It was a ll over around nine thirty: Barack Obama had taken the Northeast, as expected, and won the battleground states of Pennsylvania and Ohio as well. Add those to the West Coast and the numbers came out to just over the 270 electoral votes he needed to win the presidency. After that, the only thing to do was switch over to Comedy Central and finish off the chips and dip.
George Bush beat John McCain twice: once in 2000 and again this evening. Iraq, Katrina, the mortgage mess, falling 401k's, and rising unemployment left Americans wanting change. On top of all that, Barack Obama ran a strong, well organized campaign. He took down the Clinton machine and rolled over the Republican party with what seemed like ease.
The Democrats have also taken a few more senate seats. Libby Dole (wife of Bob), lost in North Carolina to Kay Hagan. Democrats Mark Warner in Virginia, Jeane Shean in New Hampshire, and Tom Udall in New Mexico all won seats as well. In Colorado, Democrat Mark Udall, son of "Mo" and cousin to the aforementioned Tom, won one of that state's senate seats by a wide margin. (As of 12:30 a.m. EST, the senate count is 56/40 in the Democrats favor according to CNN).
The House of Representatives looks to retain its Democratic majority too. (As of 12:30 a.m. EST the house count was 233/145 in the Democrats favor according to CNN).
In other election news, anti-choice measures were defeated in South Dakota and Colorado. Maryland's voters approved slot machines.
In the end, it wasn't even close for McCain/Palin: 338 electoral votes to 156, so far. Senator John McCain conceded defeat shortly after the press called the election in Obama's favor, around 11:00. An hour later, President-elect Obama spoke to a crowd of thousands in Chicago, reaching out to the nation saying, "I may not have won your vote tonight, but I hear your voices. I need your help and I will be your president too."
