A world without 9/11

[Pragmatic Conservative]

Restarting this TL from a couple years ago. All images will be from Wikipedia Creative Commons. https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page

A world without 9/11

September 6th: FBI foils potential terrorist attack New York City and Washington DC
The FBI has ordered the arrest of 19 foreign nationals who have since been taken into police custody. The arrests were made over alleged involvement in a plot to hijack 4 civilian aircraft and crash them in both World Trade Center Towers, the Pentagon and a fourth unnamed target speculated to be either the White House or US Capitol. The 19 individuals arrested are believed to have ties to overseas terror groups. It remains to be seen what actions the US Government may take against potential overseas terrorist groups and if any actions will be taken to beef up security. At the moment their is great skepticism at least among Congressional Democrats at the prospect of military action or the curtailing of civil liberties. President Bush has since stated that he is truly thankful for the hard work of keeping our country safe and will review potential responses to today’s events.

To be continued....

[Don Vito Corleone]

This should be pretty interesting. I'm guessing big Democratic victories in 2002 and 2004. Unsure about beyond that though. Either way, I'm looking forward to seeing the rest of this!

[Pragmatic Conservative]

September 10th: George W Bush and FBI Approval skyrocket in wake of foiled terror attack
President George W Bush has seen his approval skyrocket from the low to mid 50s to 67% in a recent poll with a further 87% of respondents approving in the governments response to last weeks news of a foiled terror attack. A further 96% of respondents approve of the performance of the FBI. On the question if more security measures are needed those polled responded 47-35-18 (N/Y/DK) that they aren’t. On if military action is needed 33-31-36 (Y/N/DK) said they would support it. It is unknown however the extent of what additional  security measures or military action would be taken.


Sept 10: Bipartisan Congressional committee forms to investigate potential increased security measures and military action
A bipartisan Congressional committee has formed to discuss whether any additional security measures should be taken to combat terror from abroad and whether any changes should be taken to airport security by the FAA. The committee will also look into whether military action against overseas terror groups is appropriate.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

That FBI guy who determined that Zacarias Moussaoui wanted to fly a plane into the WTC is a big hero in this timeline.

[Pragmatic Conservative]

September 13: 19 Foreign Nationals formally charged in New York court house while being held without bail
19 Foreign Nationals alleged to be planning a mass terror attack against NYC and DC were formally charged with multiple counts of conspiracy against the USA. The 19 individuals were all held without bail and will face a preliminary trial where they will enter a formal plea on December 5th. If convicted each individual could face life behind bars. 


October 23rd: Prosecutors issue indictments against Osama bin Laden and other top Al-Qaeda leaders for their alleged planning of last months foiled terror attack
The FBI unveiled a series of indictments against leaders of Al-Qaeda including Osma bin Laden for their alleged involvement in planning last months foiled terror attack. The current exact location of many of the indicted individuals is unknown at this moment and it appears unlikely that any of these individuals will ever be extradited to face trial in the USA. The FBI has yet to find a direct link to any countries government and last months foiled attack.


 

Next up November 2001 election results.

[Pragmatic Conservative]

November 2001 Election Results

2001 New Jersey Governor Election
Jim McGreevey 57.9%
Bret Schundler 40%
Other 2.1%


2001 Virginia Governor Election
Mark Warner 54.0%
Mark Earley 45.4%
Other 0.6%


2001 New York City Mayor Election
Mark J. Green  52.3%
Michael Bloomberg  47.1%
Other 0.6%



Analysis:
Democrats easily captured the Governor races in New Jersey and Virginia slightly  outperforming the polls in both states. Both states have been expected be picked up by the Democrats over the last few months.In New York City Mark J Green held off a strong challenge from Michael Bloomberg but in the end the city's partisan lean and desire for change after 12 years of Republican control propelled Green to victory. Most concerning for Republicans was the results in several once heavily Republican suburban and urban counties. In New Jersey McGreevey won Monmouth county by 2.7%, Ocean county by a surprisingly high 6.1% and came within 3.5% of winning Somerset county. Even Morris county was only won by 10.1%. In Virginia the suburban results were even more concerning for Republicans. Warner won Fairfax county which was once a Republican stronghold by 13.7%, won Henrico county by 5.7% another traditionally Republican county and won Prince William County by 0.5% which was probably one of the most surprising results of the night. Even in suburban/urban counties Republicans won the results were disappointing. Loudoun county was won by just 1.7%, Chesapeake City by 4.1% and Virginia Beach by 3.6%. It is unknown whether theses results can just be chalked up to local factors or a broader trend against Republicans. 

