Explicitly Generic Elections Timeline

[LLR]

Great timeline!

My favorite kind: those influenced by many drugs

[Del Tachi]

nice maps

[hurricanehink]

Interesting take on 2016 Can't wait to see how many EV's in the end.

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Anderson Cooper: We'd like to welcome back our viewers in the United States and abroad; my name is Anderson Cooper and right now CNN is continuing its live coverage of Election Night 2016. At this moment, president-elect Hillary Rodham Clinton has just finished a passionate victory speech at her campaign headquarters in Brooklyn, New York after appearing to have defeated Donald Trump in a landslide to become the first female President of the United States. Let's take a look back at some of the more memorable moments of her speech:

____________________

"Hello, New York! Hello, America! Thank you, thank you so much!

Tonight, America has made history. Decades from now, our children and grandchildren will look back and remember the days when women weren't given equal pay for equal work, when minorities were treated unfairly because of the color of their skin even decades after the passage of the Civil Rights Act, when the middle class and the lower class could barely survive off of inexcusably low wages. Decades from now, our children and grandchildren will look back and remember the days when members of the Muslim and LGBT communities were discriminated against for no apparent reason other than hatred and fear, when intolerance and division had all too large a role to play in our American community.

Decades from now, our children and grandchildren will also remember the night when the first woman was elected President of the United States. The night when we cracked the highest glass ceiling of them all.

But America, tonight will not just be remembered as the night the first woman was elected President of the United States. Tonight will be remembered as the night the American people - the American people of all genders, races, religions, orientations, cultures, and backgrounds - came together to promote love over hate, to promote unity over divisiveness, to promote diversity over uniformity. Tonight will be remembered as the night the American people took a stand to fight for a better future, and nothing could make me happier than to lead us on the way..."

____________________

Anderson Cooper: Secretary Clinton clearly pivoting to her base in the section of her speech we just played; she later went on to emphasize her desire to reach across the aisle to GOP voters and create, in her words, a "bipartisan coalition to make America whole again."

Jake Tapper: Clearly not the most subdued speech she's ever given, but also one that seems to have triggered a mostly positive public reaction. Of course, I doubt anyone on the Clinton campaign will forget any time soon that her Administration will have quite a large amount of work to do when it comes to convincing disenfranchised voters to reenter the mainstream of American politics; polls leading up to the election indicated record low approval ratings for both parties' nominees among those identifying as members of the other party.

Anderson Cooper: Absolutely. However, nobody can doubt that now is a time of celebration for the Clinton campaign and its supporters. This election will arguably go down in history as one of the nastiest we've ever seen; both sides were unafraid to launch ravaging negative attacks against the other and neither seemed keen to back down even as the outcome of the election appeared to become more and more clear. However, election returns suggest that Secretary Clinton will not only win this election, but perhaps win a landslide victory for the Democrats that we haven't seen since the election of President Lyndon Johnson in 1964.

Jake Tapper: Definitely. However, Election Night is not over yet, and polls are still open in a number of states around the nation that could determine who will control both chambers of Congress and multiple state governorships over the next few years. First, let's look at updated numbers from the presidential race in states in which a winner has not yet been declared, as well as in the states that closed their polls at 10:00 PM EST:

ALABAMA - PRESIDENT (89% Precincts Reporting)

Donald Trump - 53.1%
Hillary Clinton - 41.1%

KANSAS - PRESIDENT (86% Precincts Reporting)

Hillary Clinton - 48.5%
Donald Trump - 45.9%

MISSISSIPPI - PRESIDENT (91% Precincts Reporting)

Donald Trump - 48.0%
Hillary Clinton - 48.0%

TENNESSEE - PRESIDENT (87% Precincts Reporting)

Donald Trump - 51.2%
Hillary Clinton - 46.9%

TEXAS - PRESIDENT (69% Precincts Reporting)

Donald Trump - 47.6%
Hillary Clinton - 47.3%

ARKANSAS - PRESIDENT (65% Precincts Reporting)

Donald Trump - 51.3%
Hillary Clinton - 44.7%

LOUISIANA - PRESIDENT (42% Precincts Reporting)

Donald Trump - 49.4%
Hillary Clinton - 47.6%

NEBRASKA - PRESIDENT (51% Precincts Reporting)

Hillary Clinton - 48.5%
Donald Trump - 44.0%

SOUTH DAKOTA - PRESIDENT (59% Precincts Reporting)

Hillary Clinton - 51.9%
Donald Trump - 39.7%

WYOMING - PRESIDENT (68% Precincts Reporting)

Donald Trump - 42.3%
Hillary Clinton - 39.9%
Gary Johnson - 15.9%

IDAHO - PRESIDENT (14% Precincts Reporting)

Hillary Clinton - 42.3%
Donald Trump - 36.8%
Gary Johnson - 17.3%

IOWA - PRESIDENT (5% Precincts Reporting)

Hillary Clinton - 59.5%
Donald Trump - 36.7%

MONTANA - PRESIDENT (13% Precincts Reporting)

Hillary Clinton - 53.0%
Donald Trump - 30.7%
Gary Johnson - 14.8%

NEVADA - PRESIDENT (6% Precincts Reporting)

Hillary Clinton - 64.7%
Gary Johnson - 18.7%
Donald Trump - 16.3%

NORTH DAKOTA - PRESIDENT (15% Precincts Reporting)

Donald Trump - 45.7%
Hillary Clinton - 45.1%

UTAH - PRESIDENT (7% Precincts Reporting)

Hillary Clinton - 40.2%
Donald Trump - 38.7%
Gary Johnson - 20.1%

Anderson Cooper: At this time, CNN is able to project that the states of Iowa, Montana, Nevada, and South Dakota will all be won by Secretary Clinton, while the state of Alabama will vote for Donald Trump.

