2024 - A Blank Canvas

[PRESIDENT STANTON]

And?🙄

[President of the great nation of 🏳️‍⚧️]

And?🙄

And nothing! Like you said yourself, I was "just making sure that I submitted my ten cents"!

[PRESIDENT STANTON II]

And?🙄

And nothing! Like you said yourself, I was "just making sure that I submitted my ten cents"!

Well considering you've contributed your ten cents, which I might add should be considered less than earth shattering, you can safely assume that you will be forthwith ignored, just adding in an an extra ten cents!

[2016]

President Stanton,
If you look at the County-by-County Map SaintStan86 has provided during this Election Night you see that DeSantis has vastly outrun Trump from 2020 EVEN in those Counties that Harris won.

The Presidential Race will likely be called between 11pm and 1am ET in favour of DeSantis.

[PRESIDENT STANTON]

President Stanton,
If you look at the County-by-County Map SaintStan86 has provided during this Election Night you see that DeSantis has vastly outrun Trump from 2020 EVEN in those Counties that Harris won.

The Presidential Race will likely be called between 11pm and 1am ET in favour of DeSantis.
[/quote
Looked at the map showing the extent of DeSantis victory in the electoral college! I was kinda surprised to see that once again New Jersey stayed Democratic and particularly considering how well he had been doing in the state and taking into account of his ethnicity and also because he is a Roman Catholic.
] A County Map? Where? I would love to see it!

[SaintStan86]

UPDATE: Dr. Anthony Fauci is retiring December 20th. He didn't even need a 60 Minutes interview to announce his intentions. He probably will still do that before he retires, but it's fair to say I have nailed it with this call, which I made early in this TL.

Still within the 10:00PM hour, going on 11:00PM...

(Continuing with ABC...)
PIERRE THOMAS: David, the U.S. Attorney's office in Atlanta says that a suspect is in custody charged with the facilitation of a pipe bomb with the aim to disrupt a polling place in Midtown Atlanta. The suspect, a man in his 20s, reportedly targeted the precinct because he suspected that it was a gathering place for mules "to steal the election from Ron DeSantis". Police arrested the man shortly after 9:15PM Eastern, and he is currently being booked in the Fulton County Jail awaiting a judge in the morning.

We also hearing that there have been two additional arrests with regards to voter fraud allegations, one involving a Philadelphia man who attempted to record the absentee votes of several nursing home patients who died after the ballots were postmarked - a violation of Pennsylvania election law that also constitutes a state jail felony, and another involving a woman in Louisiana who attempted to vote a second time in Texas using a fake ID; the woman was later arrested in Shreveport, Louisiana and is currently awaiting an arraignment while out on a personal recognizance bond.

That is the latest development, and there no doubt will be more as results continue to come in and claims of voter disenfranchisement begin to pop up.

DAVID MUIR: Pierre Thomas, thank you for the updates on the legal front with regards to the election process.

(From CNN)
VAN JONES: Kamala Harris had so much promise. An inspiring story growing up in Berkeley, desegregating an elementary school in a forced busing strategy her future partner, Joe Biden, voted against in that same era. Rose up to become a prosecutor in Alameda County, crossed the Bay Bridge to join the DA in San Francisco, then beat him and accomplished even more than her predecessor did. Became California Attorney General..then a Senator...then Vice President. She truly has been the California Dream for so many people.

To waste it all away in this vice presidency, and running for President, really is sad to see happen, especially when you're dealing with a mob of people who want to get angry about the painful changes America needs to thrive for another 250 years. Considering how close we came to losing it all almost four years ago in an insurrection of epic proportions. I seriously hope the Democrats think about what they have done wrong, because to sweep it under the rug is not OK.

ANDERSON COOPER: Very interesting choice of words, Van Jones. Let's go to Jake Tapper now with the latest from the Senate.

JAKE TAPPER: Anderson, we are starting to see the vote totals hit 90 percent in Virginia, where Sen. Tim Kaine is trailing right now against State Sen. Jill Vogel, with Vogel leading 52-46 as Fairfax County hits 50 percent of the vote in, looking at John King's magic wall. Kaine is up in Fairfax, 62-36, matching DeSantis's numbers there as well. Kamala Harris is winning Fairfax with 57 percent.

JOHN KING: Yes, and as you can see, Loudoun and Prince William counties giving pluralities. DeSantis has 47 percent in Loudoun, but the impact of Andrew Yang's candidacy really strong: 7 percent for Yang, leaving Harris with 45 percent. Prince William, 6 percent for Yang, 44 for DeSantis, 48 for Kamala Harris. Of course, Prince William a slightly more Democratic county than Loudoun. Important to note, DeSantis is outperforming Youngkin, but Terry McAuliffe being from Northern Virginia benefited him, even though Youngkin is also from the region.

JAKE TAPPER: Speaking of "the region", the race for Governor of Indiana, looking awfully close now with state Attorney General Todd Rokita even at 49 percent with Hammond Mayor Tom McDermott from "THE Region". What is going on here with that race?

JOHN KING: Well Jake, this looks rather surprising, but McDermott is doing well in his northwest Indiana base, Hammond, of course, is on the state borderline with Illinois in the Chicago area. But, let's take a look at Vigo County, Terre Haute. McDermott is getting 52 percent. DeSantis is winning that county with 55, and Sen. Mike Braun got 54. The county to watch is Vanderburgh, home to Evansville, where McDermott is narrowly ahead by two points. So as you can see, McDermott is winning a lot of DeSantis and Trump voters outside of the Indianapolis area. And that is making this race quite close.

JAKE TAPPER: John, let me interrupt you, we have a couple of projections that Wolf Blitzer would like to make in the presidential race.

(CNN "Key Race Alert"...)

WOLF BLITZER: John, CNN projects that North Carolina will go to Gov. Ron DeSantis with 16 electoral votes. North Carolina has not voted for a Democrat since 2008, when it narrowly voted for Barack Obama, and tonight DeSantis is getting 53 percent, the highest for a Republican since George W. Bush won 56 percent. Obviously a number of factors, Nikki Haley, his running mate, from nearby South Carolina, Andrew Yang's outsized support with Asian Americans in Raleigh and some banking industry professionals in Charlotte potentially concerned about a potential default, not to mention Yang splintering part of the Democratic vote with Harris. These factors all played into our decision to call the state for Ron DeSantis.

Also, CNN projects that Iowa, where DeSantis is getting 53 percent and Kamala Harris is getting 42 percent, will also go to DeSantis. Many of the counties that went for Donald Trump four years ago are going for DeSantis tonight, and he's also gained a few more as well. Six electoral votes.

And this is just in, Ron DeSantis has flipped his second state of the night, in New Hampshire, where he wins four electoral votes. DeSantis is winning 52 percent of the vote, Kamala Harris only getting 42 percent.

There is one more vote that Ron DeSantis is getting as well, and that is the 2nd District in Nebraska, which is Omaha and the surrounding suburbs. It went to Donald Trump in 2016, flipped to Joe Biden four years later, and tonight Ron DeSantis gets it back for the Republicans.

Not all is bad, and there is one bright spot, for the Democrats, where we can now project that Kamala Harris will win the state of Vermont, where DeSantis has been getting 39 percent, but while Andrew Yang has gone over 10 percent here, Kamala Harris will win this state and its three electoral votes with a plurality, right now she stands at 48 percent. But still, this has to be the worst performance for a Democrat in Vermont since the Bill Clinton era.

WOLF BLITZER: OK, we're going to go live now to East Rutherford, New Jersey, where Andrew Yang is set to speak to his supporters from his Forward movement shortly. Let's listen in...

ANDREW YANG: Thank you everyone!