[Pragmatic Conservative]

Early look at 2002
November 9th 2001:With a good night last Tuesday and a historical out party midterm bounce  Democrats look to be in a alright position to hold the Senate and possibly win house control and capture the majority of Governor mansions. Though it should be noted it is still too early to make any definite predictions for 2002. President George W Bush approval stands at a decent 53-44-3 (A/D/DK) though has receded a full 14 points from a 67% high in the immediate aftermath of Septembers foiled mass terror attack.  

House GCB
Republicans 44%
Democrats 43%
Undecided 13%
Republicans hold a narrow lead in the GCB though it is still far too early to tell how control of the House will go. Many pundits call control of the house a tossup but note that historically the out party gains closer to when we get to the election which naturally bodes well for Democrats taking control. Democrats likely only need to win the GCB vote by around 1% to win House control.

Senate
90% Safe
60% Likely
30% Lean
Green Tossup

Republicans best path to regaining a Senate majority appears to be holding all of their own seats (including tough races in Arkansas, New Hampshire, Colorado and potentially highly competitive races Tennessee, North Carolina and South Carolina) while winning one of South Dakota, Missouri, and Louisiana. Beyond that reaming Democratic seats appear to be fairy safe for Dems at current polling.

Governor

Much of the South and Midwest is expected to be highly competitive for next year. We have cast a fairly broad net for competitive races as many additional Governor races in places such as Wyoming and Hawaii with open seats may develop into being highly competitive.

[Pragmatic Conservative]

January 3rd 2002: Republicans unveil plan for partial privatization of Social Security
President George W Bush and Republican Congressional leaders are pushing for a plan to partially privatize social security by allowing citizens to invest some of their money in private markets. The plan has been pushed as a solution to save social security from bankruptcy and has been promoted as giving citizens free will to invest their money as they wish. Republicans will be hosting various town halls promoting the plan over the 60 days with hopes of passing a privatization bill by the summer. Despite support from Republican leadership the plan is opposed by virtually every Democrat and looks to be facing tough odds to becoming law.

[Pragmatic Conservative]

February 27th: Mass Opposition to partial social security privatization forms as plan looks to have a tough path to passage
Save Social Security from privatization a message that has been made clear from town halls and rallies from Liberals, moderates and even a few Conservatives. A recent town hall in the Milwaukee area on the privatization of social security had to be shut down as protesters stormed the stage and would not let Rep. Paul Ryan come on stage to speak. Similar protesters have showed up to rallies, constantly shouting and interrupting the proceeding. Several of these town halls have had to been cancelled or ended early because of protesters. Further full scale rallies have occurred against partial privatization of social security in Washington DC and other locations. While some Republicans have been quick to call protesters disrespectful and a vocal minority; polling  has shown that the partial privatization is deeply unpopular with a full 56% opposed and only 35% supporting the plan in a recent poll. Republicans are still planning on trying to pass partial privatization into law with some expressing doubt on polling numbers and some feeling it will get more popular if it’s passed into law.

[Don Vito Corleone]

I'm pretty sure the 2004 Democratic ticket will have Daschle on it, but I don't know which position. We could very well see Bush/Cheney vs Gore/Daschle, which would be a fun election. As for 2002, I'm expecting a pretty big Democratic wave, around 2006 levels.

[BigVic]

The privatisation of social security will be unpopular and will create infighting in the GOP. A blue wave is not out of the question. Bush will be a one term POTUS like HW Bush.