Jake Tapper: Absolutely fascinating. Hillary Clinton has now increased her total in the Electoral College to 333 Electoral Votes - now officially above the total won by Barack Obama in 2012 - and will likely continue to increase her lead as heavily Democratic states on the Pacific like California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington begin to report their results later this evening.

Anderson Cooper: It should also be noted that Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson is actually leading Donald Trump in the state of Nevada, currently maintaining 18.7% of the vote in that state compared to only 16.3% for Trump. Of course, we've already called the state for Hillary Clinton, but the statistic is fascinating nonetheless. Here's a map of the current standings in the Electoral College:

Dark Red - Democratic Victory (333 EV)
Light Red - Democratic Lead (19 EV)
Dark Blue - Republican Victory (29 EV)
Light Blue - Republican Lead (76 EV)
Gray - Polls Open (81 EV)

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Jake Tapper: Amazing. However, while the result in the presidential race may be clear at this time, a number of seats in the House and the Senate are still up for grabs that could determine who controls both chambers of Congress over the next two years. Furthermore, a number of states are seeing highly contested gubernatorial elections tonight that could see either party make significant gains. Let's take a look at those races:

NEW HAMPSHIRE - GOVERNOR (100% Precincts Reporting)

Colin Van Ostern - 48.9%
Christopher Sununu - 48.9%

NORTH CAROLINA - SENATE (100% Precincts Reporting)

✓ Deborah Ross - 50.3%
Richard Burr - 48.5%

WEST VIRGINIA - GOVERNOR (100% Precincts Reporting)

Jim Justice - 49.3%
Bill Cole - 49.2%

MISSOURI - SENATE (99% Precincts Reporting)

✓ Jason Kander - 49.8%
Roy Blunt - 48.7%

ARIZONA - SENATE (50% Precincts Reporting)

Ann Kirkpatrick - 52.6%
John McCain - 47.1%

LOUISIANA - SENATE (42% Precincts Reporting)

Foster Campbell - 35.4%
John Neely Kennedy - 21.2%
Charles Boustany - 11.9%
Caroline Fayard - 10.7%
John Fleming - 10.6%
Rob Maness - 6.7%
Joseph Cao - 3.5%

IDAHO - SENATE (14% Precincts Reporting)

✓ Mike Crapo - 76.1%
Jerry Sturgill - 23.9%

IOWA - SENATE (5% Precincts Reporting)

Chuck Grassley - 54.9%
Patty Judge - 43.2%

MONTANA - GOVERNOR (13% Precincts Reporting)

Steve Bullock - 52.7%
Greg Gianforte - 45.6%

NEVADA - SENATE (6% Precincts Reporting)

Catherine Cortez Masto - 53.6%
Joe Heck - 44.0%

NORTH DAKOTA - GOVERNOR (15% Precincts Reporting)

✓ Wayne Stenehjem - 61.2%
Marvin Nelson - 48.0%

NORTH DAKOTA - SENATE (15% Precincts Reporting)

✓ John Hoeven - 61.1%
Eliot Glassheim - 48.1%

UTAH - GOVERNOR (7% Precincts Reporting)

✓ Gary Herbert - 70.6%
Michael Weinholtz - 28.2%

UTAH - SENATE (7% Precincts Reporting)

✓ Mike Lee - 69.6%
Jonathan Swinton - 29.0%

Anderson Cooper: At this hour, CNN can project that Democrats Deborah Ross and Jason Kander will win their Senate races in the states of North Carolina and Missouri, defeating Republican incumbents Richard Burr and Roy Blunt in what many viewed would be two of the most contested Senate races this year. While CNN can not make an official projection for overall control of the Senate yet, Democrats only need to win one more seat to retake control of the chamber, all but guaranteeing them a majority in the 115th Congress.

Jake Tapper: Meanwhile, it appears that Senate races in the states of Arizona, Iowa, and Nevada remain too close to call, while Republicans have held their seats in the states of North Dakota and Utah. However, this proves to be little of a condolence for the Senate GOP, as Democrats will almost definitely win at least the one remaining seat they need to retake control of the Senate in one of the Pacific states that have not yet seen polls close. We can also project that the Senate race in Louisiana will go to a runoff between Democrat Foster Campbell and Republican John Neely Kennedy early next month, meaning that we will be unable to make a final projection for that state's Senate race tonight.

Anderson Cooper: We're also seeing some interesting news when it comes to gubernatorial elections. Republicans Wayne Stenehjem and Gary Herbert have both easily won their races in the states of North Dakota and Utah, with Stenehjem succeeding retiring GOP Governor Gary Herbert in North Dakota and Herbert winning a second term in office with high approval ratings in Utah. However, the gubernatorial race in the state of Montana remains too close to call, as Democratic incumbent Steve Bullock and challenger Greg Gianforte seem to be locked within a few points of each other in what many saw as yet another important race tonight.

Jake Tapper: It should also be noted that recounts will be needed in gubernatorial races in the states of New Hampshire and West Virginia, as opposing candidates there seem to be within only a few hundred votes of each other with all precincts reporting in both states. In New Hampshire, Democrat Colin Van Ostern leads Republican Chris Sununu by only 28 votes, while West Virginia has seen Republican Bill Cole trail Democrat Jim Justice by a mere 163 votes with 100% of the vote in. Let's look at maps that show the current state of races for state governorships and the United States Senate:

2016 Gubernatorial Elections

Dark Red - Democratic Victory
Light Red - Democratic Lead
Dark Blue - Republican Victory
Light Blue - Republican Lead
Lime Green - Recount Required
Gray - Polls Open/No Election

2016 Senatorial Elections

Dark Red - Democratic Victory
Light Red - Democratic Lead
Dark Blue - Republican Victory
Light Blue - Republican Lead
Lime Green - Runoff Required
Gray - Polls Open/No Election

