Well, the Strib running count of the Minnesota Senate race has the margin at 170, with 977 Franken challenges, and 1005 Coleman challenges.
It’s clear that this will turn on the challenges.
Category: Elections
Election Updates
The recount in Minnesota proceeds apace, though it appears that the number of ballot challenges from both sides is increasing, and Coleman is is still ahead by around 140 votes.
In the Georgia runoff, Barack Obama has now recorded an ad on behalf of Jim Martin.
Election Update
Well, the current count from the Strib has the margin down to 142, with Coleman having 1,211,419 votes, and Franken havings 1,211,277.
A noteworthy development is that Franken’s campaign got a judge to order that Ramsey County turn over the names of the absentee ballots that it rejected, because they believe that some of them had been improperly rejected.
Minnesota Recount Update
The Strib has real time numbers here.
So far, Franken has gained 41 votes relative to Coleman, though both have lost total votes, with 279 votes being challenged by one side or the other, and 18% of the votes counted.
It will likely come down to the challenges, and it will be very close.
Election Updates
They finally finished the count, and McCain won Missouri.
Also, Ted Stevens concedes in the Alaska Senate race.
So now it’s down to the runoff in Georgia, and the recount in Michigan.
Begich Wins
He is 3,724 votes ahead with only about 2500 remaining to count, so absent a recount, and it’s outside the range where Stevens would get it for free, it looks like Mark Begich is the next Senator for Alaska.
I’m happier, but I’m sure that the Republicans in the Senate are even more relieved that they don’t have to deal with this.
It’s also Ted Stevens’ birthday today…Ouch.
Election Updates
The Minnesota state Canvassing Board formally certified the vote count, meaning that the state mandated recount of the Al Franken-Norm Coleman race can now proceed.
The margin is 215 in favor or Coleman out of about 2.9 million votes cast, but typically, on a recount you find more votes missed in more heavily trafficked precincts, which are typically urban, and typically swing Democratic.
I’m waiting for the Supreme Court to shut it down using Bush v. Gore as a precedent.
Election Update
Nothing yet on the Alaska Senate race, but in Minnesota, Al Franken’s move to count wrongly rejected absentee ballots before the official tally was released was denied, which was not unsurprising, as this is typically the sort of thing that is handled in a recount.
Frankin wanted to enter the recount with a lead, since there are always judgment calls, and even being ahead by one vote could effect an election judge’s view of a ballot.
Election Update
Mark Begich’s lead over Ted Steven has grown to 1,022.
Election Updates
Well, Mark Begich just took an 814 vote lead over Stevens. I guess those folks who said that the late votes would break for him were right.
This is probably a relief for Senate Republican leaders, who were just served notice by Senator James Demint (R-SC) that he would move to expell him from the Republican caucus.
In Minnesota, the Secretary of State has laid out the process for a recount:
Secretary of State Mark Ritchie announced the formation of a five-person statewide canvassing board today that will oversee the mandatory recount in the U. S. Senate race. Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Eric Magnuson and Ramsey County Chief Judge Kathleen Gearin, along with two other judges, will join Ritchie on the panel.
He appears to be doing all the right things, though Norm Coleman and His Evil Minions&trade are doing their level best to cast him as the 2nd coming of Katherine Harris.
Cap: Mikulski Is Running for Reelection
After her disgraceful behavior with regard to telco immunity, I will support a syphilitic goat in against her in the primary.
Nir Barkat Wins in Jerusalem Mayoral
Thank God.
The religious right in Israel has been doing their level best for the past 20 years to make Jerusalem as inhospitable as possible for people not like them, and the fact that he won the race there is a victory for anyone who does not want to live in the stone age.
Is the Fifty-State Strategy Dead?
Chris Bowers says pobably yes, with a follow up.
Pertinent quotes:
….
And, confirming earlier reports, the nearly 200 locally based organizers who form the core of the fifty-state strategy have all been fired….
….Further, Rahm Emanuel has long been the most outspoken opponent of the fifty-state strategy, and now he is Obama’s Chief of Staff. So really, given the amount of say Emanuel will have over this, kiss the fifty-state strategy goodbye.
…
People inside the DNC are telling me that the program is not dead. This doesn’t surprise me, because it is a popular program and I imagine that many of the remaining staffers at the DNC are committed to the program. At the same time, all of the organizers–who were chosen by local state parties–have been fired. That effectively kills the program, no matter the messaging and commitment of the remaining staffers. (emphasis mine)
…
Update: I’ve seen in the comments that many people think Obama is replacing “Deaniacs” with his own people. That is a failure to understand how the fifty-state strategy works. The DNC organizers were all chosen by the local state parties, not by Dean. Now, the idea that you fire a bunch of locally chosen people, and then send “your own” people back to those local areas, is absurd. The new people will be reviled, and unable to function with the local parties. No one is being replaced. The program is being terminated. 200 community organizers just got fired by Obama’s campaign. How ironic. (emphasis original)
I actually disagree with some of the analysis.
I don’t think that the “Rahm Emanuel and His Evil Minions™” are behind this. I think that this is really a part of the character of Barack Obama and his campaign.
I have never seen a more highly disciplined campaign at a national level, and they are, and I mean this is a good way, serious control freaks.
The 50 state strategy was a policy of sending money to the local state parties, and allowing them to choose their people as local organizers. It was the “them” and the “their” which made the program work, I hope that the Obama administration is not moving away from that.
Election Updates
Well, Frank Kratovil formally declared victory, and Harris has conceded.
Congratulations congressman elect Frank Kratovil.
Interestingly enough, his reelection in 2010 may be easier, since that is when the Maryland state legislature holds elections, which means that anyone who wants to run against him from there would have to give up their seat.