[Pragmatic Conservative]

March 21: House rejects Social Security partial privatization bill 225-210
Republicans were dealt a massive defeat today as the House voted down a bill that would have partially privatized social security. The full Dem house delegation was joined by 12 Republican house members in defeating the proposed legislation. The proposal generated much controversy along with polling consistently underwater with the last polls showing just 37% support for the proposal. It is unknown what the exact effect the bill will have on this years midterm elections. However recent polling has indicated Dems are likely in for a good year with President George W Bush approval rating dropping to 45-52-3 (A/D/DK).

Next up Summer polling update

[Pragmatic Conservative]

2002 Update June
June 29:Democrats are in a increasingly good position to hold the senate, gain the house and win the majority of governor mansions. This years unsuccessful attempt to partially privatize social security appears to be taking a toll on Republicans along with slowly worsening economic conditions. President George W Bush approval is at 43/53/4 (A/D/DK)

House GCB
Democrats 47%
Republicans 42%
Undecided 11%
Democrats have opened up a bit of a lead in the GCB and look like the favorites to win House control. Most concerning for Republicans is the fact the party has lost two points since November.

Senate
90% Safe
60% Likely
30% Lean
Green Tossup

Republicans path to regaining a Senate majority appears to be drying up with Democrats gaining an advantage in every seat they hold except for Missouri (remains a tossup) while being underdogs in Arkansas. Republicans further have to contend with tough races in Colorado, New Hampshire and North Carolina. Democrats received even more good news with the late entry of Steve Beshear in Kentucky whom won the nomination last month and looks to be in a competitive race against Mitch McConnell.  

Governor

Much of the South and Midwest is moving in the Democratic parties direction though many of these races are expected to be competitive for this year.

[Pragmatic Conservative]

September 4th: Bipartisan Committee recommends few changes to national and airport security and limited military action in response to last falls foiled terror attack
A nearly year long investigation by a bipartisan congressional committee into finding an appropriate response to last years foiled terror attack has been complete. The committee recommended that the current security measures in place are largely fine and no substantive changes are needed. However based on a report from the FBI that the alleged hijackers planned to use box cutters in their attack; it has been recommend that all knives be banned from being transported inside the main cabin along with a recommendation to lock the cockpit door at all times during the flight. Several airlines have already indicated they will voluntarily lock the cockpit door during flights. Based on a further report from the FBI that no country was directly involved in the foiled attack it has been recommended that any military action consist of only targeted against Al-Qaeda and other known terrorist groups.

 
September 5th: President George W Bush accepts committee recommendations states US Military will go after suspected terrorists
US President George W Bush accepted yesterdays committee report stating that he will work closely with both Airlines and Congress to ensure knives are banned from being transported in the main cabin of aircraft along with keeping the cockpit door closed at all times during flights. The President stated no further changes to national security policy would be made while also ruling out any full scale military operations against any specific countries. President George W Bush stated the military would still look to target suspected Al-Qaeda members including Osama bin Laden. Today's move was generally well received among both the press and voters alike.

[Pragmatic Conservative]

2002 Update October
October 31st:Democrats look to be in excellent position to hold the senate, gain the house and win the majority of governor mansions. While the President gained a small bounce in his approval ratings at his decision not to declare war against any country over last years foiled terror attack; this seems to mostly be temporary and has subsided.The worsening economy appears to also have taken a great toll on the President and the Republican Congress. President George W Bush approval is at 41/55/4 (A/D/DK)

House GCB
Democrats 51%
Republicans 43%
Undecided 6%
Democrats have a large lead on the GCB and most importantly are over 50%. Republicans need to hope the undecideds break hard for them if they want to avoid having a bad night.  

Senate
90% Safe
60% Likely
30% Lean
Green Tossup
(Please note all candidates are the same as in RL except for Steve Beshear being the Dem candidate in Kentucky, Creigh Deeds being the Dem candidate in Virginia and Robert Torricelli being the Dem candidate in New Jersey.)    