Anderson Cooper: As we can see, Democrats are making substantial gains in both the United States Senate and in gubernatorial races around the nation, having already won eight seats in the Senate and two governorships currently held by Republicans. Meanwhile, only the gubernatorial race in the state of Missouri has so far seen a Republican - incumbent Lieutenant Governor of Missouri Peter Kinder - win a seat currently held by a Democrat, retiring Governor Jay Nixon. However, while these races are certainly exciting, elections for seats in the United States House of Representatives may prove to be even more interesting. Already, Democrats have picked up twenty-eight seats in the House, which - when combined with the one seat they heave lost to Republicans so far - means that they only need a net gain of three more seats to take control of the House of Representatives for the first time since 2011. Let's take a look at a map of those races:

2016 House Elections

Red - Democratic Hold
Light Red - Democratic Pickup
Blue - Republican Hold
Light Blue - Republican Pickup
Green - Recount Required
Light Green - Too Close/Too Early to Call

Jake Tapper: Democrats are certainly making noticeable gains in the House, where a majority seems to be in reach if Democratic candidates can pick up a net gain of only three more seats. Gains for President-elect Clinton's party seem to be most significant in the Midwest and the Northeast, both of which saw Clinton's margins in the presidential election transfer significantly downballot. Results in New York are especially noticeable, as Democrats have already picked up five House seats in the state currently held by Republicans and seem poised to possibly win in all but two of the state's twenty-seven House districts.

Anderson Cooper: This is certainly shaping up to be a historic night. And last but not least:

The 2016 John King Memorial County Map

We miss you, ol' bud.

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Anderson Cooper: The clock now reads 11:00 PM Eastern Standard Time, and key poll closings in a number of states along the Pacific shoreline appear to have serious implications in the races for control of both chambers of Congress.

CNN can now project that the Democratic Party will have a majority of seats in both the United States Senate and United States House of Representatives in the upcoming 115th Congress.

Jake Tapper: Absolutely stunning. One year ago today, very few people would have predicted that tonight, Democrats would not only maintain control of the White House, but also win back enough seats to regain majorities in both chambers of Congress. As of the current standings, Democrats are projected to have at least fifty-four seats in the 115th United States Senate, compared to only forty-three seats currently projected to be won by the GOP at this time. Three seats - those in the states of Alaska, Arizona, and Louisiana - remain unable to be projected by CNN at this time, meaning that either party could gain up to two more Senate seats compared to our current projections. Meanwhile, CNN has called two-hundred and twenty seats in the United States House of Representatives for Democratic candidates, giving them a majority of at least two seats in the upcoming 115th Congress. Republicans are projected to win at least two-hundred and eight House seats at this hour, leaving seven seats - five that are too close to call, one that requires a recount, and one in a state that is yet to close its polls - left undecided. Let's take a look at a map of the current standings in races for the Senate and House of Representatives:

2016 Senate Elections

Dark Red - Democratic Victory
Light Red - Democratic Lead
Dark Blue - Republican Victory
Light Blue - Republican Lead
Dark Green - Runoff Required
Light Green - Polls Open
Gray - No Election

2016 House Elections



Red - Democratic Hold
Light Red - Democratic Pickup
Blue - Republican Hold
Light Blue - Republican Pickup
Green - Recount Required
Light Green - Too Close to Call
Gray - Polls Open

Anderson Cooper: Truly amazing. However, I'm just getting word in now that Donald Trump has officially called President-elect Clinton to concede the race just a few minutes ago, ending speculation by many that Trump wouldn't release an official concession tonight at all. Here he is taking stage at Trump Tower in Manhattan, just a few short miles away from where Hillary Clinton delivered her victory speech in Brooklyn one hour ago:

____________________

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you so much!

I love you people. You people are the best. I just love you. Tonight has been so great. Yeah, we might have lost the election, but I'll tell you, nobody would have thought we would get this far one year ago. Nobody would have expected this to happen - for me to win the Republican nomination and to make Hillary Clinton look like a fool in front of the American people. We beat her in the debates, we beat her in advertising, and now they're saying we beat her in places like Alabama and Kentucky and Oklahoma and West Virginia - oh, I love those states. I just love 'em. Great people in those states, great people.

Now, I'm sure many of you out there are angry because Hillary won. I'll be honest, I am too. I thought we were going to win, the American people thought we were going to win. But I'll tell you what we did do - not just tonight but throughout the past year and a half, throughout the campaign - we've made America great again. None of those career politicians in Washington wanted to talk about the real issues - none of 'em - but we made them talk about those issues. We scared them, and we made them think twice about ripping off the American people again. I'll tell you, people, nobody would have expected us to get this far. But we did. We changed the whole spectrum of American politics, we've shown America what's wrong, and in a way, we did make America great again. But now I'm done, and I'm leaving it up to you people - you people - to continue for me. We have to show America that we're not tired, that we won't let Hillary Clinton or Chuck Schumer or Nancy Pelosi control us - and I guarantee you all that within due time - trust me - we will win like nobody has won before..."

____________________

Jake Tapper: Clearly a fiery speech from Donald Trump, ripping into Hillary Clinton and new Democratic congressional leaders even after he's conceded the election. Let's take a look at a map of the Electoral College at this time:

Dark Red - Democratic Victory (426 EV)
Light Red - Democratic Lead (48 EV)
Dark Blue - Republican Victory (47 EV)
Light Blue - Republican Lead (14 EV)
Gray - Polls Open (3 EV)

Anderson Cooper: As you can see, Secretary Clinton has opened up an even more expansive lead over Donald Trump in the Electoral College over the course of the past hour, now claiming a massive 426 Electoral Votes for herself compared to a mere 47 for Trump. Furthermore, she appears to have opened up a lead in the state of Texas, which, if she ends up winning tonight, could deliver another whopping thirty-eight Electoral Votes to her Electoral College total. Simply astounding.

