General
Off Year Election Live Thread
7:17pm Races I’m watching Buehrer-Latta in OH5, the Kentucky governor, Hamilton County jail tax, Utah vouchers. I voted today #145 in my precinct of 600 voters or so, but it’s very off year for us, nothing but school boards and township trustees.
7:22 Looking around locally, the Enquirer has a nice front page setup for results.
I’d have been here earlier but I was trying to get past another level in Guitar Hero 3. If anyone has any tips on how to get past “Story of My Life” on hard, please email me. I’m sucking on the intro.
7:29pm Problems in Putnam county, and an extension requested til 9pm. Might be a long night at Buehrer and Latta headquarters. This shouldn’t be happening… I mean, Ken Blackwell is no longer SOS right?
7:31pm The Beacon has a new dance.
7:34 Oh and the PD has an election blog, written by a guy named Michael Scott, no not that one... I think. must….control….snarky….comment.
7:47 Bizzyblog has unloaded on Mayor Coleman and the Dispatch, following up on RAB’s coverage of the issue.
- HERE — “money laundering in the amount of $200,000 by city hall vendors in order to support the democrat candidate’s TV commercials.”
- HERE — Breaking a city campaign-finance law he championed — “the Dispatch management allegedly decided NOT to expose Mayor Coleman apparently breaking the law (Columbus City Code 2321.53). In 2005, Mayor Coleman signed a law requiring each and every Columbus candidate to file a five-day campaign finance report if they have raised or expended $10,000 or more during a specific time frame. Well, you guessed it, the MAYOR apparently broke the law!”
- HERE — “….. used his influence and power to take care of his (convicted) drug dealing buddy by helping his wife get a job in the city government.” Matt also notes the likelihood that this person likely skirted normal city hiring procedures.
Sad to say, I still see Coleman with a win tonight.
7:50 Pullins on CfG:
But it isn’t. Instead, an ultra-right-wing hatchet squad has injected itself into the race, along with a flood of out-of-state money, in a particularly sleazy attempt to promote state Rep. Steve Buehrer, of Delta, over state Rep. Bob Latta, of Bowling Green.
The Club for Growth, a Washington-based political action committee, strains credulity to the breaking point when it professes to have only an arms-length relationship with Mr. Buehrer. In truth, the group is trying to buy a victory for Mr. Buehrer in a district where the GOP nomination normally is tantamount to election. The Blade does not normally endorse in partisan primaries but neither can we stand by without comment while campaign cash from afar is used to recklessly trash Mr. Latta.
They’re after Huckabee as well. If they spent a significant portion of their time and energy going after Democrats I’d be quite a bit happier.
7:53pm Kentucky update:
| Governor - General | |
| Kentucky - 1374 of 3543 Precincts Reporting - 39% |
|
| Secretary of State - General | |
| Kentucky - 1177 of 3543 Precincts Reporting - 33% |
|
| Attorney General - General | |
| Kentucky - 1374 of 3543 Precincts Reporting - 39% |
|
| Treasurer - General | |
| Kentucky - 1359 of 3543 Precincts Reporting - 38% |
|
Looks like lights out for Ernie although with Grayson leading, it looks like it won’t be a complete Dem sweep.
8:27pm Larry Sabato is keeping track of what is happening in the Virginia legislature which has ramifications for 2010 redistricting.
8:54 Kentucky called for Beshear:
Democrat Steve Beshear defeated a scandal-plagued Republican incumbent Tuesday to become governor of Kentucky, pulling off a political comeback 20 years after last holding office.
Beshear, a Lexington attorney who served as lieutenant governor from 1983-87, defeated Gov. Ernie Fletcher, who had been indicted on charges that he rewarded politically connected Republicans with jobs at the expense of Democrats.
9:15 As expected Bill Todd falls short, way short. No surprises so far, Hamilton County returns are dribbling in and so far the Jail Tax is on the knife edge.
| No | 14,521 | 50.6% |
|
| Yes | 14,168 | 49.4% |
9:40pm Enquirer reporting that NKY said it was Fletcher’s time to go. They like the other Republicans though so I’m still down on the idea that McConnell is in any kind of trouble.
10:05 Nothing but nada in OH5 so far… What’s going on up there? Hanging chad?
10:08 Turning my attention over to the Utah voucher issue, I see that the Salt Lake Tribune has a polygamy section. That’s disturbing. I predict the voucher thing will go down. People are just not comfortable with the idea, and public school kids outnumber everyone else by a large margin. Plus the NEA has been shelling the entire state for weeks now.
10:11 Now the Enquirer is getting impatient.
10:14 NW OH results coming in, with about 5%
Bob Latta |
2,207 | 51% |
Steve Beuhrer |
1,627 | 38% |
No idea where these are from
10:42 Latta kicking butt 21% in:
Bob Latta |
12,060 | 67% |
Steve Beuhrer |
3,939 | 22% |
If this trend holds, it will be yet one more reason for CfG to question the current strategy.
10:51 I think I’m going to hang it up on this note:
“Welcome to the biggest upset in Indiana political history,” Republican mayoral candidate Greg Ballard told a jubilant crowd gathered tonight at the Murat Theatre.
Ballard said two-term Mayor Bart Peterson called to concede the race for the top job in Indianapolis at 10:21 p.m.
Ballard took the call from the two-term mayor in a hallway, then returned to share the news with his supporters.
There are probably some lessons here that the GOP in general can learn from.
Signing off for now.
Discussion
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YaY Kentucky! YaY Coleman.
Nice try by your boys Naugle and Blumer. Better luck next slime.