Democrats are strong favorites to hold the senate; being favored in every seat they hold now along with Republican held Arkansas. The top three most expensive race this cycle are 1. Colorado 2. North Carolina 3. Texas    

Governor
(Please note all candidates are the same as in RL except for Janet Reno  being the Dem candidate in Florida)  

Much of the Midwest and Northeast continue to move towards the Democrats.The top three most expensive race this cycle are 1. Florida 2. Maryland 3. Arkansas

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

Please god let the turtle lose.

[Pragmatic Conservative]

Please note all times are in EST

Election Night 2002

5:00 PM
 Blitzer: Good evening and welcome to Election Night in America I am your host Wolf Blitzer, John King will be here analyzing tonight’s results as they come through along with our political panel hosted by Carol Lin and consisting of Kate O’ Beirne, Robert Novak, Margarate Carlson and Al Hunt. Tonight we have competitive Senate and Governor races across much of the South including a battle between the brother of the president Florida Governor Jen Bush who is trying to win re-election against Janet Reno who served as AG under Bill Clinton. So many other exciting races tonight as well occurring all over the country. Let’s head over to John King for some exit poll numbers.

King: Thanks Wolf! So we can’t reveal top line numbers right now but that doesn’t mean we can’t dive into some of the crosstabs. First off a big key in most of these mid term elections is the presidents approval rating.

George W Bush Approval Rating
Approve 40%
Disapprove 57%
Other 3%

So tonight fairly bad news for Republicans at least on the Presidential Approval rating question. Next on if the country is moving in the right or wrong direction:

Direction of Country
Right Direction 39%
Wrong Direction 58%
Other 3%

So similar responses to this question than the one on Bush approval rating. Next we asked respondents what would happen if they could redo the 2000 election how would they vote. 2000 of course was both very close and controversial.

2000 Revote
Al Gore 53%
George W Bush 43%
Ralph Nader 2%
Other 2%

Next we will talk to the panel about these exit poll numbers and what their preliminary thoughts are about tonight!

[Pragmatic Conservative]

Election night coverage continued

Lin: So tonight I will be hosting our political panel where we hear first hand analysts and breakdown of tonight’s results. So I will start with Robert Novak. Now Robert we have seen some  exit polling and it shows low approvals for the President and him losing by 10 in a hypothetical revote of the 2000 election; how much do these numbers concern you tonight especially in conjunction with declining poll numbers for Republicans across the board in several races?

Novak: Certainly it’s a bit disappointing when we see bad poll numbers but I am still not a big believer in polls as we have seen many times before with both polls and exit polls being wrong. I have heard some great things from the Republican campaign and am confident Republicans will outperform their polling tonight.

Carlson: So just like with the social security debate where we heard Republicans keep on talking about how they were going to get their plan to be popular and it didn’t come close to being popular. Face it this President and Republican Congress simply isn’t popular and that isn’t going to change today.

Hunt: Just to add to that we saw Democrats beat their polls last year so their is no reason to think polls are biased against the GOP.

O’Beirne: On social security partial privatization it would have gotten popular if it wasn’t all the fear mongering about it from the left. Simply put this isn’t the scary horrible thing liberals have hyped it up to be.

Hunt: Republicans didn’t care how popular it was they were going to try to pass it anyway and from a partisan Dem perspective it was a good move. Republican house members took a costly vote on something that wasn’t going to pass anyway.

Novak: It wasn’t going to pass because Dems didn’t want to compromise on the issue. Admit it liberals don’t have a plan and don’t want to fix it. Look at the disrespectful protesters that shouted down Republican Reps, stormed the stage in a town hall Paul Ryan was planning on speaking in. These meetings had to be cancelled or delayed because of protesters harming advocacy on this bill.

Carlson: Face it the proposal wasn’t popular and Republicans choice to ignore the will of many of these voters and as Al said this will hurt them tonight.    

O’Beirne: like has been said before they didn’t have a chance when liberals decided they didn’t want to compromise and instead wanted to protest and interrupt the town-hall process.