Jake Tapper: Right. Democrats are also seeing substantial victories in the remaining gubernatorial races tonight, with Democratic incumbents Steve Bullock of Montana, Kate Brown of Oregon, and Jay Inslee of Washington all safely being reelected. However, recounts are still needed for gubernatorial races in the states of New Hampshire and West Virginia, so we likely won't know the results of those elections tonight. Here's a map of the current standings:

2016 Gubernatorial Elections

Dark Red - Democratic Victory
Dark Blue - Republican Victory
Lime Green - Runoff Required
Gray - Polls Open/No Election

Anderson Cooper: Great news for the Democrats there. Up next, 12:00 AM EST poll closings in Alaska will conclude CNN's Election Night Coverage of Election 2016. And of course, before we go:

The 2016 John King Memorial County Map

[beaver2.0]

Idaho going Democratic before North Dakota?

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Idaho going Democratic before North Dakota?

It depends on how long it takes for certain precincts in each state to report their results. Say, for example, the first precincts reporting from Idaho are from a relatively Democratic area or the first precincts reporting from North Dakota are from a relatively Republican area.

[/]

Results of the 2016 Elections in the United States

2016 United States Presidential Election

✓ Former Secretary Hillary Clinton (D-NY)/Secretary Julian Castro (D-TX) - 480 EV; 57.85% PV
Businessman Donald Trump (R-NY)/Governor Chris Christie (R-NJ) - 58 EV; 34.82% PV
Former Governor Gary Johnson (L-NM)/Businessman Austin Petersen (L-MO) - 0 EV; 6.12% PV
Activist Jill Stein (G-MA)/Activist Kent Mesplay (G-CA) - 0 EV; 0.85% PV
Activist Darrell Castle (C-TN)/Activist Scott Bradley (C-UT) - 0 EV; 0.36% PV

Most networks were able to project a winner in the remaining uncalled states by a few hours after midnight, with the exception of Texas, which wasn't considered a for-sure Clinton win until around 7:00 AM EST the next morning. Clinton did end up winning the state by around 0.54%, but voting irregularities and abnormally slow precinct reporting prevented the state from being called earlier. Texas was the closest state by percent margin, while Wyoming was the closest state by raw vote total, with Trump edging out a victory by 6,426 votes. Now, for the final county map:

Identity politics - as evident in the final county map - played a much more significant role in this election than many would initially expect. The effects are most noticeable in the Midwest/Northern Appalachia, where Ohio and Pennsylvania swung towards Clinton much more uniformly than West Virginia and Kentucky. The break between Pennsylvania and New York is also pretty noticeable, though that's more due to the overperformance of Democrats in the New York in general (Dems picked up seven House seats, including Staten Island). The percentage change between the Great Plains states and the Rocky Mountain states is also pretty funny, but Johnson did make a major advertising play in mid-October that mostly focused on Western statewide ad markets (and was actually pretty effective).

2016 United States Senate Elections

Red - Democratic Hold
Light Red - Democratic Gain
Blue - Republican Hold
Light Blue - Republican Gain
Gray - No Election

Needless to say, Campbell and Kennedy were the two to advance to the runoff in LA; Democrats didn't make much of a play in the state and Kennedy ended up winning by around fourteen points.

As expected, Schumer was elected Majority Leader without any significant opposition from fellow Democrats; Durbin retained his position as Whip and Tester succeeded Schumer as both Caucus Vice Chair and head of the DPCC. Wyden took over the DSCC and Klobuchar was elected Secretary; more on Murray later.

The big surprise, however, was on the Republican side, where Mitch McConnell announced his resignation as Senate Republican Leader, citing his age and discontent with hyperpartisanship in the Senate. In a contested leadership election, John Thune snubbed John Cornyn for a win by a mere two votes, with conservatives abandoning Cornyn for Thune after McConnell's endorsement of Cornyn backfired. John Barrasso was promoted to Chair of the Republican Conference and in turn was replaced by Jerry Moran as head of the SRPC; Jim Risch was elevated to Vice Chair of the Republican Conference while Roger Wicker remained with the NRSC. Cornyn was allowed to remain GOP Whip.

The final margin of control in the Senate was 55-45 (sound familiar?).

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2016 United States House Elections

Red - Democratic Hold
Light Red - Democratic Gain
Blue - Republican Hold
Light Blue - Republican Gain

After a recount in VA-10 put LuAnn Bennett 23 votes over Barbara Comstock, Democrats increased their margin in the House to 223-212, a small but vital change. There were no major changes in leadership; Paul became Minority Leader and McCarthy retired from leadership, allowing Scalise, McMorris Rodgers, etc. to retain their positions. Pelosi was elected Speaker with unanimous consent from the Democrats (even Sinema!).

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2016 State Gubernatorial Elections

Red - Democratic Hold
Light Red - Democratic Gain
Blue - Republican Hold
Light Blue - Republican Gain
Gray - No Election

While Colin Van Ostern maintained his lead over Chris Sununu in the New Hampshire recount and was eventually declared winner by a final margin of 312 votes without much controversy, the situation in West Virginia was much less clear. An initial recount led to a mere three-vote lead for Bill Cole, with a second recount being successfully lobbied for after the Justice campaign found a box of "missing" votes out of Charleston. However, the second recount actually helped Cole rather than hurt him, allowing him to escape with a final margin of 25 votes over Justice by January 14, only two days before the inauguration was to take place.

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2016 State Legislative Elections

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The following is a map of overall governmental control in each state as a result of the 2016 elections. A dark shade indicates that one party has control of the state governorship and both of the state legislative bodies, while a light shade indicates that one party has control of only two of the three listed bodies.

Dark Red - Complete Democratic Control (11 States)
Light Red - Partial Democratic Control (6 States)
Dark Blue - Complete Republican Control (23 States)
Light Blue - Partial Republican Control (10 States)

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The Clinton Cabinet

President Clinton delivers her inaugural address shortly after being sworn in on January 20, 2017.