First off, I want to say to everyone, it has been a pleasure being with you, leading a movement to forever change the trajectory of America, with a movement that puts people before politics, and country before party. Adam Kinzinger and I are forever grateful to you, the voters, for standing with truth and decency, and service and gratitude, all of which are sorely missing from our political discourse.

This is about finding bold solutions to the problems that ail our democracy. That foster division between the people. That put corporations before humanity and special interests before families. Problems that require bold solutions that know neither party labels nor income status. Solutions that unite us as a more perfect Union. It's what I have fought for as a lawyer, an entrepreneur, a mentor, a candidate for Mayor of New York City, and as a presidential candidate. And it's what I will continue to fight for!

Mark my words, our movement for a better, more unified America is only getting started!

(Fast forward a bit... >>)

ANDREW YANG: Congratulations to Governor DeSantis, and gratitude to Vice President Harris! I am at peace with the outcome, and I encourage everyone in the room tonight to go forward, boldly, to keep fighting for the America we love and wish to see. Because there is only one direction for America: (audience joins in) Not Left. Not Right. FORWARD!

Thank you all, God bless you, and God bless our amazing and beautiful America!

WOLF BLITZER: OK, Andrew Yang speaking to his supporters at the Hilton Meadowlands near MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. We'll have more from him and his running mate, Adam Kinzinger, later in our broadcast.

But now, just before 11:00PM on the East Coast, with another projection to make in the Senate. Jake Tapper, where we are we predicting?

JAKE TAPPER: Wolf, CNN is now projecting that Sen. Tammy Baldwin has been defeated in Wisconsin. Republican Mike Gallagher, Congressman from the 8th District in Green Bay, Appleton area, has been polling 53-46. Gallagher is winning every county in his congressional district in that corner of Wisconsin, several of which went for Baldwin in 2018, as well as Kenosha and Racine counties south of Milwaukee - both of which favored Baldwin in both of her runs in 2012 and 2018, but also Donald Trump in 2016 and 2020.

He is also matching DeSantis's numbers in the Milwaukee suburbs and in northern and western Wisconsin, which are quite similar to the numbers Trump got in both places. Baldwin was hoping that Madison and Milwaukee proper would prevail for her, but the map is looking quite red tonight and there are only absentee ballots left, a number much smaller in proportions than 2020, and not big enough to likely make a difference. Mike Gallagher, Congressman for the 8th District, will defeat Sen. Baldwin, and this is a major loss not only because Baldwin has been a reliable liberal vote for the Democrats, but she was also the first openly LGBT Senator.

Turning to Dana Bash now, Mike Gallagher's rise to the Senate really is like a homecoming of sorts.

DANA BASH: Quite a big loss, indeed, and Gallagher's political rise is quite incredible. Born in Green Bay. Moved to California for high school, became valedictorian. Served as an intelligence officer in the Marines. Became a GOP staffer on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and later advised then-Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker on his short-lived presidential campaign shortly before running for Congress, and he won big in a fairly marginal, Republican-leaning district. Married to a Broadway actress, with whom he has a daughter. Also has sounded the alarm about China's threats on Taiwan.

JAKE TAPPER: It really is quite a big rise, and it's fair to say with the way DeSantis has been talking about China, if he wins, which appears inevitable, we're going to be seeing more of him.

DANA BASH: Most certainly we will.

JAKE TAPPER: Meanwhile, in New Jersey, we have Dr. Mehmet Öz up on Sen. Bob Menendez, 52-47, with almost all of Newark and Jersey City in. It's quite similar to the 2021 gubernatorial result, but with Somerset, Bergen, Passaic counties narrowly backing Dr. Öz.

And in Ohio, with Cleveland mostly in now along with much of western Ohio, Jim Jordan is up on Sherrod Brown still, 52-47, with the latter's big margins for Jordan, who himself represents many of those communities between Toledo and Dayton, certainly cancelling out Brown's big numbers in the latter. The drop-off for Brown in the Youngstown and Akron areas, in the Columbus suburbs, as well as around Sandusky, certainly did not help either.

Virginia, where we have Ron DeSantis up still 51-43, Jill Vogel leading Tim Kaine 52-47, 95 percent in, next to no more votes in Fairfax County or Alexandria. Still waiting for Arlington to come in, but most of what's remaining is in the Richmond suburbs, and while those have been leaning towards the Democrats in the Trump era, that area swung to Gov. Youngkin, and if that is what happens tonight, it's over. DeSantis will have won it, just waiting for the call.

Then you have Minnesota, where DeSantis is exceeding Donald Trump's numbers in the Twin Cities suburbs, winning Dakota County, south of the Twin Cities, which has traditionally leaned more Democratic, and which Donald Trump lost twice in both of his runs. DeSantis is also matching the former President outside of the Twin Cities as well. He's up with 47 percent to 42 for Vice President Harris, with Yang at 6 percent and Mike Lindell, himself from Minnesota, the MyPillow guy, getting 3 percent as well. The Senate race is also close, and right now, Michele Tafoya is leading 50-47 over Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, with most of the remaining vote outstanding in northern Minnesota, an area that could swing either way.

DANA BASH: Yes, it's true. A ton of marginal Senate seats that appear to be favoring the GOP, but the presidential race is looking very, very much out of reach for Kamala Harris between DeSantis's numbers that he's getting tonight. Whatever drop-off some expected between Andrew Yang because of Adam Kinzinger and also Mike Lindell, not really doing much to dent DeSantis's chances, especially after the China quip and the news about the debt default possibility.

JAKE TAPPER: Which of course has also shaken the markets recently. Dana Bash, thank you. Back to Wolf Blitzer...

(Now for a little wrap around from some other figures, starting with The Young Turks...)

CENK UYGUR: Tonight is actually looking fairly decent for progressives, because tonight's result show that the pro-corporate, special interest-backed Democratic Party is dead. D. E. A. D. Dead! There's no going back now, it's time for Democrats to stop chasing after whiny Karens complaining on their Nextdoor, clutching their pearls about folks smoking weed to help with their blindness and epilepsy. Stop complaining about ing single-payer healthcare, which most every other developed country has. Stop worrying about the shallow executive suite that only cares about platitudes instead of principles, and start governing like freaking principled progressives who want to actually make the country better!

That's right Kamala, maybe you should have governed like Chesa Boudin after all...instead of chasing after all these pearl-clutching rich people who don't care about the common man, while throwing people of color - your fellow Black lives and also homeless people - under the bus!

ANA KASPARIAN: Also, no more pearl clutching on women's rights! You should have passed the freaking ERA already and codified marriage and trans rights, too! Who cares about freaking Iowa? They never really liked Kamala anyway...

(And InfoWars...)
ALEX JONES: We don't necessarily agree with Ron DeSantis but, ding dong, the witch is dead! Kamala Harris, bye-bye! The military-industrial-media complex that pulled levers and broke necks for Kamala - they ain't recovering from this result! Hell yes! Also, thank God for Andrew Yang, for Mike Lindell and his cushy pillows I sleep like a baby on...oh it feels good to beat Kamala, even better than beating Hillary!

(Mike Lindell...)
MIKE LINDELL: I want to thank everyone here tonight, for putting your trust in me to make a fantastic choice to improve the sanctity of our elections and the sanity of our nation. God bless every one of you, and may we all thrive and prosper together as a movement!

And also, my hearty congratulations to Ron DeSantis. Sure, we had disagreements, but because of our campaign and our supporters all here tonight in Minnesota, Ron DeSantis got the message, and I pray to God he listens to us and does what's right for America, just like he has done in Florida.

(Dave Smith...)
DAVE SMITH: We may not have been the flashiest, but most certainly we have had more fun than the other candidates running. And shout out to Porcupine Nation for all your help!

I just want to say to, whoever the winner is tonight, we are not going away, and we are going to trust that you will do the right thing for America and stand on the side of liberty! Because there's nothing funny about Lady Liberty without her golden torch...