Lin: Getting back to election discussion what are our panelists thoughts on the Senate race in Kentucky?

Hunt: It’s going to be a trend setter for tonight if we win this we have the senate and should have the house. If we lose the house is probably still slightly in play for Republicans and the Republicans keep their absolutely very narrow senate path alive.

Novak: Agree it’s going to be a trend setter but one that will be good for Republicans. McConnell is a great candidate and will win re-election and show that Republicans will outperform their polls.

Carlson: McConnell might be a great candidate but Beshear is a strong candidate as well, the headwinds are on our side and I am hearing excellent news about turnout from our key areas. Tonight we are going to see the south is still very much a swing region.

O’Beirne: We have heard Democrats talk about the south before and it’s the same results consistently; a victory for conservatives and republicans. Tonight will be no different. Democrats simply are out of touch when it comes to the key social and cultural issues down south.

Hunt: Many of these people are moderate Democrats running down south who hold culturally moderate and Conservative values. Also when it comes to economic issues Republicans have consistently failed these people with their costly tax cuts, gutting regulations and cutting social program spending.

Lin: Thank you for the panel for their thoughts we will be heading off to commercial break. At the top of the hour polls will close in Indiana and the key battleground state of Kentucky.

[Pragmatic Conservative]

6:00 PM Poll Closing
Blitzer: It is now 6 PM on the east coast and polls have closed in much of Kentucky and Indiana. Under a new policy we will not reveal exit poll data until all polls in a state have closed which will be at the top of the hour in Indiana and Kentucky. I will send it over to John King for what to watch for in these two states.

King: Thanks Wolf! Kentucky absolutely is a battleground seat for the Senate. Democrats made a major coup by getting Steve Beshear to challenge Republican Senator Mitch McConnell. This is really a must win if Republicans have any hope at all of recapturing a Senate majority. Now besides the Senate race their is also a key House race in Kentucky-3 where Democrats look to have a great chance of defeating Anne Northup. KY-3 encompasses much of the Louisville metro area and seems likely to be carried by Steve Beshear tonight. Heading over to Indiana we have another good Democratic pickup opportunity in Indiana-8 which encompasses Evansville and much of rural western Indiana including bellwether Vigo County. On the offensive Republicans look to be putting up a strong challenge in the open seat race in Indiana-2 which includes South Bend and many working class towns up in Northern Indiana. We will be back with some analysts of specific results as they come in.

----------------------------------------------------------
6:35 PM
Key Race Alert
Blitzer:We will send it over to John King for a Key Race alert.



Kentucky Senate 1%
Mitch McConnell 52%
Steve Beshear 46%
Other 2%

King: Not a lot in yet at this point so still fairly early to draw any real conclusions. Though we are seeing McConnell holding his own for the most part in traditionally Republican central Kentucky. However in promising news for Beshear he looks to be significantly out preforming Al Gore in coal country so far. We will take a short break and head back for the 7:00 PM poll closings in the rest of Kentucky, Indiana, the states of Vermont, Virginia and battleground South Carolina and Georgia along with parts of New Hampshire and Florida.

[Pragmatic Conservative]

7:00 PM Poll Closing

CNN Projection:
Blitzer:Polls have now closed in all of Kentucky, Indiana, Vermont, Virginia, South Carolina and Georgia as well as parts of New Hampshire and Florida. CNN can make the following projections:

Senate:
-Kentucky is too close to call
-Virginia is too early to call with a lead by John Warner
-South Carolina too close to call
-Georgia too close to call

Governor:
-Vermont is too close to call
-South Carolina is too close to call
-Georgia is too close to call

A brief look at the Kentucky Senate race


Kentucky Senate 7%
Mitch McConnell 50.3%
Steve Beshear 47.9%
Other 1.8%

Next we will hear from our panel on their thoughts on tonight's election results

[Pragmatic Conservative]

Election night coverage continued
Lin: So still early in the night however so far Mitch McConnell looks to be involved in a tight race and may be in a bit of trouble despite having a small lead. We also are looking at some tight races across much of the south. We will start with Kentucky, Margarate Carlson how much trouble is McConnell in and what do these early results mean?