Zimbabwe
Well, with the election, I’ve taken my eye off the ball with regards Zimbabwe.
It appears that there are two camps in the Zimbabwe crisis among the Southern African Development Community (SADC), led by former South African President Thabo Mbeki, who generally cuts Mugabe infinite slack, and President Ian Khama of Botswana, whose opposition to Mugabe is best described as vociferous.
I agree with Mr. Khama.
In any case, the SADC summit was held, and both parties attended, though Tsvangerai made it clear that he would not sign an agreement just to satisfy mediators, which is a not so thinly veiled swipe at Mbeki’s disasterous involvement in the process.
Of course, while this is all going on, ZANU-PF is still engaged in a broad ranging program of harassment, violence and intimidation….Same old, same old….
In any case, it’s refreshing to see that Jacob Zuma, who had Mbeki ousted as South African president, Zuma says SADC summit must force Zimbabwe deal | International | Reuters
is making it clear that he will not accept Mbeki’s do nothing style:
“As far as I’m concerned SADC must make those Zimbabweans reach an agreement,” Jacob Zuma told Reuters after a speech to the Cape Town Press Club. “They must force them.”
So it now appears that there may be a full summit of the SADC, which is pretty much a recognition that Mbeki is simply not up to the task here.
So they held the summit over the weekend, but which came to nothing.
It appears that there was an offer to “co-manage” the home affairs ministry, but I think that it’s clear that the MDC “co-manager” would have no voice in the matter, which they rejected.
In any case, it appears that Mugabe is now saying that he will unilaterally allocate cabinet positions.
One final note is that we now have confirmation of one of the more bizarre aspects of this whole affair, that the ZANU-PF for signing at altered the prior agreement document
Before any progress can be made the SADC leaders will have to resolve the controversy over the documents that were signed by the three Zimbabwean leaders. In an earlier report The Zimbabwean stated that they had been doctored behind Tsvangirai’s back by Zanu (PF)’s Patrick Chinamasa, MDC-M’s secretary-general, Welshman Ncube and one of Thabo Mbeki’s representatives.
We now understand Ncube had nothing to do with the doctoring and we apologise to him unreservedly. Patrick Chinamasa has admitted to tampering with the documents and to “accidentally” deleting two paragraphs which alter the document substantially.
I’m not sure exactly how you deal with people who see this as a legitimate negotiating ploy, and, short of declaring ZANU-PF a terrorist organization, and while it it is actively terrorizing its populace, this would be a misuse of the statute, I’m not sure what the US can do.
Election Updates
Well, the statistics whiz at fivethirtyeight.com notes that with over 80,000 votes to count, and a 3,000 vote margin, the Alaska Senate race still too early to call it.
In fact the number of uncounted votes has grown to 81,000.
Interestingly enough both Stevens and Begich believe this too, because they are both soliciting donations for lawyers.
At this point, there looks to be some sort of official vote tally in a fortnight.
Minnesota is even closer, with things down to a 204 vote margin, and most of the under votes coming from Democratic leaning precincts, so I think that it is even money as to whether Coleman or Franken wins.
An official count should be finished in about a week, and then you have the state mandated recount.
Elections Update
Darcy Burner concedes the election. Damn.
It appears that Democrat Tom Perriello (D) has declared victory over longtime congressman Virgil H. Goode Jr., (R-Rocky Mount).
I haven’t heard of a concession yet though.
Election Updates
Just a note on Alaska, the actual balloting appears to be very screwed up, surprising given the fact that they have such a small number of votes to count.
I’m not calling conspiracy, it appears that this is a perennial thing and it happened in 2004 too.
Still, Stevens is clinging to a slim lead.
I’m not sure if I want him to lose, or if I want him to be expelled by the Senate. Which ever hurts him more.
The man has been a cancer on the body politic for decades.
It’s looking worse for Darcy Burner in WA-8. She is down about 5200 votes.
And Coleman/Franken Senate race in Minnesota is still to close to call. What was an 800 vote margin is now a 239 vote margin, and that’s before the recount starts. This is just figuring the official vote count.
Election Updates
It’s confirmed Obama wins North Carolina.
Sen. Gordon Smith concedes to Jeff Merkley, +1 Dem Senator.
Kratovil is looking better. They are not through all the votes, but the margin has gone from 900 to 1800 votes.
Things are not looking good for Burner though, with the gap between her and Reichert growing.
Election Updates
Democratic stronghold Multnomah County (Portland) is among the last of the counties to finish up, and now it looks like Merkley has defeated Smith for the Oregon Senate, according to the Oregonian analysis.
In Georgia, it looks like there will be a runoff for the senate. It will be a long shot, but Chambliss is a human stain, and it’s the only election, at least until Ted Stevens gets kicked out of the Senate.
In CO-4, Marilyn Musgrave lost to Betsey Markey which hopefully puts an end to the explosions of bigotry that have eminated from Musgrave in her attempts to protect us from “Te Gay”.
In New York, the state Republican party is in the wilderness for at least a decade. They lost the state senate, and in an increasingly Democratic state, this means that they will be unable to Gerrymander themselves into viability as they have over the past two decades.
Please, redistrict now in New York.
In MD-1 it’s still to close to call, with Frank Kratovil ahead of Fred Flintstone the Antedeluvian Andrew Harris by less than 1000 votes, 160,915 to 160,000, with 25,539 absentee ballots returned so far, 11,371 Dem, 10,924 Rep, and 3,244 ind.
But Kratovil does appear to be in the lead, even if he has not locked it up yet.
Burner-Reichert, WA-08, is still too close to call.
In the Minnesota senate, the margin is around 400 votes, which calls for a mandatory runoff, but of course, Coleman is telling Franken that the right thing to do for the country is to give up….What a weasel.