US Senate races **live commentary thread**

[Mr. Morden]

Well, looks like the forum was down most of the day, but we still have three uncalled senate races:

Montana, North Dakota, Nevada

[Franzl]

What a truly glorious night across the country in Senate races.

[Mr. Morden]

CNN's numbers at the moment:

Montana - 39% reporting
Tester 52%
Rehberg 43%

Nevada - 92% reporting
Heller 46%
Berkley 45%

North Dakota - 91% reporting
Heitkamp 50%
Berg 50%

Anyone familiar enough with these states to handicap this, based on what has and hasn't reported?

[Miles]

GEAUX HEIDI!!!

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

55 Democratic Senators is certainly not what I expected from this election. Too bad the House was too gerrymandered, or it would have clearly flipped.

I'm assuming that Democrats retain MT and ND, but don't pickup NV. They already picked up ME, MA, IN, and lost NE.

[LiberalJunkie]

Still votes in Clark county to be counted it will be close tho. Heidi is doing amazingly well winning lots of counties in the west, hope she pulls it out!!

[SetonHallPirate]

I don't think there's enough vote left for Berg to beat out Heitkamp. Admittedly, I had written off both Tester and Heitkamp...shows you how smart I was in that regard.

I think Dean Heller will survive in Nevada, however. Most of the vote is out, and none of the election day voting in Washoe County (read: Reno) has been counted yet.

I may have to rethink the GOP taking over the Senate in 2014 as a given...I will say that regardless of what happens there, the Democrats will hold the Senate in 2016, and perhaps at a filibuster-proof level.

[Fmr. Gov. NickG]

Assuming the Dems win at least one of the uncalled races, this was the worst performance by a major party in a Senate cycle since 1964.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

Looks like Nebraska may be the only Republican pickup in a year many expected them to at least expand their caucus, if not win a majority.

LOL

[morgieb]

Heitkamp and Heller look to be in the hot seat, no idea about Montana until we get more of the vote.

EDIT: Looks like Tester is ok.

[BM]

WTF Senator Berkley is going to lose

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

North Dakota (99.8% in)

Heitkamp: 50.6%
Berg: 49.4%

We can safely call it for Heidi

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

Heitkamp has this.

Feeling good about Tester too.

Wow. D+2. Amazing.

[retromike22]

Nevada has been called for Berkley

If Tester holds on, that would mean only 1 incumbent Senator lost: Scott Brown.

[SetonHallPirate]

North Dakota (99.8% in)

Heitkamp: 50.6%
Berg: 49.4%

We can safely call it for Heidi

It's 3,500 votes, and there's one precinct left (of 14) in a county of 8,500 people. Heitkamp will win this race...means we'll have a 24-9 edge in this class for the next six years, which is remarkable. 2014 should be a GOP year in the Senate, as we are defending some seats we have no business having (20-13), but 2016 should be a Democratic year as they're defending 24 of 34.

[Ogre Mage]

One can see from my other posts that I thought Tester had a solid chance, but I am surprised by Heitkamp.  And she deserves it, after the great campaign that she ran in a tough state.

On a partisan note, probably the two most upsetting Senate losses for liberals in the 2010 cycle were seeing Ted Kennedy's seat in MA slip away and Russ Feingold losing in WI.  With Warren and Baldwin winning, those losses have been avenged.

I'm glad that Mourdock lost, but does anyone else have the feeling that Donnelly will be the new Ben Nelson?

[Seattle]

I'm so excited/happy about Heitkamp! They should call it already! 100% on the vote in 50.5-49.5.

NV has been called for Heller.

I think Tester is gonna pull it out in MT too.

[Fmr. Gov. NickG]

For some reason the networks are only reporting 93% of the vote as in in ND even though all precincts appear to be reporting.

[BM]

I am absolutely devastated. Happy for Heitkamp though (and all the other victories).

[socaldem]

Not only did Dems win big in the senate but this is a fabulous group of senators.

I am so glad Heitkamp and Tester appear to have one--they are great politicians, seem like genuinely good people, and will represent their states well. I think they both will be reelected again in the future. Now that he has dispatched Rehberg, Tester has proven his mettle.

Kaine and especially Warren will be great additions to the senate. Warren is a top-notch scholar and public servant, even though, I found her campaign skills could be improved.

Heinrich and Murphy (despite his troubled campaign) will be capable lifers and will some day wield great power as committee chairmen.

While I wish Berkely would have won, she was not a great candidate and would likely have ended up losing in the next election. I look forward to seeing Christine Cortez-Masto or Ross Miller or Stephen Horsford challenging Heller at some point in the future.

I was excited about Carmona, but after his Candy Crowley remarks, I couldn't help but second guess and consider whether the sexism slams against him had some merit... it was a tough state and he didn't prove to be the candidate that could close the deal.

[BM]

Agreed. Tonight's Senate wins make me proud to be a Democrat.

[BM]

I'm also surprised by how NOT close Nebraska ended up being:

58.2
41.8

People really had me convinced Kerrey would make it a contest at the end, but I should have trusted my initial instincts.

[LiberalJunkie]

Great job Heidi!! Well deserved after she lost in 2000 cause she was diagnosed with Breast cancer.

[opebo]

I am absolutely devastated. Happy for Heitkamp though (and all the other victories).

My sympathies.  I also feel very disappointed about Nevada, though less due to a personal preference for the candidate and more because I hate to see a failure of a Democratic machine.  But overall the news is so wonderful this is a small setback..

[BM]

Final Hawaii result:

Hirono - 62.6
Lingle - 37-4

So much for keeping it close. I guess it's an inverse of Nebraska.