidy in 2026; Cassidy was one of seven U.S. Senators to vote to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial for "incitement of insurrection".

November 6, 2024
BREAKING NEWS: DeSANTIS TRANSITION TEAM NAMES CHIEF OF STAFF, COMMUNICATIONS TEAM
On Tuesday, the transition team for President-elect Ron DeSantis named its first appointment to the DeSantis administration, as former White House Chiefs of Staff Andrew Card and Mick Mulvaney sought to put together "the most experienced, conservative and inventive Cabinet in the history of the United States, one that will deliver RESULTS for the American people". Not surprisingly, that first endorsement was for the President-elect's Chief of Staff, as DeSantis selected U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds to serve as the outgoing Florida Governor's main point guy on the direction of his Cabinet. After being introduced by Mulvaney, Donalds thanked DeSantis for his "enduring friendship in ensuring that Florida beckons as a beacon of light to America and the world", and vowed to "give it my all in ensuring the smoothest-run White House Americans have ever witnessed", calling the appointment "the opportunity of a lifetime".

The Brooklyn-born Donalds, who recently turned 46 last month and was raised in Brooklyn's Crown Heights neighborhood by a single mother, will become the first-ever African-American White House Chief of Staff. Prior to his election to Florida's 19th District, which is based in Naples, in 2020, Donalds was a financial services professional and served two terms in the Florida House of Representatives from a Naples-based district, with his second term dovetailing with the first two years of DeSantis's time as Governor. He is one of the most conservative members of Congress, and a prominent Black anti-communist in the Republican conference. Despite having been reelected last night to a third term in his heavily Republican district, Donalds will not take his seat in the upcoming 119th Congress, preferring instead to leave the seat vacant when Friday, January 3, 2025 commences.

In addition to Donalds, the transition team also announced the return of former White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany, who will return to her previous role under the administration of former President Donald Trump, having served in that capacity during the last months of the Trump presidency and having served the entirety of her tenure during the COVID-19 pandemic. Unlike the case with the pandemic, in which in-person contact was largely limited by social distancing and other habits to mitigate community spread of the contagious disease that McEnany herself contracted around the same time Trump himself did. In addition to McEnany, who described herself as "stoked to join the administration of the greatest Governor our nation has ever seen, and soon to be our greatest President", she will be joined by Christina Pushaw, a California-born DeSantis alum who joins the DeSantis administration as White House Communications Director, with McEnany joking "She's my Doublemint twin!" during her introduction.

November 6, 2024
MISSOURI REPUBLICAN ALLEGES "VOTER FRAUD" IN CLOSE RACE FOR GOVERNOR
Narrowly trailing his Democratic rival in the race for Governor of Missouri on Wednesday, Republican Secretary of State and nominee Jay Ashcroft brought up allegations of voter fraud involving his contest against his predecessor as Secretary of State, Democratic nominee and 2016 U.S. Senate nominee Jason Kander, who as of Wednesday morning was narrowly ahead with 48.7 percent to 48.1 for his GOP rival. In bringing up the allegations, Ashcroft pointed to "corruption from polling workers and election handlers in St. Louis and Kansas City who knowingly violated Missouri law in stuffing ballot boxes with dead people, provisional ballots and duplicates", and also announced the launch of a 24-hour hotline for "voters who feel that they have been disenfranchised by Democrat poll workers". Several thousand absentee ballots and late boxes remain to be counted with 99 percent of the boxes in and a recount on the horizon.

Unsurprisingly, Kander responded to the allegations during a press conference in Kansas City, where the Democrat, who pushed then-Sen. Roy Blunt into a surprisingly close reelection victory even as Donald Trump was winning the presidential vote statewide in 2016, once pursued a run for Mayor before dropping his bid to seek treatment for mental health and depression concerns, called Ashcroft out over his "crying wolf about blatantly false suspicions" and proclaimed "the Governor's Mansion belongs to the people of Missouri, NOT those who think they're entitled to it". The incumbent Republican, Mike Parson, is term-limited and could not seek reelection to a third term, having partially filled most of the term won by disgraced former Gov. Eric Greitens in 2016, who later pursued an ultimately unsuccessful bid for the U.S. Senate in 2022.

Next post: More Cabinet developments and close race announcements...

[Kahane's Grave Is A Gender-Neutral Bathroom]

Rest In Peace Democratic Party (1828-2024)

[2016]

2024 Presidential Election Popular Vote (provided by SaintStan86)

Ron DeSantis/Nikki Haley (Republican) 76M+ Votes = 53 %
Kamala Harris/Gary Peters (Democrat) 57M+ Votes = 40 %
Andrew Yang/Adam Kinzinger (Forward) 9M+ Votes = 6 %
Others 1 %

Last time a Presidential Nominee won 53 % of the Vote was then Senator Barack Obama in 2008.

Total Turnout as of 7am ET Wednesday November 6th 2024: 147M+ Votes.

I think when all is said and done it will exceed 150M+ Turnout. That's lower than the 2020 Pandemic Election which had 158M+ Votes BUT not too much lower. I think the reason for this as I outlined previously is that there were two Women on each side of the Presidential Ticket as well as Andrew Yang.

Pennsylvania Senate is still not called. Probably means McCormick has gotten this close enough it might trigger an Automatic Recount in the State.

As for the Washington State Senate Race between DelBene and McMorris-Rogers I think that will close up as more Vote that was dropped off on ED gets tallied. Will it be enough for the Republican to overtake the Democrat? No one knows!

Having 46 % of the Vote in the 1st Round it looks like Palin will win Re-Election.

263 Seats in the House means Republicans are very close to a 2/3 threshold and could actually check their own President. There are pretty close to overriding a Presidential Veto if they want to which I doubt.

Great Appointments by President-elect DeSantis in selecting Byron Donalds, Kayleigh McEnany & Christina Pushaw. I called that so a little tap on my back Great Job SaintStan86