New Senate: DEM 46 GOP 54
New polls:
Dem pickups: (None)
GOP pickups: AK AR CO IA LA MT NC SD WV
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Cassidy Defeats Landrieu in Louisiana
As expected, Rep. Bill Cassidy defeated Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) in yesterday's runoff. The margin was 57% to 43%. The Republicans now hold every senate seat in the old South. It is now as solid for the Republicans as it was for the Democrats prior to the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Richard Nixon would be pleased with what his "southern strategy" has accomplished for the Republicans.
Election Takeaways from Charlie Cook
The week after any election there is a lot of back seat driving, with all manner of people explaining in retrospect what they generally didn't see in advance. Here is the list from political guru Charlie Cook.
- Tip O'Neill was wrong: all politics is national
- Elections are always a referendum on the President
- The Obama coalition does not work at the congressional level
- It's the economy, stupid
- You can't win on turnout if you don't have a message
- Candidates matter
- The war on women fell flat as did the war on the rich
- Midterms rarely have any predictive value for the next presidential election
Election Takeaways from Ezra Klein
Ezra Klein at the Vox also has a list of takeaways.
- The Democrats lost in Iowa and Colorado and governor's races in blue states. That wasn't due to the map
- Democrats had a couple of wins on the minimum wage, gun checks, and marijuana
- Democrats believed all elections henceforth would be like 2012. Nope
- The Republicans won tough gubernatorial races, which helps RGA chairman, Chris Christie
- No Democratic star emerged to challenge Hillary Clinton in 2016
- Republicans got a big boost for 2016, with a lot of senators and governors who will still be there
- The Senate is about to be even more polarized
- Congress might actually pass a few laws now, such as trade deals and the Keystone XL pipeline
Election Takeaways from Politico
James Hohmann at Politico has yet another list.
- The Republican takeover of the South is complete now that it owns Arkansas
- Democrats failed at distancing themselves from the President
- Voters crave authenticity and hate phonies (see: Brown, Scott)
- Republican governors thrived in blue states
- Mary Landrieu's odds in the runoff have gone up since outside groups won't fund Bill Cassidy so much
- The war on women fell flat
- North Carolina is more reddish purple than bluish purple
- Virginia is a purple state, not a blue one and Ed Gillespie could be the next governor
- The $60 million Bannock Street project did not live up to the hype
- Self funders like Bruce Rauner, David Perdue, and Rick Scott had a good night
The End Is Nigh
Well, the end of this election cycle is nigh, so daily updates will stop now. Whether the site will continue and precisely how is currently up in the air. Check back from time to time so see what happens. And thanks for watching.
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