(Norman Solomon...)
NORMAN SOLOMON: The message tonight is clear: Americans do not want more of the same failed wishy-washy progressivism out of fear that raw, unadulterated progressive change will drive Americans away. Barack Obama sure as hell didn't pander for votes, and neither did I. Because it's not over-the-top stunts about how bad your biggest opponent is that gets people to the polls, it's good old-fashioned progressive values - the kind where you put the all-natural, gluten-free and organic jam on the bottom shelf so the little guy can reach it - that wins.

Let that be a lesson to Democrats everywhere as they seek to move on from Kamala Harris. Fail in doing so, and you can kiss a future free of economic inequality, cultural bigotry and environmental ruin goodbye!

(And...back to CNN...)

WOLF BLITZER: This is CNN's coverage of Election Night in America. I'm Wolf Blitzer, welcoming our viewers here in the United States and around the world, including on the Armed Forces Network, as we continue to count the votes nationally with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis up with 50 percent to 42 percent for Vice President Kamala Harris and six percent for Andrew Yang and his Forward movement, who just spoke to his supporters in New Jersey just now.

We are now coming up on 11:00PM in Washington, and 8:00PM in San Francisco, where voters across California and four other states are set to close their polls. Washington, almost all of Oregon save for where they already closed in the Boise TV market, and in the Idaho Panhandle - Coeur d'Alene, Moscow, those areas in the Spokane TV market. Will California be Kamala Harris's saving grace? Plus, a lot of marginal states close to being called, it's about to get really hot and heavy with the lower 48 now counting in their entirety. We have a projection or two to make, stand by...

Next: What happens after the West Coast closes? Find out...

[Blow by blow, the passion dies]

UPDATE: Dr. Anthony Fauci is retiring December 20th. He didn't even need a 60 Minutes interview to announce his intentions. He probably will still do that before he retires, but it's fair to say I have nailed it with this call, which I made early in this TL.

Still within the 10:00PM hour, going on 11:00PM...

(Continuing with ABC...)
PIERRE THOMAS: David, the U.S. Attorney's office in Atlanta says that a suspect is in custody charged with the facilitation of a pipe bomb with the aim to disrupt a polling place in Midtown Atlanta. The suspect, a man in his 20s, reportedly targeted the precinct because he suspected that it was a gathering place for mules "to steal the election from Ron DeSantis". Police arrested the man shortly after 9:15PM Eastern, and he is currently being booked in the Fulton County Jail awaiting a judge in the morning.

We also hearing that there have been two additional arrests with regards to voter fraud allegations, one involving a Philadelphia man who attempted to record the absentee votes of several nursing home patients who died after the ballots were postmarked - a violation of Pennsylvania election law that also constitutes a state jail felony, and another involving a woman in Louisiana who attempted to vote a second time in Texas using a fake ID; the woman was later arrested in Shreveport, Louisiana and is currently awaiting an arraignment while out on a personal recognizance bond.

That is the latest development, and there no doubt will be more as results continue to come in and claims of voter disenfranchisement begin to pop up.

DAVID MUIR: Pierre Thomas, thank you for the updates on the legal front with regards to the election process.

(From CNN)
VAN JONES: Kamala Harris had so much promise. An inspiring story growing up in Berkeley, desegregating an elementary school in a forced busing strategy her future partner, Joe Biden, voted against in that same era. Rose up to become a prosecutor in Alameda County, crossed the Bay Bridge to join the DA in San Francisco, then beat him and accomplished even more than her predecessor did. Became California Attorney General..then a Senator...then Vice President. She truly has been the California Dream for so many people.

To waste it all away in this vice presidency, and running for President, really is sad to see happen, especially when you're dealing with a mob of people who want to get angry about the painful changes America needs to thrive for another 250 years. Considering how close we came to losing it all almost four years ago in an insurrection of epic proportions. I seriously hope the Democrats think about what they have done wrong, because to sweep it under the rug is not OK.

ANDERSON COOPER: Very interesting choice of words, Van Jones. Let's go to Jake Tapper now with the latest from the Senate.

JAKE TAPPER: Anderson, we are starting to see the vote totals hit 90 percent in Virginia, where Sen. Tim Kaine is trailing right now against State Sen. Jill Vogel, with Vogel leading 52-46 as Fairfax County hits 50 percent of the vote in, looking at John King's magic wall. Kaine is up in Fairfax, 62-36, matching DeSantis's numbers there as well. Kamala Harris is winning Fairfax with 57 percent.

JOHN KING: Yes, and as you can see, Loudoun and Prince William counties giving pluralities. DeSantis has 47 percent in Loudoun, but the impact of Andrew Yang's candidacy really strong: 7 percent for Yang, leaving Harris with 45 percent. Prince William, 6 percent for Yang, 44 for DeSantis, 48 for Kamala Harris. Of course, Prince William a slightly more Democratic county than Loudoun. Important to note, DeSantis is outperforming Youngkin, but Terry McAuliffe being from Northern Virginia benefited him, even though Youngkin is also from the region.

JAKE TAPPER: Speaking of "the region", the race for Governor of Indiana, looking awfully close now with state Attorney General Todd Rokita even at 49 percent with Hammond Mayor Tom McDermott from "THE Region". What is going on here with that race?

JOHN KING: Well Jake, this looks rather surprising, but McDermott is doing well in his northwest Indiana base, Hammond, of course, is on the state borderline with Illinois in the Chicago area. But, let's take a look at Vigo County, Terre Haute. McDermott is getting 52 percent. DeSantis is winning that county with 55, and Sen. Mike Braun got 54. The county to watch is Vanderburgh, home to Evansville, where McDermott is narrowly ahead by two points. So as you can see, McDermott is winning a lot of DeSantis and Trump voters outside of the Indianapolis area. And that is making this race quite close.

JAKE TAPPER: John, let me interrupt you, we have a couple of projections that Wolf Blitzer would like to make in the presidential race.

(CNN "Key Race Alert"...)

WOLF BLITZER: John, CNN projects that North Carolina will go to Gov. Ron DeSantis with 16 electoral votes. North Carolina has not voted for a Democrat since 2008, when it narrowly voted for Barack Obama, and tonight DeSantis is getting 53 percent, the highest for a Republican since George W. Bush won 56 percent. Obviously a number of factors, Nikki Haley, his running mate, from nearby South Carolina, Andrew Yang's outsized support with Asian Americans in Raleigh and some banking industry professionals in Charlotte potentially concerned about a potential default, not to mention Yang splintering part of the Democratic vote with Harris. These factors all played into our decision to call the state for Ron DeSantis.

Also, CNN projects that Iowa, where DeSantis is getting 53 percent and Kamala Harris is getting 42 percent, will also go to DeSantis. Many of the counties that went for Donald Trump four years ago are going for DeSantis tonight, and he's also gained a few more as well. Six electoral votes.

And this is just in, Ron DeSantis has flipped his second state of the night, in New Hampshire, where he wins four electoral votes. DeSantis is winning 52 percent of the vote, Kamala Harris only getting 42 percent.

There is one more vote that Ron DeSantis is getting as well, and that is the 2nd District in Nebraska, which is Omaha and the surrounding suburbs. It went to Donald Trump in 2016, flipped to Joe Biden four years later, and tonight Ron DeSantis gets it back for the Republicans.

Not all is bad, and there is one bright spot, for the Democrats, where we can now project that Kamala Harris will win the state of Vermont, where DeSantis has been getting 39 percent, but while Andrew Yang has gone over 10 percent here, Kamala Harris will win this state and its three electoral votes with a plurality, right now she stands at 48 percent. But still, this has to be the worst performance for a Democrat in Vermont since the Bill Clinton era.

