CNN says they have internal Romney tracking poll showing Obama pulling ahead in Ohio. That's not surprising but it is certainly bad news for the challenger.
Drudge has what he says are early exit poll results. Initially he had Ohio in Obama's column but now it's in "toss-up"--I wonder how many panicked calls from Boston that took.
Just once I'd like to hear a correspondent say something like, "Well Wolf, the sense of impending doom is palpable here. I just saw a top aide rending his clothing. Another declared he was going to drink herself insensate. It's grim here. Back to you, Wolf."
David Gergen: "The news out of Virginia is not good for Mitt Romney."
Sounds like exits are poor for Romney, leaving Rs to hope for a 2000/2004 bad numbers rerun.
Another sign of exit polls painting a bad picture for Romney--Drudge has taken them down entirely.
Roger Simon (@politicoroger) notes on Twitter that in the past exit polls have overcounted Dems.
CNN reporting that the reason Romney dashed back to Ohio again today is because their internal polls are showing him trailing Obama by five points.
CNN shows Romney winning Indiana. No surprise.
CNN calls Indiana for Romney. Here's hoping Richard Mourdock goes down in Indiana Senate race--not for the indefensible things he said about rape last week, but for the way he defeated class act Richard Lugar in the Republican primary, turning the word "diplomat" into a dirty word, criticizing him for working with Democrats--to secure the world from loose nukes!
North Carolina, Ohio, and West Virginia closing in three minutes.
On one hand, it's inspiring to see so many voters in Florida willing to wait for 3-6 hours to vote. On the other hand . . . really Florida? Still?
CNN projects Romney winning West Virginia.
Electoral College vote right now, projected: Romney 24, Obama 3.
Forget Florida. We hold ourselves out to the world as an exemplar of democracy and we can't figure out how to run elections more efficiently?
Fox News is already projecting Romney as the next president. Just kidding.
Some unsettling stories tonight on absentee ballots in Florida. Many were misprinted and are being re-tabulated by hand before being entered into the system. They've gone through 23,000 ballots so far as of 30 minutes ago. And there are pallets of boxes to go. Again . . . I'm going to hang that news in my closet, right next to my 'Vice President Joe Lieberman" fleece vest that's been hanging there since my days as Lieberman's speechwriter on the 2000 campaign.
Early sign of campaign withdrawal: I have a strange urge to check the RCP average of polls, like an amputee trying to scratch a phantom limb.
Most counties in Florida closed polls at 7. Ten in the Panhandle close at 8.
Polls closing at 8: Illinois, New Jersey, Mass, Maryland, Connecticut, Maine, Rhode Island, Delaware, D.C., Pennsylvania, Michigan, Missouri, Texas, Tennessee, Alabama, Oklahoma, Mississippi, South Dakota. Fox projecting Romney wins Georgia.
With 35 percent of Florida in, Obama up 52-48, according to Fox.
Funny how different networks fill dead time. Fox tracking what people are talking about on Twitter. CNN has Ballot Cam, giving city-by-city updates. Neither is hugely edifying, but I suppose I'd rather be treated as a nitty-gritty, county-counting stat-nerd than a Twitter-monkey. (BTW you can follow me at @rschles. Ook.)
Fox News and MSNBC call Georgia for Romney.
CNN just said: When you look at returns coming in both Ohio and North Carolina, it's hard to see how Romney wins. CNN reporting that turnout in three biggest Democratic counties in Florida exceeds turnout in 2008, and is going huge for Obama.
New Hampshire Secretary of State projecting record turnout in New Hampshire.
O sweeps blue states. 8 p.m. and no swings called yet.
CNN projects Obama wins Connecticut, Delaware, D.C., Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Maine, Rhode Island. Romney carries Oklahoma. It's hard to imagine that Florida's turnout is heavier than 2008, but it seems to be.
CNN calls Senator Nelson winning Florida.
CNN calls Manchin winning the Senate seat in West Virginia.
CNN getting a "quick reaction" from the campaigns; I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that each side will express confidence.
CNN's Jessica Yellin says that if Obama fails to win popular vote it will create "a governing challenge." Huh? Will Republicans refuse to cooperate? #nothingnew
Romney told reporters he's only written one speech tonight--a victory speech. I guess he delegated the concession speech to his speechwriter
With 50 percent reporting n Florida, Obama up 51-49. With 9 percent reporting in Ohio, Obama up 59-40.
Fox News's Kirsten Powers says white share of electorate in exits is 73 percent--if that proves true, it's *huge* news for Obama.
Why is that huge news for Obama, Robert?
John King on CNN: If Richmond remains in Romney's column, Romney will win Virginia. Right now they've got it Romney 57, Obama 42. Good sign!
With 17 percent reporting in Virginia, George Allen leads Tim Kaine by 52-48. But northern Virginia hasn't reported yet, and that's where Kaine's strength comes from.
Paul: Because four years ago the white vote was at 75 percent share of the electorate, IIRC. The Obama campaign was counting on a more diverse electorate this year (smaller share of whites) while Romney and the Republicans assumed that the minority share overperformed four years ago because of enthusiasm for Obama. They thought with less enthusiasm this year the electorate would be more white. Given the huge margins Obama runs up with nonwhites, if the electorate is less white it's very bad news for Romney. Time will tell.
CNN's Gergen says later exits have Florida and Pennsylvania moving toward Obama--now leading in Florida and building a bigger lead in Pennsylvania.
Mary Kate: Real Clear Politics's @SeanTrende, who knows demographics vote-counting cold, Tweets: "Would be very surprised at this point if Romney wins VA. Not getting the swings he needs."
It is clearly still very early but a few things strike me as important: The exit polls do show that, in contrast to 2010, African Americans, Hispanics and Asian Americans are voting in greater proportions---and even more than even 2008. That is clearly good news for Obama. The white vote has declined from 2008, not good for Romney. Second, the predictions of young people between 18-29 losing their enthusiasm and voting in much lower percentages than 2008 has not occurred.
It will be interesting to see how big a role potential Military cuts ultimately play in Virginia, which has up to 130,000 defense-related jobs.
Romney does not seem to be getting the vote he needs, though this could change. If he loses either Virginia or North Carolina, or, heaven forbid, Florida, it is next to impossible for him to win 270 electoral votes. From the exits and returns so far he is certainly not rolling up big numbers in any of these states. Early returns indicate that his Hail Mary in Pennsylvania is falling short. Thus, as a lot of people have said for a very long time,
he needs to win Ohio.
A year ago, the Hispanic vote was featured as a deciding vote in this election. It hasn't been covered quite as much during the general election campaign, but the Hispanic vote may be the deciding vote in North Carolina, Florida, Virginia, Nevada, and Colorado tonight. Most prescient book on this topic is Permanently Blue, by Dylan Loewe, released weeks after the Tea Party helped deliver the House back to the GOP in 2010, arguing that Hispanic support has the ability to propel a Democratic majority for the next generation.
Here we go—welcome to U.S. News’s opinion live blog—your one stop for analysis from all sides of the political spectrum. First polls close at 6 p.m. and things start heating up at 7 p.m. In the mean time, enjoy this retrospective of the 2012 campaign as seen through the eyes of editorial cartoonists.
It is clearly still very early but a few things strike me as important: The exit polls do show that, in contrast to 2010, African Americans, Hispanics and Asian Americans are voting in greater proportions---and even more than even 2008. That is clearly good news for Obama. The white vote has declined from 2008, not good for Romney. Second, the predictions of young people between 18-29 losing their enthusiasm and voting in much lower percentages than 2008 has not occurred.