Carlson: It is obviously too early to draw any major conclusions but despite trailing I am feeling good about our chances here. Beshear is outperforming Gore across all of coal country in some cases by a decent amount as well as up in Franklin County where he leads by 13% in the early vote. We still have nothing in from much of Western Kentucky or Louisville but I am hearing great things about turnout for Democrats in both places.

Novak:It's certainly still a tad too soon for Democrats to be getting their hopes too high with McConnell still in the lead. We still have much of Central Kentucky which should go strongly Republican out along with several parts of Western Kentucky that should go our way out as well. I think in the end this is shaping up to be a close win for McConnell.

Hunt: It is certainly going to be a tight race but I have to agree that so far things are looking good for Beshear. He is outperforming Gore in nearly every county by at least a point or two and in some cases is even reaching Clinton percentages. I certainly am not going to make any bold predictions on this race but I like what I have seen so far.

Lin: Moving on to races we don't have results for is Virginia in serious play for Democrats? and what is the panels thoughts on the battle ground races in South Carolina and Georgia?

O’Beirne: Virginia is certainly going to be won by Warner. He is a popular Senator and a moderate voice in the Senate. Plus Virginia is still very much a Republican state despite what happened in last years Governor race. As for the close races I expect Republicans to take at least two of them with a realistic possibility of winning three or even all four. Mark Sanford is a strong candidate for Gov in South Carolina and has a good amount of crossover support from moderates and moderate Dems. Lindsey Graham is a great fit for the state as well and I believe we will win both of these races. In Georgia their is a real desire for change at the state level where Democrats have held the Governor mansion since Reconstruction and finally we have a great candidate in Saxby Chambliss running for Senate.

Carlson: Virginia was always going to be a tough race for us though Creigh Deeds has run a terrific race for us and really has shown the state can be receptive to a strong Democratic Party campaign. Regardless win or lose I believe Deeds has set himself up well for future races.As for the South I believe as exit polls have shown nationally residents are growing weary of trusting Republicans especially with declining job numbers and a sluggish economy. Three out of those four races have Democratic incumbents and I am confident all three will win re-election and I believe we also have a great shot at winning the open Senate seat in South Carolina.

Novak:Virginia is simply not a swing state and I have full confidence Warner will win re-election as a moderate Senator in a Republican state. As for the South we have seen Democrats grow out of touch with the electorate on many social and cultural issues and this is of course a massive concern for many voters as well and something that will benefit Republicans greatly.  

Lin: We have to head to commercial break we will be back with some projections as we get close to 7:30 PM.  

[Pragmatic Conservative]

7:30PM Poll Closing

CNN Projection:
Blitzer:Polls have now closed in North Carolina, Ohio and West Virginia. CNN can make the following projections:

Senate:
-West Virginia: Jay Rockefeller re-elected (D-Hold)
-North Carolina too close to call

Governor:
-Ohio: Bob Taft is re-elected (R-Hold)





We will send it over to John King now for a key race alert.

[Pragmatic Conservative]

Key Race Alert


Kentucky Senate 25%
Mitch McConnell 49.7%
Steve Beshear 49.2%
Other 1.9%
This is race is getting better by the minute it seems for Democrats. Beshear is getting the numbers he needs from coal country while the early results from Western Kentucky look promising so far. Most impressive is his 3% lead in the early vote from Fayette County. Their is still nothing in from Jefferson County which should further help Beshear. However it is still not all good news for him see all those blank counties just south of the Cincinnati exurbs much of that should be strongly Republican along with a few more central and western counties that have yet to report. At this point it seems like it will come down to turnout if turnout in strong Beshear areas remains high than he should win if not than McConnell very much can still pull this race out. Moving on to some other races. We still don't have enough in to show a county map; we should have some maps up at the top of the hour. However we can still look into the results.