WOLF BLITZER: OK, we're going to go live now to East Rutherford, New Jersey, where Andrew Yang is set to speak to his supporters from his Forward movement shortly. Let's listen in...

ANDREW YANG: Thank you everyone!

First off, I want to say to everyone, it has been a pleasure being with you, leading a movement to forever change the trajectory of America, with a movement that puts people before politics, and country before party. Adam Kinzinger and I are forever grateful to you, the voters, for standing with truth and decency, and service and gratitude, all of which are sorely missing from our political discourse.

This is about finding bold solutions to the problems that ail our democracy. That foster division between the people. That put corporations before humanity and special interests before families. Problems that require bold solutions that know neither party labels nor income status. Solutions that unite us as a more perfect Union. It's what I have fought for as a lawyer, an entrepreneur, a mentor, a candidate for Mayor of New York City, and as a presidential candidate. And it's what I will continue to fight for!

Mark my words, our movement for a better, more unified America is only getting started!

(Fast forward a bit... >>)

ANDREW YANG: Congratulations to Governor DeSantis, and gratitude to Vice President Harris! I am at peace with the outcome, and I encourage everyone in the room tonight to go forward, boldly, to keep fighting for the America we love and wish to see. Because there is only one direction for America: (audience joins in) Not Left. Not Right. FORWARD!

Thank you all, God bless you, and God bless our amazing and beautiful America!

WOLF BLITZER: OK, Andrew Yang speaking to his supporters at the Hilton Meadowlands near MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. We'll have more from him and his running mate, Adam Kinzinger, later in our broadcast.

But now, just before 11:00PM on the East Coast, with another projection to make in the Senate. Jake Tapper, where we are we predicting?

JAKE TAPPER: Wolf, CNN is now projecting that Sen. Tammy Baldwin has been defeated in Wisconsin. Republican Mike Gallagher, Congressman from the 8th District in Green Bay, Appleton area, has been polling 53-46. Gallagher is winning every county in his congressional district in that corner of Wisconsin, several of which went for Baldwin in 2018, as well as Kenosha and Racine counties south of Milwaukee - both of which favored Baldwin in both of her runs in 2012 and 2018, but also Donald Trump in 2016 and 2020.

He is also matching DeSantis's numbers in the Milwaukee suburbs and in northern and western Wisconsin, which are quite similar to the numbers Trump got in both places. Baldwin was hoping that Madison and Milwaukee proper would prevail for her, but the map is looking quite red tonight and there are only absentee ballots left, a number much smaller in proportions than 2020, and not big enough to likely make a difference. Mike Gallagher, Congressman for the 8th District, will defeat Sen. Baldwin, and this is a major loss not only because Baldwin has been a reliable liberal vote for the Democrats, but she was also the first openly LGBT Senator.

Turning to Dana Bash now, Mike Gallagher's rise to the Senate really is like a homecoming of sorts.

DANA BASH: Quite a big loss, indeed, and Gallagher's political rise is quite incredible. Born in Green Bay. Moved to California for high school, became valedictorian. Served as an intelligence officer in the Marines. Became a GOP staffer on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and later advised then-Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker on his short-lived presidential campaign shortly before running for Congress, and he won big in a fairly marginal, Republican-leaning district. Married to a Broadway actress, with whom he has a daughter. Also has sounded the alarm about China's threats on Taiwan.

JAKE TAPPER: It really is quite a big rise, and it's fair to say with the way DeSantis has been talking about China, if he wins, which appears inevitable, we're going to be seeing more of him.

DANA BASH: Most certainly we will.

JAKE TAPPER: Meanwhile, in New Jersey, we have Dr. Mehmet Öz up on Sen. Bob Menendez, 52-47, with almost all of Newark and Jersey City in. It's quite similar to the 2021 gubernatorial result, but with Somerset, Bergen, Passaic counties narrowly backing Dr. Öz.

And in Ohio, with Cleveland mostly in now along with much of western Ohio, Jim Jordan is up on Sherrod Brown still, 52-47, with the latter's big margins for Jordan, who himself represents many of those communities between Toledo and Dayton, certainly cancelling out Brown's big numbers in the latter. The drop-off for Brown in the Youngstown and Akron areas, in the Columbus suburbs, as well as around Sandusky, certainly did not help either.

Virginia, where we have Ron DeSantis up still 51-43, Jill Vogel leading Tim Kaine 52-47, 95 percent in, next to no more votes in Fairfax County or Alexandria. Still waiting for Arlington to come in, but most of what's remaining is in the Richmond suburbs, and while those have been leaning towards the Democrats in the Trump era, that area swung to Gov. Youngkin, and if that is what happens tonight, it's over. DeSantis will have won it, just waiting for the call.

Then you have Minnesota, where DeSantis is exceeding Donald Trump's numbers in the Twin Cities suburbs, winning Dakota County, south of the Twin Cities, which has traditionally leaned more Democratic, and which Donald Trump lost twice in both of his runs. DeSantis is also matching the former President outside of the Twin Cities as well. He's up with 47 percent to 42 for Vice President Harris, with Yang at 6 percent and Mike Lindell, himself from Minnesota, the MyPillow guy, getting 3 percent as well. The Senate race is also close, and right now, Michele Tafoya is leading 50-47 over Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, with most of the remaining vote outstanding in northern Minnesota, an area that could swing either way.

DANA BASH: Yes, it's true. A ton of marginal Senate seats that appear to be favoring the GOP, but the presidential race is looking very, very much out of reach for Kamala Harris between DeSantis's numbers that he's getting tonight. Whatever drop-off some expected between Andrew Yang because of Adam Kinzinger and also Mike Lindell, not really doing much to dent DeSantis's chances, especially after the China quip and the news about the debt default possibility.

JAKE TAPPER: Which of course has also shaken the markets recently. Dana Bash, thank you. Back to Wolf Blitzer...

(Now for a little wrap around from some other figures, starting with The Young Turks...)

CENK UYGUR: Tonight is actually looking fairly decent for progressives, because tonight's result show that the pro-corporate, special interest-backed Democratic Party is dead. D. E. A. D. Dead! There's no going back now, it's time for Democrats to stop chasing after whiny Karens complaining on their Nextdoor, clutching their pearls about folks smoking weed to help with their blindness and epilepsy. Stop complaining about ing single-payer healthcare, which most every other developed country has. Stop worrying about the shallow executive suite that only cares about platitudes instead of principles, and start governing like freaking principled progressives who want to actually make the country better!

That's right Kamala, maybe you should have governed like Chesa Boudin after all...instead of chasing after all these pearl-clutching rich people who don't care about the common man, while throwing people of color - your fellow Black lives and also homeless people - under the bus!

ANA KASPARIAN: Also, no more pearl clutching on women's rights! You should have passed the freaking ERA already and codified marriage and trans rights, too! Who cares about freaking Iowa? They never really liked Kamala anyway...

(And InfoWars...)
ALEX JONES: We don't necessarily agree with Ron DeSantis but, ding dong, the witch is dead! Kamala Harris, bye-bye! The military-industrial-media complex that pulled levers and broke necks for Kamala - they ain't recovering from this result! Hell yes! Also, thank God for Andrew Yang, for Mike Lindell and his cushy pillows I sleep like a baby on...oh it feels good to beat Kamala, even better than beating Hillary!

(Mike Lindell...)
MIKE LINDELL: I want to thank everyone here tonight, for putting your trust in me to make a fantastic choice to improve the sanctity of our elections and the sanity of our nation. God bless every one of you, and may we all thrive and prosper together as a movement!

And also, my hearty congratulations to Ron DeSantis. Sure, we had disagreements, but because of our campaign and our supporters all here tonight in Minnesota, Ron DeSantis got the message, and I pray to God he listens to us and does what's right for America, just like he has done in Florida.