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President Clinton's Cabinet selections were, needless to say, unique. A number of high-level Cabinet officials from the Obama Administration retained their positions, most notably Treasury Sec. Jack Lew, Defense Sec. Ash Carter, Attorney General Loretta Lynch, Commerce Sec. Penny Pritzker, HHS Sec. Sylvia Mathews Burwell, and Homeland Security Sec. Jeh Johnson. While many were surprised by the high number of crossover appointments, few were controversial, allowing President Clinton to better focus on the nominations of incoming Cabinet members.

Perhaps one of the most interesting decisions of the Clinton Administration was to select not one, but both of Washington's United States Senators for Cabinet positions - Patty Murray for Labor and Maria Cantwell for Energy. Neither appointment was particularly contested, and both Senators carried considerable political clout, allowing them to pass their confirmation votes without much trouble.

However, possibly even more notable was Clinton's decision to take away two sitting members of the Democrats' razor-thin House majority for positions in the Cabinet - specifically Rep. Sanford Bishop (GA-02) for Agriculture and Rep. Andre Carson (IN-07) for Transportation. While Bishop's nomination was taken rather easily by the Senate GOP due to his relatively moderate reputation, Carson had more trouble passing through, with the media acting quickly to seize upon his Islamic faith and a number of relatively conciliatory Republican Senators eventually deciding to vote against his nomination due to the threat of backlash from anti-Muslim constituents. However, the prospect of lessening the already-thin Democratic majority in the House proved to be promising to at least a few Republicans in the Senate, and Carson eventually passed by a margin of 64 to 36. Of course, Clinton  understood in full the ramifications of vetting two sitting members of the House for positions in her Cabinet, and Pelosi made sure to prevent any mishaps until the two vacant seats were filled.

Most other nominations passed without much controversy; John McCain was certainly an interesting choice for Clinton's token Republican nominee, but he managed to get confirmed without much trouble. The Senate GOP did try to paint Kati Marton, Clinton's nominee for Ambassador to the United Nations, as insufficiently experienced, but an erudite speech on the Senate floor essentially dispelled all hope of blocking her nomination. Everything else passed rather easily.

[beaver2.0]

Very interesting.  Please continue.

I worry, however, that this is no longer generic enough to be considered an 'Explicitly Generic Elections Timeline'.  Perhaps it should have a rebranding.

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Very interesting.  Please continue.

I worry, however, that this is no longer generic enough to be considered an 'Explicitly Generic Elections Timeline'.  Perhaps it should have a rebranding.

Thanks! As for the name, however, I assure you that this will, in fact, be the most generic timeline of them all.

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The Clinton Administration - Part 1

Vice President Castro and former Vice President Biden enjoy a discussion shortly before taking the stage at a rally in Bellevue, Nebraska to promote President Clinton's newly proposed Veterans' Care Act.

President Clinton's first few months in office were, contrary to the expectations of many, rather ambitious. Only eight days after Clinton's inauguration on January 20, Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg announced her intention to retire from her seat on the Supreme Court at the age of eighty-three, renewing controversy that many feared would become permanent after the historic nine-month nomination wait of now-Associate Justice Merrick Garland the year before. Almost immediately, Senators Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, and Mike Lee announced a joint compact to filibuster any nominee introduced by President Clinton during the whole of her first four-year term, with Cruz arguing in a speech on the Senate floor that "the Democrats' desire to fill our nation's highest court with liberal activists undermines the very meaning and intention of the court itself."

Undeterred, President Clinton announced her decision to nominate Judge Jane L. Kelly of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit the very next day, calling Kelly "an admirable woman whose qualifications, judgement, jurisprudence, and bravery in the face of adversity should serve as an inspiration to us all." Despite the pledge of Cruz, Paul, and Lee to prevent any Clinton nominees from reaching the Supreme Court at all costs, the Democrats were able to garner the necessary votes to pass the nomination without much trouble, embarrassing Cruz when Majority Leader Schumer moved to invoke cloture of debate while Cruz was preparing his notes to speak on the Senate floor.

From a legislative perspective, however, President Clinton chose a much more conciliatory path, moving largely to avoid controversy during her first few months in office. Of the initial bills proposed by her administration, likely the most notable was the Fair and Affordable Education Act of 2017 (FAEA), designed to enable those with existing student loan debt to refinance under current rates and significantly cut interests rates on undergraduate loans. The bill also proposed giving the CFPB more power to enforce regulations on lenders and bill collectors, and created a largely optional alternative repayment program for low-income students. As of April 2017, the bill was still being debated by Congress, with a particular modification of the Pell Grant system serving as the root of most controversy due to budgetary issues.

Other than FAEA, most legislation proposed early on by the Clinton Administration was largely uncontroversial, with the Veterans' Care Act - a relatively generic and arguably bipartisan bill whose main supporter was John McCain - taking up most of the rest of the administration's notable early legislative agenda. However, rumors began to spread that the Clinton Administration was planning to take more aggressive actions regarding gun control and LGBT rights - either through legislation or executive action - in light of recent controversies regarding the two subjects. The almost blatantly intentional killing of an African-American teenager by a white police officer in Shreveport, Louisiana in January 2017 caused demonstrations nearly as widespread as those in Ferguson, Missouri two years before, and an anti-LGBT bill signed into law by Matt Bevin in Kentucky renewed controversial sentiments. However, as of late April 2017, Clinton was yet to take any official action regarding the issues, with many on both sides of the aisle waiting eagerly to see what - if anything - she would do.