Virginia Senate 8%
John Warner 55%
Creigh Deeds 42%
Other 3%

Deeds doing better than expected in the early going but still under preforming Warner in much of the rural areas by any where from 5% to 10% based on what happened in 1996. So far Deeds is doing slightly better in the few more urban precincts that have reported so far (roughly 3%-5% better than Warner run in 1996) though unless urban turnout significantly outpaces rural turnout than Warner should be fine. Though it should be stressed we still have little from NOVA in yet.

South Carolina Senate 5%
Alex Sanders 70%
Lindsey Graham 29%
Other 3%

South Carolina Governor 5%
Jim Hodges 71%
Mark Sanford 29%
In both these races it is still too early to make any major predictions based on the states counting bias. So far it appears that Democrats are getting the turnout and margins they need from the heavily African American parts of the state.

Georgia Senate 10%
Saxby Chambliss 51%
Max Cleland  46%
Other 3%

Georgia Governor 10%
Sonny Perdue 50%
Roy Barnes  47%
Other 3%

Another race where Democrats trail but look to be in good position to win. Democrats are significantly outperforming Gores margins in rural regions in much of the South. Democrats are also getting the turnout they need so far in heavy African American rural regions. As long as Democrats reach their turnout benchmarks in Atlanta they should hold both seats. A runoff will occur if both candidates fall below 50%.


Vermont Governor 15%
Doug Racine 49.1%
Jim Douglas 44.3%
Other 6.6%
Democratic areas generally reporting faster than Republican regions so Douglas still has a chance to catch up. If all candidates fall below 50% than the legislature will choose the next Governor.


New Hampshire Senate 10%
Jeanne Shaheen 55%
John E Sununu 43%
Other 2%

New Hampshire Governor 10%
Craig Benson 53%
Mark Fernald 45%
Other 2%

Despite the Democratic counting bias Shaheen looks in good position to pick up this seat for the Democrats as she is hitting all her current targets so far. Craig Benson looks to be in a good position to pickup the open Governor seat.

Florida Governor 35%
Janet Reno 53%
Jeb Bush 45%
With just over a third of the vote in Democrats hold a decent lead but please be aware that Florida tends to have a Democratic counting bias so we do expect this margin to narrow as the election day vote begins to be counted along with the Panhandle vote.

We will head over to commercial before we have some 8:00 PM projections

[Pragmatic Conservative]

8:00 PM Poll Closings

Blitzer:Polls have now closed in Main, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Mississippi and Alabama as well as the rest of New Hampshire, Florida and parts of Texas as well as Kansas. CNN can make the following projections:

Senate:
Alabama: Jeff Sessions re-elected (R-Hold)
Delaware: Joe Biden re-elected (D-Hold)
Illinois: Dick Durbin re-elected (D-Hold)
Maine: Susan Collins re-elected (R-Hold)
Massachusetts: John Kerry re-elected (D-Hold)
Mississippi: Thad Cochran re-elected (D-Hold)
Missouri: Too close to call
New Hampshire: Too early to call with a lead by Jeanne Shaheen
New Jersey: Too early to call with a lead by Robert Torricelli
Oklahoma: Too early to call with a lead by Jim Inhofe
Rhode Island: Jack Reed re-elected (D-Hold)
Tennessee: Too close to call

Governor:
Alabama: Too close to call
Connecticut: John Rowland re-elected (R-Hold)
Florida: Too close to call
Illinois: Too early to call with a lead by Rod Blagojevich
Maine: Too early to call with a lead by John Baldacci  
Maryland: Too close to call
Massachusetts: Too close to call
New Hampshire: Craig Benson elected (R-Gain)
Oklahoma: Too close to call
Pennsylvania: Ed Rendell elected (D-Gain)
Rhode Island: Too early to call with a lead by Don Carcieri
Tennessee: Too close to call

We will next take a look at an updated look at the House and Senate situation.

Next post will be of some completed election results.

[Pragmatic Conservative]

Please note I am excluding maps for races with only one major candidate