(Dave Smith...)
DAVE SMITH: We may not have been the flashiest, but most certainly we have had more fun than the other candidates running. And shout out to Porcupine Nation for all your help!

I just want to say to, whoever the winner is tonight, we are not going away, and we are going to trust that you will do the right thing for America and stand on the side of liberty! Because there's nothing funny about Lady Liberty without her golden torch...

(Norman Solomon...)
NORMAN SOLOMON: The message tonight is clear: Americans do not want more of the same failed wishy-washy progressivism out of fear that raw, unadulterated progressive change will drive Americans away. Barack Obama sure as hell didn't pander for votes, and neither did I. Because it's not over-the-top stunts about how bad your biggest opponent is that gets people to the polls, it's good old-fashioned progressive values - the kind where you put the all-natural, gluten-free and organic jam on the bottom shelf so the little guy can reach it - that wins.

Let that be a lesson to Democrats everywhere as they seek to move on from Kamala Harris. Fail in doing so, and you can kiss a future free of economic inequality, cultural bigotry and environmental ruin goodbye!

(And...back to CNN...)

WOLF BLITZER: This is CNN's coverage of Election Night in America. I'm Wolf Blitzer, welcoming our viewers here in the United States and around the world, including on the Armed Forces Network, as we continue to count the votes nationally with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis up with 50 percent to 42 percent for Vice President Kamala Harris and six percent for Andrew Yang and his Forward movement, who just spoke to his supporters in New Jersey just now.

We are now coming up on 11:00PM in Washington, and 8:00PM in San Francisco, where voters across California and four other states are set to close their polls. Washington, almost all of Oregon save for where they already closed in the Boise TV market, and in the Idaho Panhandle - Coeur d'Alene, Moscow, those areas in the Spokane TV market. Will California be Kamala Harris's saving grace? Plus, a lot of marginal states close to being called, it's about to get really hot and heavy with the lower 48 now counting in their entirety. We have a projection or two to make, stand by...

Next: What happens after the West Coast closes? Find out...

Ronald Dion DeSantis is all but elected

[2016]

Mike Gallagher beating Tammy Baldwin in Wisconsin was a HUGE, HUGE call for Senate Republicans. It means Republicans are now at 55 Senate Seats.

In VA Vogel is leading Kaine with almost all of the Vote in.
In NJ Öz is leading Menendez with only a fraction of the Vote left.
In OH Jim Jordan is leading Sherrod Brown with most of the Vote in.

That would get them to 58 if they manage to win these Races.

Then they only need 2 out of Minnesota, Montana, Washington State, New Mexico & Arizona since Michigan, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Vermont and Maine will likely go Demoratic.

I am going on a limp and say they will get there, to 60 Seats that is.

And one thing I would recommend Governor DeSantis assuming he gets those Final 21 Electoral Votes: Select John H Sununu or Andrew Card to head your Transition Team. Those would be my choices. Sununu & Card know how to put an Administration together.

[PRESIDENT STANTON]

Should DeSantis prevail, as is likely the case, he's likely to carry not only Minnesota (the first Republican to do so since Nixon did so in 1972!), and carrying Virginia, the first since George W. Bush in 2004. The fact he's already carried New Hampshire the first Republican to do so since Bush in 2000. On the Senate side of the ledger, it appears that James, Jordan, McCormick, Oz and Vogel, there is a strong possibility that Republican's could get 60 seats or more, the first time that this would occur since the 1920s. DeSantis will be the first Republican since Bush to win the popular vote, something Trump couldn't do. DeSantis could have the following distinctions of being the first Republican since Nixon to carry the entire Midwest in '72, that is if Harris manages to lose Illinois; Pritzker didn't hold out much hope. Anyway Harris should she lose, would share the unhappy distinction of being the fourth Vice president since 1960 to fail in getting promoted to the top job. Nixon was the first, Humphrey in 1968, and Gore in 2000. Other stats regarding DeSantis who at 46 is he'll be the youngest president since Bill Clinton in '92, he will the third Catholic following Kennedy and Biden to win the presidency, the first Floridian and the first Italian American. As regards the transition, I thought that the party nominee's designated their Transition chief's after the Conventions. But picking either Sununu or Card would be inspired choices. Ron might consider placing Bolton at State, Robert O'Brien at the Pentagon and Jamie Dimon at Treasury.

[2016]

Should DeSantis prevail, as is likely the case, he's likely to carry not only Minnesota (the first Republican to do so since Nixon did so in 1972!), and carrying Virginia, the first since George W. Bush in 2004. The fact he's already carried New Hampshire the first Republican to do so since Bush in 2000. On the Senate side of the ledger, it appears that James, Jordan, McCormick, Oz and Vogel, there is a strong possibility that Republican's could get 60 seats or more, the first time that this would occur since the 1920s. DeSantis will be the first Republican since Bush to win the popular vote, something Trump couldn't do. DeSantis could have the following distinctions of being the first Republican since Nixon to carry the entire Midwest in '72, that is if Harris manages to lose Illinois; Pritzker didn't hold out much hope. Anyway Harris should she lose, would share the unhappy distinction of being the fourth Vice president since 1960 to fail in getting promoted to the top job. Nixon was the first, Humphrey in 1968, and Gore in 2000. Other stats regarding DeSantis who at 46 is he'll be the youngest president since Bill Clinton in '92, he will the third Catholic following Kennedy and Biden to win the presidency, the first Floridian and the first Italian American. As regards the transition, I thought that the party nominee's designated their Transition chief's after the Conventions. But picking either Sununu or Card would be inspired choices. Ron might consider placing Bolton at State, Robert O'Brien at the Pentagon and Jamie Dimon at Treasury.

I think Kayleigh McEnany gets her old gig as Press Secretary back, Christina Pushaw gets to be the White House Communications Director (the role Kate Bedingfield currently has in the Biden WH) and Rep. Byron Donalds will be DeSantis' WH CoS. Senator Marco Rubio gets Secretary of State and Senator Tom Cotton gets Secretary of Defense I think.

In case you can't remember: Then President-elect Barack Obama after winning in 2008 selected John Podesta to head his Transition Team BUT selected Rahm Emmanuel as WH CoS. So, they do differ.

[PRESIDENT STANTON]

True! But I had the idea that under legislation passed that the party nominee's in question are required to designate their individual Transition Chief's shortly after the conventions. I recall that Trump selected Chris Christie to be his Transition chief in 2016 and that was way before the election. Jared Kushner instigated Christie's ouster and Mike Pence got the job instead. Where do I access the county map regarding DeSantis's performance in the election or has it been completed yet? Anyway would Rubio want to leave Senate? Cotton for Defense? Interesting selections. I'd say Andy Card would head up Transition as Sununu must be a tad old in the tooth, about 85 by the time of the 2024 election. I thought DeSantis might go with someone as WHCOS who is reasonably close to him. Is Byron Donald's close to DeSantis?

[SaintStan86]

11:00 PM has just struck...

(CNN "Key Race Alert"...)

WOLF BLITZER: And right now, CNN projects that California will go to favorite daughter and Vice President, potential Madam President, Kamala Harris. California has long been a blue state, more especially so since 2008, and we do expect she will get a majority, though Ron DeSantis has been competitive in Southern California, where Orange County, possibly San Diego and Riverside and San Bernardino, even Ventura, stand to likely go for him. There's also the impact that Andrew Yang's campaign will have as well on the state. But we can safely project that Kamala Harris will win her home state with 54 electoral votes. That's one less than previously because California lost a congressional seat in the 2022 midterms, losing that seat in the Los Angeles area east of downtown L.A., which was split between two other seats out of the Long Beach and Carson areas south of Los Angeles.