From a foreign policy perspective, Clinton's first few months in office were relatively eventful abroad. Tensions between Christian and Muslim populations in the Central African Republic erupted after a group of twenty Muslim men was videotaped raping two Christian women in suburban Bangui, while a retaliation killing performed by Christian extremists caused widespread conflict to find itself anew in the nation. Meanwhile, increased conflict was also seen in the Middle East, where the collapse of ISIL in late 2016 led to the formation of a number of new terrorist splinter groups, most notably the Alddawri Allah, or "League of God." Most active in central Kurdistan - as opposed to Syria, where the Russian-backed Assad regime had largely regained control - the Alddawri Allah (commonly referred to as just "Alddawri") had recently performed a number of successful attacks in and around Adana, Turkey, where a total of approximately 316 people had been killed as of April 2017. Unlike ISIL, Alddawri had largely adopted the fighting style of al-Qaeda, preferring to engage in a number of separate and well-defined terrorist attacks as opposed to actually establishing a territory.

However, by far the most pressing new foreign policy development of early 2017 revolved around the small African state of Burundi, where a conflict spurred by the unconstitutional reelection bid of President Pierre Nkurunziza spiraled out of control as a failed assassination attempt led by Tutsi rebels led Hutu extremists backed by Nkurunziza to begin a "cockroach hunt" of remaining Tutsi in the nation. Burundi, which neighbors Rwanda - the cite of the infamous 1994 genocide - has already seen 226 deaths due to the conflict as of 15 April 2017, with United Nations peacekeeping forces being employed to the area to ensure that the genocide of 1994 would not be repeated.

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An Early Look - The 2017 Elections

Virginia Lieutenant Governor Ralph Northam campaigns shortly after filing to enter the 2017 Virginia gubernatorial election.

The Cabinet of the Clinton Administration took five sitting members of Congress - Representatives Bishop and Carson and Senators Cantwell, Kaine, and Murray - from their positions on Capitol Hill, along with Governor John Hickenlooper of Colorado. This, naturally, created six vacancies, each of which needed to be filled within the due course of time. While Governor Hickenlooper was replaced by Donna Lynne, the Lieutenant Governor of Colorado, who proceeded to summarily announce she would not run for a full term in 2018, each of the congressional vacancies required a special election, with only the two in Washington requiring a gubernatorial appointee to be made in the interim.

On January 29, Governor Jay Inslee announced that Tacoma Mayor Marilyn Strickland would be appointed to fill Murray's seat, while former state senator Tracey Eide would be appointed to fill Cantwell's. Both appointments were taken rather positively by the public, and in a speech emphasizing the importance of maintaining fair representation of women in the Senate, both announced that they would run for a full term on the May 2 special election. The WA GOP was quick to announce its challengers, with former state senator Michael Baumgartner set to run against Eide and none other than Rob McKenna himself announcing a bid against Strickland. Many viewed the Strickland-McKenna race to likely be more competitive than that between Eide and Baumgartner, as Eide had developed a strong early fundraising advantage in her campaign compared to that of Strickland and McKenna was much more well-known and popular than Baumgartner due to his previous experience in office and razor-thin loss to Jay Inslee in the 2012 gubernatorial election. By the beginning of April, polls suggested that Eide was a essentially a shoo-in for a third term, boasting a 55-41 advantage over Baumgartner, while Strickland led McKenna by a much smaller margin, holding a mere 49-47 advantage over the former state Attorney General.

In the state of Virginia, Governor Terry McAuliffe appointed sitting Attorney General of Virginia Mark Herring to the seat vacated by newly-inaugurated Secretary of State Tim Kaine, allowing Herring to serve the remaining two years of Kaine's term until the next regularly-scheduled election in 2018. Lieutenant Governor Ralph Northam and former RNC Chairman Ed Gillespie won their respective primaries in the gubernatorial race without much trouble, paving the way for what would likely be a close election come November. Most polling gave about even support to both candidates, and by April 1, the RCP average for the race was tied with 47.6% support for each. In the Virginia House of Delegates, few saw the Republicans' 66-34 majority over the Democrats as even close to being contested, though Democratic candidates did see a few key opportunities in contested races to lessen their deficit.

Meanwhile, the New Jersey gubernatorial race pitted Lieutenant Governor Kim Guadagno against state senator and former Governor Richard Codey, who entered the race shortly before the filing deadline despite previously declining a bid for the governorship. Guadagno's ties to the unpopular Christie Administration put her at an early polling deficit, with RCP giving her an average of only 39% support compared to 48% for Codey by early April. Meanwhile, both the New Jersey General Assembly and Senate saw Democrats find themselves in a position to maintain majorities in both chambers without much of a struggle, though Republicans did launch an effort to gain a majority at least one of the chambers to prevent Democrats from retaking full control of the state's government.

By early April, three seats in the United States House of Representatives required special elections to be held, with Representatives Sanford Bishop (D-GA) and Andre Carson (D-IN) both resigning to join the Clinton Administration and Representative Sam Johnson (R-TX) dying of heart failure shortly after the 115th Congress commenced. None of the special elections - to be held on June 27, April 25, and June 13, respectively - appeared to be particularly contested, with all three districts in which the elections were to be held being viewed as safe for the party of the respective former incumbents. In GA-04, Albany Mayor Dorothy Hubbard (D) was endorsed by Sanford Bishop in the special election, while IN-07 saw Marion County Auditor Julie Voorhies receive the Democratic nomination to succeed Andre Carson. Meanwhile, TX-03 saw Bob Johnson, Sam Johnson's son, receive the Republican nomination to succeed his father in office, effectively winning the seat as no Democratic candidates chose to file against him.

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Please feel free to comment! Thanks for reading!

[LLR]

hope these elections are as "explicitly generic" as the beautiful 2016 presidential one!

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hope these elections are as "explicitly generic" as the beautiful 2016 presidential one!

Of course! This timeline will do nothing but continue to become more and more generic as time goes on, I assure you.