We also project that Ron DeSantis will win the four electoral votes in Idaho, which stands likely to gain an additional seat in 2030 with continuous growth across the state but most especially in the Boise area, which stands to become a political battleground in future elections. But for now, DeSantis reportedly doing very well tonight, exceeding well north of 60 percent in the dominant areas that already closed an hour ago. We are just now calling it because of the Panhandle region - the smokestack where Coeur d'Alene sits.

And if it's not a formality yet, we can now safely project that Ron DeSantis will also carry the state of Wisconsin and its ten electoral votes. This is a state that has been closely watched for many, many election cycles, but most especially after the 2020 election - it was a state where former President Donald Trump repeatedly brought up baseless allegations of voter fraud, even targeted lawmakers over it.

But that is pretty much a bygone now, especially after Republicans nominated Mike Gallagher over Scott Fitzgerald for the Senate, despite Fitzgerald hitting Gallagher for voting against overturning the results in Pennsylvania and Arizona. Gallagher is now going to the Senate, having defeated Tammy Baldwin in Wisconsin. And now, Ron DeSantis will win Wisconsin - as Andrew Yang's pulling votes largely from Kamala Harris, and DeSantis is benefiting despite losing a few ticks to Mike Lindell from neighboring Minnesota, running on the Constitution Party banner, and getting a combination of the Trump numbers from rural Wisconsin and something close to what Mitt Romney got in the party's traditional heartland in the suburbs of Milwaukee, where DeSantis was nominated for President at the Republican National Convention last August.

That takes us now to 263 for Ron DeSantis - seven electoral votes away from the White House - to 113 for Kamala Harris.

WOLF BLITZER: We are not able to call Washington or Oregon yet for either candidate. These states have not gone Republican since Ronald Reagan's 1984 landslide, but many of the factors we have already discussed are in play here as well, and in Washington there is an open Senate seat where Maria Cantwell is retiring and two Congresswomen are seeking to replace her - whether it's Democrat Suzan DelBene or Republican Cathy McMorris Rodgers remains to be seen. California as well, already lost to the Republicans, it was the seat of retiring Democrat Dianne Feinstein, with outgoing Speaker Kevin McCarthy looking for a promotion to the U.S. Senate, against another Republican endorsed by former President Donald Trump, Ric Grenell, the former U.S. Ambassador to Germany who some thought would have been a potential running mate for Trump had he chosen to run this year. Jake Tapper will join us later, but Anderson Cooper, this looks inevitable now that Gov. DeSantis will be our President.

ANDERSON COOPER: Yes, it definitely is and it looks all too real now. Looking live now in San Francisco, they were cheering a moment ago at the news that Kamala Harris won California, but all of a sudden the news is looking very sad. Glum faces as we're seeing, some of them crying, these are supporters who hoped that there was a ray of light in this election, and it's not going to come.

(Meanwhile, on Fox News...)
BRET BAIER: Just looking at the Senate now, with Mike Gallagher's win in Wisconsin tonight, he's already being viewed as a rising star in his party. Particularly on foreign affairs. Sean Hannity, what can we expect?

SEAN HANNITY: Well, you know, Mike Gallagher has sounded the alarm on China and their nefarious actions, which President Biden has been very partial to and slow to respond. Sleepy, Sloppy, Cranky Joe, whatever you call him, he was always out of it, never really came out of his basement and when he did, it was awful to watch. Not just how he communicated, but also just very sad seeing a shell of who had once been viewed as a reliable moderate, albeit with a bumbling foreign policy that Biden has for the most part always gotten wrong. Kamala Harris did not do much, if anything at all, to disseminate from her superior, and that is where she went wrong.

Going back to Senator-elect Gallagher, he deployed to Iraq as a Marine intelligence officer, worked with David Petraeus, an expert on the Cold War and on threats in the Middle East, very, very relevant to what we are dealing with now with a nuclear and hostile China that President Biden has been playing patty-cake with. On foreign policy especially, he's going to be quite the hawk, taking a strong national defense rather seriously.

BRET BAIER: We are sure going to see how Gallagher handles this threat in potential hearings, especially if he's on the Foreign Relations Committee in the Senate, where he was once an assistant.

As you see now, the Senate, if this holds, we're looking at an unprecedented Republican majority, more than enough to avoid a filibuster, Vogel leading Kaine in Virginia with Northern Virginia just about in, John James still leading in Michigan, Detroit may not even be enough to salvage Gretchen Whitmer. Dr. Öz still leading in New Jersey, even as Newark and Jersey City roll in, almost like the gubernatorial race in 2021, and in Vermont you have Lt. Gov. David Zuckerman - the Bernie Sanders-endorsed progressive, now two points ahead over another former Lt. Gov., Republican Brian Dubie, 36 to 34. The Democrat, T.J. Donovan, has already conceded to both of his rivals, just 29 percent, as Burlington and some of the other liberal bastions have been rolling in.

SHANNON BREAM: Nevada, you have Jacky Rosen up by just 2 against Sam Brown, but it's mostly Clark County coming in. Washoe - where Reno is, and many of the rural counties are going to roll in shortly which should affect the outcome there. Arizona, Kyrsten Sinema is up one on David Schweikert, the four percent from the Libertarian candidate not helping even though Paul Gosar, whose former campaign chief endorsed the Libertarian, did in fact vote for Schweikert without much fanfare. New Mexico, Mark Ronchetti is up 3 on Sen. Martin Heinrich, Albuquerque halfway in, but Farmington - a big Republican stronghold near the Four Corners - just now reporting.

BRET BAIER: And here's Montana, where Sen. Jon Tester is trailing his Republican opponent, Matt Rosendale, with a five point lead by the Republican Congressman. Missoula just now getting their results in, which should affect the numbers there. Minnesota, Michele Tafoya still leads Peggy Flanagan, the Lieutenant Governor, by three points, but 90 percent of the boxes are in and most of what's remaining in Hennepin County is coming from the Lake Minnetonka area - the western suburbs that are a swing area in Minnesota politics, it was Democratic leaning in the Trump era, the political base of Dean Phillips, the DFL Congressman who challenged Flanagan in the Democrat primary.

SHANNON BREAM: Ohio, Sherrod Brown is trailing Jim Jordan by three points, hoping that the numbers in Cleveland will benefit him, but much of the rest of the state has been good for Congressman Jordan. Pennsylvania, David McCormick is leading Bob Casey, Jr. now with four percent difference. And in Maine, State Sen. Rick Bennett has 49 percent to 46 percent for Chellie Pingree, this likely is going to take days given ranked-choice voting in that state.

BRET BAIER: Lastly, Delaware, and this is quite big, Ben duPont, son of the late Governor Pete duPont from the famous Du Pont family, is narrowly leading Lisa Blunt Rochester with 53 to 47 percent, Wilmington and New Castle County still coming in, but reports indicate that absentee ballots and a few mostly liberal but not mostly Black precincts are reporting. There's also plenty of vote left in Sussex County, a Republican stronghold that even voted against President Biden. Rehoboth Beach, down there. These are very close results, but it's looking like a Republican wash tonight, a disaster in the making for the Democratic Party. You think 2022 was bad in the House and somewhat in the Senate? 2024 is making the midterms look like a picnic...

(On NBC...)
STEVE KORNACKI: I'm not even going to bother looking at the presidential map, because the writing is on the wall. Ron DeSantis any minute now will be projected to become the 47th President.

LESTER HOLT: Steve Kornacki, thank you very much. Let's listen in now on Dan Crenshaw, who won the Senate race in Texas tonight, this coming in from Houston...

DAN CRENSHAW: Thank you to all our supporters that are here tonight to witness history, as we begin a whole new era of conservative leadership here in Texas. But first, I want to congratulate my friend, Julián Castro, on running a great campaign. He fought as hard as he could to represent this great state - God's country - and he truly spoke from the heart in defense of his vision for Texas. It is our hope that Julián Castro, his brother, and his family continue to remain active and continue to contribute to our political discourse. It was the most gracious concession call I have ever gotten.

Now, with humility and great pride for our state and our country - both the greatest in the Union, and greatest in the world - I am humbled and grateful to be your next Senator!

This was a story that began seven years ago in my father's living room in north Houston. Tara and I were very humbled to be focusing on the next chapter, which was to run for Congress on a whim - with a compelling story, a clear vision to bring conservatism into the 21st century. We accomplished that by squeaking into a runoff against a State Representative favored by the local political powers, and narrowly edged out a well-funded activist and wife of a prominent Houston businessman, to reach it.

After an outpouring of support, we made it past the runoff and won three successive terms, the first two more difficult than not, and beat the political establishment in both parties to get to where we are. And tonight, by the grace of God, we have reached the mountaintop...and I am looking forward to giving it my all, my sacrifice and honor, to serve you the great people of Texas and protect our conservative values and free market economy that is the shining city on a hill for the world to see!

The fact that the opponent I squeaked by to make the runoff, Kathaleen Wall, a powerhouse Republican donor and volunteer who has tirelessly hit the pavement for us, and the campaign manager for my runoff opponent, Josh Redelman, are in the audience tonight with us, is proof of just how strong and determined our campaign has been, and how unified we are as Republicans to show the world that our defeat in 2020 did nothing except motivate us to work even harder to defeat Kamala Harris and defeat the DC establishment tonight!

Also, looking at you, Harris County - Fort Bend County - welcome back to the party, we're so glad to have you again!

(Fast forward >> to CNN...)

JOHN KING: Of course, as Dan Crenshaw said, Fort Bend County backing Ron DeSantis with a majority - 52 percent to Kamala Harris's 41 percent, this was also one of Andrew Yang's best counties with the Asian vote in Sugar Land playing a big role reportedly. Also Harris County, a plurality for DeSantis at 49 percent to the Vice President's 46 percent. All in all, a very good night for the DeSantis camp in Texas...

WOLF BLITZER: OK, John King, let me interrupt you, because we have another update to make. We are about to make a major, major, MAJOR projection. Please stand by...

(CNN "Key Race Alert"...)

BREAKING NEWS:
RON DeSANTIS ELECTED 47TH PRESIDENT
OF THE UNITED STATES

Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida Source: Wikimedia Commons Author: Government of Florida

Nikki Haley of South Carolina Source: Wikimedia Commons Author: United States Department of State

WOLF BLITZER: CNN is now projecting that Ronald Dion DeSantis, 46 years old, will be the 47th President of the United States of America. The Governor of Florida, who shepherded his state through the COVID-19 pandemic by emphasizing a disruption-free economy, controversial in many aspects as he faced calls to mitigate the spread of the pandemic as many of his fellow governors had done, who governed as a staunch conservative despite winning a narrow election in 2018 with then-President Donald Trump's endorsement against a somewhat favored Democratic opponent, and who won a successive reelection with a sizable majority, as speculation of a presidential bid began to hover around him in the days following Donald Trump's exit from the White House - an exit that ended in infamy and stirred raw emotions over the outcome of that election in 2020.

For most politicians, it would have broken them to govern as ideologically slanted as DeSantis has, but it didn't and the comparisons to Ronald Reagan with regards to DeSantis were very strong, even in the days where Donald Trump loomed large and led convincingly over the Florida Governor in straw polls. But after Trump's exit, it paved the way for Ron DeSantis to run for President, and while it wasn't easy early on, there were many twists and turns.

A candidacy from Mike Lindell that ultimately was shoehorned to the Constitution Party, the revival of Mike Pence - once left for dead by Trump, the rise of Ben Sasse - condemned in Trump World for his vote to convict the former President over January 6th, the earnest campaign of Nikki Haley - who became his running mate, that convention in Milwaukee where Donald Trump and even George W. Bush stood behind him as the 43rd President unveiled one of his famous portraits for the Governor, withstanding the nasty ad that ran during an NFL game, a weak first debate followed by a comeback in the second and third debates and the emergence of a third party challenge by Andrew Yang, as sudden worries both about the deficit and about China began to define the election, and it ends with Ron DeSantis defeating Vice President Kamala Harris to become the first Italian-American President and the first Catholic to succeed another Catholic as well as the first Republican Catholic and first Floridian to win a presidential election; Donald Trump was living at Trump Tower in 2016 when he defeated Hillary Clinton, and lost to Joe Biden months after he moved to Mar-a-Lago.

Now for the question of which state called the election for Ron DeSantis? It's also historic to note as well. We are projecting that for the first time since 1972, the state of Minnesota will go to the Republican candidate. DeSantis now has 48 percent of the vote, and one big reason it's not a majority is because of Mike Lindell getting 3 percent, the Constitution Party candidate. Kamala Harris has 41 percent, and Andrew Yang, the Forward candidate also endorsed by that state's Independence Party - you may remember it was once the political home of one-time Gov. Jesse Ventura - he's getting six percent.

With no more votes remaining in Minneapolis and St. Paul, we are able to safely project that Ron DeSantis will carry Minnesota for the first time since Richard Nixon carried it in 1972. It did not vote for Ronald Reagan in his 1984 landslide reelection because Walter Mondale, the former Vice President from Minnesota, narrowly won it as the last state to be called on Election Night that year. It is also historic because it now means that CNN has called every state at least once for the GOP in its entire 44-year history.

To put that into perspective, when President Nixon won Minnesota in 1972 - the only state he did not win being Massachusetts, if you look at this picture, there was a TV station on Peachtree Street called WTCG, channel 17 in Atlanta. It was the only TV property owned by a man named Ted Turner at the time. Over time, just before Jimmy Carter became President, WTCG became the Superstation that became WTBS, and later spawned this network, CNN, upon its move to the former Progressive Club in Atlanta, and eventually moved into what used to be The World of Sid and Marty Krofft in 1987, becoming CNN Center, with the famous escalator from the former theme park remaining there today.

And in 1990, the son of Polish Jewish refugees from Germany who survived Auschwitz, and came to Buffalo, New York to start a new life in America, joined this network after a career that mixed journalism and foreign correspondence together, which culminated in an award-winning career at CNN where he became famous for his reporting of the first Gulf War as CNN became internationally known for its coverage of that conflict. Who could have forgotten that makeshift bureau in Baghdad as the rockets were raining down on Iraq. I am honored to be that person, and to be with you for this and other presidential elections before it, and it has been the honor of a lifetime. I wouldn't have traded it for anything, and it has been an incredible journey.

Next: Some Senate calls, plus the concession calls begin...

[2016]

Congratulations to President-elect Ron DeSantis. And also Nikki Haley, the Daughter of Indian Immigrants who becomes the first Republican Woman elected as Vice President of the United States.
I am sure she gives a rousing Introduction to the Florida Governor and my guess is that Senator Rubio & Scott will be there too.

Ron DeSantis Election to the Presidency also means his Lt. Governor Jeanette Nunez will become Florida's first Female Governor and the first of Cuban disent. Quite a lot of firsts here

There is still a lot of real-estate to be decided. Delaware, Connecticut and the Overall State of Maine + the 1st District has not been decided. New Jersey & Pennsylvania are still not decided as are Illinois and Michigan.

And in the West Washington, Oregon, Arizona and New Mexico are still out.

Wouldn't it be something if Andrew Yang takes the 4 Electoral Votes from Hawaii. I doubt it but who knows on this Night.

The Minnesota Call for DeSantis probably bodes well for Michelle Tafoya in the Senate Race I think.

[Andrew Yang 2024]

A Ronald actually wins Minnesota for once, and it puts him over the top!