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The Clinton Administration - Part 2

President Clinton speaks at an event hosted by the Human Rights Campaign following the announcement that she will sign an executive order designed to provide extra anti-discrimination protections to LGBT citizens.

By mid-September 2017, the legislative agenda of the Clinton Administration had slowed down quite noticeably, with the successful enactment and implementation of the Veterans' Care Act passing by without much attention and the Fair and Affordable Education Act stalling in the United States Senate after Senator Ted Cruz threatened to filibuster the bill due to the proposed "excessive" new regulations on student loan lenders and bill collectors. President Clinton did release an executive order on the forty-eighth anniversary of the Stonewall riots in late June that provided additional anti-discrimination protections to the LGBT population and effectively overturned most of the religious freedom laws passed by Republican legislatures in recent years, but the GOP was able to paint the order as "federal overreach" rather quickly and effectively, preventing the measure from gaining widespread support.

In early August, a shooting at an African-American church in Ohio that killed three people prompted the Clinton Administration to introduce the American Safety Act of 2017 (ASA), which essentially mandated that state governments force gun suppliers to initiate background checks on all potential gun purchasers and offer lessons on proper gun use. Of course, the NRA did not take this lightly, and within weeks, the gun lobby had launched so many negative advertisements that the bill essentially backfired, leading Speaker Pelosi to refuse to even put the measure to a vote.

By the beginning of September, President Clinton's approval rating had fallen to 46%, a noticeably low number considering she was mainly able to avoid controversy throughout her first few months in office and focused on achieving a bipartisan consensus in by far the majority of her proposed legislation. Most attributed her low approvals to incumbent fatigue and her lack of ability to effectively defend her proposals from GOP attacks, though excessive partisanship likely also played a role.

However, prospects for the Democratic Party were much brighter in regard to the upcoming 2017 gubernatorial elections, as Democratic candidates in both New Jersey and Virginia appeared to be on track to win their respective races as November approached. In New Jersey, the most recent poll gave former Governor Richard Codey a 54-45 advantage over incumbent Lieutenant Governor Kim Guadagno, while Virginia saw Lieutenant Governor Ralph Northam lead former RNC Chairman Ed Gillespie by a similarly impressive 52-47 margin according to the most recent RCP average. The two gubernatorial elections were to follow a string of recent victories for Democratic candidates in special congressional elections over the course of the past few months, with Democrats holding both of Washington's open Senate seats after the special elections on May 2 gave former state senator Tracey Eide a 58-42 win over former state senator Michael Baumgartner and Tacoma Mayor Marilyn Strickland a vital, albeit narrow, 49-48 victory against former state Attorney General Rob McKenna. The spring had also seen Democrats hold their open House seats in the states of Georgia and Indiana, while Republicans won an uncontested House special election in Texas to fill an open seat of their own.

Unfortunately, the situation abroad was nowhere near as tranquil. In Kurdistan, the newly-formed Alddawri Allah terrorist group continued to launch attacks on Kurdish communities in Iraq, Turkey, and Syria, and by mid-September, an estimated more than five hundred civilians had been killed. GOP leaders in both the House and the Senate called upon President Clinton to begin a coordinated series of heavy missile strikes on select locations thought to be under the control of Alddawri forces, but Clinton refused, arguing that the close proximity between suspected terrorist activity sites and noncombatants would result in even more unnecessary civilian causalities.

Meanwhile, local conflicts in various African countries were proving to become even more hazardous. In the Central African Republic, the struggle between opposing Christian and Muslim combatants became increasingly severe as tensions escalated, and by mid-July, the federal government of the nation had all but collapsed. A coalition of troops led by the French government arrived in the nation by early August, and by September, peacekeepers began to initiate talks between the warring groups in order to propose the possibility of independence for Muslim areas in the northern part of the nation. According to French officials, an agreement would likely be reached by early 2018, though troops would be expected to remain in the area for some time to prevent majority groups in each of the new nations from exterminating remaining members of the minority.

The level of conflict in the Central African Republic, however, was nowhere close to that found in the nearby nation of Burundi. By early July, it became nearly impossible to refrain from calling the now-commonplace killing of ethnic Tutsi by President Pierre Nkurunziza's makeshift army of Hutu extremists a genocide, and by late August, the death toll had risen to over 2,000. An order made directly United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon drastically increased the number of UN peacekeepers in the area, and many feared that tensions in the area would eventually evolve into a genocide on par with that in Rwanda in 1994 or a full-fledged war between the peacekeepers and Hutu extremists. Neither Democrats or Republicans advocated for sending American troops to the area due to the risk of a prolonged occupation, with weak efforts by American politicians to "condemn" actions in the area being viewed as reminiscent of the profound lack of American interest in the Rwandan genocide twenty-three years ago.

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Please feel free to comment! Thanks for reading!

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BREAKING - RICK SCOTT ASSASSINATED

Paramedics recover the body of Florida Governor Rick Scott shortly after he was shot in the chest by an unidentified assailant while leaving a meeting in Jacksonville, Florida on December 26.

December 26, 2017

The state of Florida and the nation were swept by shock and grief this morning as news spread of the apparent assassination of Florida Governor Rick Scott. The Governor, who was departing from a meeting in the city of Jacksonville on the morning of December 26, was allegedly assaulted by a masked gunman who proceeded to shoot him twice - once in the abdomen and once fatally in the chest. While witnesses say Scott maintained some motor functions shortly after the incident, he was pronounced dead by the time paramedics arrived, with the unidentified suspect having escaped unharmed.

The national reaction to Governor Scott's death was quick and heavy-hearted, with President Clinton describing Scott as a "man who inspired all not just as Governor but as a loving husband to his wife and father to his children." Lieutenant Governor Carlos Lopez-Cantera, who is to succeed Scott as Governor, called him a "passionate leader and true hero who lived and died for the people of Florida and who I can only dream of living up to in expectations."