When's the last time the Democrats did this bad? 1988?

[PRESIDENT STANTON]

1988? I mean Minnesota has been called for DeSantis he's at 273! What's next? Michigan? Then he's at 288! Pennsylvania will very likely go to DeSantis if Minnesota did, which has him at 307! Arizona? If so that's another 11, he's then at 318! Nevada at 6, he goes to 324. I'm guessing that New Jersey might go his way, he's at 338! He takes Alaska he's at 341...then we see what happens in Colorado, New Mexico, Washington and Oregon with a total of 35 electoral votes, he's at 376. If Illinois goes for DeSantis, then it is that bad for Harris, her defeat is actually worse than Hillary's, not as bad as Dukakis but getting pretty close! I can imagine DeSantis margin over Harris in the popular vote will be close to Obama's in 2008. He'll have a veto proof Senate and a nice comfortable majority in the House. What's more Trump can look forward to getting his portrait hung in the White House, but very little else. DeSantis will try to put as much distance between himself and Trump without making it look that way, there's no way DeSantis will tolerate Trump trying to overshadow him. I can imagine that Nikki Haley, due to her experience at the United Nations will have a greater involvement in foreign policy, while Rubio if he gets State, will need to remember who's the senior partner in the DeSantis show. What would be cool, is if DeSantis puts Chris Christie at DOJ! That would be fun to watch. Wonder what Kamala will do! The political arena might be too painful for her, considering how badly she's losing! Bet she'll blame everyone but her own incompetence and lack of political awareness. As for old Joe, at least he can now say he was president and go back to his basement in Wilmington, Delaware; he might need to, knowing that a Republican in the guise of Ben DuPont has the Senate seat. It would be fun if DeSantis invites all his predecessor's to the White House and Trump turns up, telling everyone who wants to listen, that he was a brilliant president and a yuge success. Well enough of my musings.

[2016]

President Stanton,
Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley and Marco Rubio are pretty much on the same Page when it comes to Foreign Policy.
Foreign Credentials are one of the big reasons why DeSantis selected her.

We did not see much of her during this Campaign but I am sure she hammered home the China Message in the waning Days of this Campaign.

While I agree with you that DeSantis doesn't want to have anything to do with Trump going forward he could select Ivanka Trump as UN Ambassador. Just a nice gesture to the Trump Family.

[NewYorkExpress]

I'm thinking DeSantis wins all of the other uncalled states (except for Hawaii).

[PRESIDENT STANTON]

By my calculations that puts him at 420 electoral votes, nearly as much as the 426 that G.H.W. Bush won in 1988. We'll see If Illinois, New Jersey, Oregon and Washington State all break voting habits that has lasted over a quarter of a century! Plausible. I bet Kamala Harris is in a bad place right now. Democrats are likely going to into an extender period of soul searching and will need to exorcise their 'woke' addiction and send their progressives to the showers. Someone like Andy Beshear is someone they should seriously consider looking at.

[NewYorkExpress]

By my calculations that puts him at 420 electoral votes, nearly as much as the 426 that G.H.W. Bush won in 1988. We'll see If Illinois, New Jersey, Oregon and Washington State all break voting habits that has lasted over a quarter of a century! Plausible. I bet Kamala Harris is in a bad place right now. Democrats are likely going to into an extender period of soul searching and will need to exorcise their 'woke' addiction and send their progressives to the showers. Someone like Andy Beshear is someone they should seriously consider looking at.

Doesn't matter. The GOP Congress and majorities in state legislatures are going to abolish democracy and declare DeSantis President for life.

[PRESIDENT STANTON]

By my calculations that puts him at 420 electoral votes, nearly as much as the 426 that G.H.W. Bush won in 1988. We'll see If Illinois, New Jersey, Oregon and Washington State all break voting habits that has lasted over a quarter of a century! Plausible. I bet Kamala Harris is in a bad place right now. Democrats are likely going to into an extender period of soul searching and will need to exorcise their 'woke' addiction and send their progressives to the showers. Someone like Andy Beshear is someone they should seriously consider looking at.

Doesn't matter. The GOP Congress and majorities in state legislatures are going to abolish democracy and declare DeSantis President for life.

Talk about conspiracy theories!🙄 Funny how it worked out that if a Republican wins the White House it's the end of civilization as we know it! But if it's someone like Obama who wins, it's called the second coming. Except I'm amazed that we survived Obama! Why wasn't Democracy abolished then? Oh yeah I forgot, there's that thing called the Constitution which prevents stuff like abolition of Democracy!

[2016]

By my calculations that puts him at 420 electoral votes, nearly as much as the 426 that G.H.W. Bush won in 1988. We'll see If Illinois, New Jersey, Oregon and Washington State all break voting habits that has lasted over a quarter of a century! Plausible. I bet Kamala Harris is in a bad place right now. Democrats are likely going to into an extender period of soul searching and will need to exorcise their 'woke' addiction and send their progressives to the showers. Someone like Andy Beshear is someone they should seriously consider looking at.

I wonder if Washington State does Ticket Splitting with Harris winning the States 12 Electoral Votes and Cathy McMorris-Rogers takes the Senate Seat. She is a very strong Recruit.

[NewYorkExpress]

By my calculations that puts him at 420 electoral votes, nearly as much as the 426 that G.H.W. Bush won in 1988. We'll see If Illinois, New Jersey, Oregon and Washington State all break voting habits that has lasted over a quarter of a century! Plausible. I bet Kamala Harris is in a bad place right now. Democrats are likely going to into an extender period of soul searching and will need to exorcise their 'woke' addiction and send their progressives to the showers. Someone like Andy Beshear is someone they should seriously consider looking at.

I wonder if Washington State does Ticket Splitting with Harris winning the States 12 Electoral Votes and Cathy McMorris-Rogers takes the Senate Seat. She is a very strong Recruit.

Again, I think since this an R nut timeline, DeSantis is going to sweep everything remaining.

[2016]

By my calculations that puts him at 420 electoral votes, nearly as much as the 426 that G.H.W. Bush won in 1988. We'll see If Illinois, New Jersey, Oregon and Washington State all break voting habits that has lasted over a quarter of a century! Plausible. I bet Kamala Harris is in a bad place right now. Democrats are likely going to into an extender period of soul searching and will need to exorcise their 'woke' addiction and send their progressives to the showers. Someone like Andy Beshear is someone they should seriously consider looking at.

I wonder if Washington State does Ticket Splitting with Harris winning the States 12 Electoral Votes and Cathy McMorris-Rogers takes the Senate Seat. She is a very strong Recruit.

Again, I think since this an R nut timeline, DeSantis is going to sweep everything remaining.

How many D nut TL's did you wrote? You have no right to critizize this TL considering how many Woke TL's you wrote.

[NewYorkExpress]

By my calculations that puts him at 420 electoral votes, nearly as much as the 426 that G.H.W. Bush won in 1988. We'll see If Illinois, New Jersey, Oregon and Washington State all break voting habits that has lasted over a quarter of a century! Plausible. I bet Kamala Harris is in a bad place right now. Democrats are likely going to into an extender period of soul searching and will need to exorcise their 'woke' addiction and send their progressives to the showers. Someone like Andy Beshear is someone they should seriously consider looking at.

I wonder if Washington State does Ticket Splitting with Harris winning the States 12 Electoral Votes and Cathy McMorris-Rogers takes the Senate Seat. She is a very strong Recruit.

Again, I think since this an R nut timeline, DeSantis is going to sweep everything remaining.

How many D nut TL's did you wrote? You have no right to critizize this TL considering how many Woke TL's you wrote.

At what point did I say this was a criticism?

[Da2017]

https://www.270towin.com/maps/J7R3B This is where I had election night. Popular vote Dasantis 47 Harris 42 Yang 5.