However, the response of the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office was nowhere near as drab. Almost immediately, a top-priority joint investigation was called on in partnership with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the FBI, and the CIA, and as there was almost no precedent for dealing with the assassination of a sitting state governor - Scott was only the second one killed while in office in American history - the investigation could only be described as rampant. As of January 1, the suspect had not been located, but police did suggest the presence of possibly promising evidence in a December 31 report.

Lopez-Cantera, a Republican, would become one of three Governors sworn in around the 2018 New Year, with governors-elect Richard Codey of New Jersey and Ralph Northam of Virginia - both Democrats - joining him soon after.

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Results of the 2017 Gubernatorial Elections

New Jersey



✓ Former Governor Richard Codey (D) - 55.0%
Lieutenant Governor Kim Guadagno (R) - 44.1%
Other - 0.9%

Virginia



✓ Lieutenant Governor Ralph Northam (D) - 52.5%
Former RNC Chairman Ed Gillespie (R) - 46.1%
Other - 1.4%

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An Early Look - The 2018 Midterms

By early 2018, hyperpartisanship in the United States Congress had essentially created an insurmountable legislative gridlock, and President Clinton was still unable to pass the Fair and Affordable Education Act as of mid-January. Congressional Republicans largely blamed President Clinton herself for the government's inability to pass new laws, with many labeling most of her introduced legislation as "far-leftist," "un-American," or even just "socialist." The Democrats fought back, accusing Republicans of trying to block all legislation promoted by the Clinton Administration regardless of its merit, but the damage was done, and by February, her approval rating had fallen to a dismal 42%.

President Clinton's low approval was reflected in early polling for the 2018 midterm elections, with extremely vulnerable Democratic majorities in both the House and the Senate appearing to become even more at risk as Election Day approached. The following are preliminary ratings for the 2018 gubernatorial and congressional elections as of early March, shortly before the first statewide primaries.

Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball - 2018 Gubernatorial Race Ratings

Light Red - Lean Democratic
Medium Red - Likely Democratic
Dark Red - Safe Democratic
Light Blue - Lean Republican
Medium Blue - Likely Republican
Dark Blue - Safe Republican
Light Green - Lean Independent
Medium Green - Likely Independent
Dark Green - Safe Independent
Gray - Tossup

Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball - 2018 Senate Race Ratings

Light Red - Lean Democratic
Medium Red - Likely Democratic
Dark Red - Safe Democratic
Light Blue - Lean Republican
Medium Blue - Likely Republican
Dark Blue - Safe Republican
Light Green - Lean Independent
Medium Green - Likely Independent
Dark Green - Safe Independent
Gray - Tossup

Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball - 2018 House of Representatives Race Ratings



Light Red - Lean Democratic
Red - Safe Democratic
Light Blue - Lean Republican
Blue - Safe Republican
Gray - Tossup

Please feel free to comment! Thanks for reading!

[LLR]

This looks brutal...

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Nice job!  How are you making the state county maps?

Thanks!

For the state county maps, I usually go here, click on the state I want, choose any of the election county maps from that state, and copy and paste the map into MS Paint. I then remove the coloring from each of the counties and refill them as I so choose. It's quite a tedious process, but I enjoy it nonetheless.

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America's Choice - Election Night 2018

DUN. Duh-duh DUN. Duh-duh DUN. Duh-duh DUN DUN DUN DUN. Duh-duh DUN. Duh-duh DUN. Duh-duh DUN DUN DUN DUN.

Anderson Cooper: Hello, and welcome to CNN's election night coverage of America's Choice 2018. My name is Anderson Cooper, and tonight will be historic in determining what path our nation takes over the course of the next two years. Right now, only minutes remain until the first polls in the states of Kentucky and Indiana close, at which time we should be beginning to have a good idea of which party will take control of the House of Representatives, the Senate, and thirty-six of the fifty state governorships in what could be one of the most important election nights in our nation's history. First, a map of what times polls will close in each state throughout the course of the night:

Dark Red- 6:00 PM EST
Red - 7:00 PM EST
Orange - 7:30 PM EST
Yellow - 8:00 PM EST
Green - 8:30 PM EST
Dark Green - 9:00 PM EST
Light Blue - 10:00 PM EST
Blue - 11:00 PM EST
Dark Blue - 12:00 AM EST

Jake Tapper: Thanks, Anderson. We're just getting word in now that polls have closed in the states of Kentucky and Indiana, and we do have some preliminary results to report at this time:

INDIANA - SENATE (4% Precincts Reporting)

Todd Young - 55.4%
Joe Donnelly - 43.1%

With only 4% of precincts reporting so far in the state of Indiana, we're already seeing that tonight could be rough for Democrats in the Senate - Republicans need only six seats to retake a majority in the chamber, and GOP strategists have identified a number of states in which incumbent Democratic Senators could potentially fall to Republican opponents. Already, we're seeing this effect potentially take place in the state of Indiana, where President Clinton's low approval ratings and a strong Republican challenger in former Representative Todd Young could put the job of Democratic Senator Joe Donnelly at risk.

Anderson Cooper: That's absolutely right, Jake. Republicans also need only six seats to capture a majority in the United States House of Representatives - a feat that many are saying will be much easier for the GOP to accomplish. While CNN has not yet projected any pickups in the House or Senate, we can provide preliminary maps of where the races currently stand:

2018 Senatorial Elections

Dark Red - Democratic Victory
Light Red - Democratic Lead
Dark Blue - Republican Victory
Light Blue - Republican Lead
Gray - Polls Open/No Election

2018 House Elections

Dark Red - Democratic Victory
Light Red - Democratic Lead
Dark Blue - Republican Victory
Light Blue - Republican Lead
Gray - Polls Open/No Election

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Please feel free to comment! Thanks for reading!

[LLR]

Nice work!

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Nice work!

Thanks!