# 2018 Election Day Thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [November 6, 2018, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2018-election-day-thread/824079 "2018-11-06T15:43:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 29
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2018, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2018-election-day-thread/824079/562 "2018-11-08T03:08:46Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > The TL;DR version is that Congress is the House (lower) and Senate (upper.) The House drafts legislation but the Senate has power to approve or reject it. If the Senate approves it, then it goes to the president for his approval/rejection. A correction… Both the House and the Senate can initiate legislation, and anything initiated and passed in one chamber then goes to the other for approval. Exception: revenue legislation can only initiate in the house, as someone else was already noted ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2018, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2018-election-day-thread/824079/563 "2018-11-08T03:10:09Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Interesting. > Thank you. > > The Senate in Canada servers the same purpose, essentially, but they are appointed, not elected. > > But I’ll be damned if I ever heard of Senate reject or reverse anything. We kind of started the same way – – initially, senators were appointed by state legislatures. But a constitutional amendment in 1913 changed it to direct election. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2018, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2018-election-day-thread/824079/564 "2018-11-08T03:29:35Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > We kind of started the same way – – initially, senators were appointed by state legislatures. But a constitutional amendment in 1913 changed it to direct election. And Republicans want to repeal that Amendment so that the multiple Republican-controlled legislatures can choose more Senators. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2018, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2018-election-day-thread/824079/565 "2018-11-08T14:16:03Z")
As I originally reported in the current Baseball thread, Karen Handel just conceded GA06… Newt Gingrich’s old district… to her Dem opponent. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2018, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2018-election-day-thread/824079/566 "2018-11-08T14:24:34Z")
To clarify, the U.S. House and Senate are fully equal bodies in legislating. Legislation can originate in either chamber (except for revenue bills, as noted), and both can amend bills to their heart’s content. Even with revenue bills, the first thing the Senate will do after it gets the House Bill is eliminate everything after the bill number and insert their own version. Although it is sometimes referred to as the “upper chamber”, the U.S. Senate does not play the secondary role to the lower chamber common among Westminster parliaments. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2018, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2018-election-day-thread/824079/567 "2018-11-08T14:25:52Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Gee, and here I thought it had more to do with the extensive smear campaign against Gillum involving a combination of overt racism and blatant lies, particularly around claims that Gillum would institute a state income tax and raise property taxes. Before one starts blaming the Democrats for any loss, one has to first factor out the “Republicans lying and cheating” element. Just to reiterate this: I got an email last night from a right-wing “Christian” Florida PAC with the title “ **Socialism in Florida Defeated - For NOW!** ”, referring to the elections of Rick Scott and Ron DeSantis. Because apparently Gillum and Nelson were raving socialists. This is the kind of bullshit I mean, and I’m sick of the response being “Gee, maybe the next time Democrats should try being less socialist” rather than calling out the lying assholes for their lies. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2018, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2018-election-day-thread/824079/568 "2018-11-08T14:27:51Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > As I originally reported in the current Baseball thread, Karen Handel just conceded GA06… Newt Gingrich’s old district… to her Dem opponent. Note that the newly elected Democratic Rep is Lucy McBath, who got into politics after her teenaged son Jordan Davis was murdered for [playing loud music](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_of_Jordan_Davis). ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2018, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2018-election-day-thread/824079/569 "2018-11-08T14:30:12Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > As I originally reported in the current Baseball thread, Karen Handel just conceded GA06… Newt Gingrich’s old district… to her Dem opponent. Also the former district of Tom “Private Jets, Public Money” Price, and an office not held by a Democrat since before Gingrich was elected in 1978. A small bright spot, maybe, but I’ll take what I can get. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2018, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2018-election-day-thread/824079/570 "2018-11-08T16:57:25Z")
Another bright spot - the Kentucky county clerk who refused to issue SSM licenses was defeated: [Kentucky clerk jailed over gay marriage licenses loses re-election bid](https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/kentucky-clerk-jailed-over-gay-marriage-licenses-loses-re-election-n933451) ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2018, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2018-election-day-thread/824079/571 "2018-11-08T17:05:57Z")
… by a gay man to whom Kim Davis refused a marriage license… ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2018, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2018-election-day-thread/824079/572 "2018-11-08T17:38:16Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Another bright spot - the Kentucky county clerk who refused to issue SSM licenses was defeated: [Kentucky clerk jailed over gay marriage licenses loses re-election bid](https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/kentucky-clerk-jailed-over-gay-marriage-licenses-loses-re-election-n933451) > [@JohnT](#): > > … by a gay man to whom Kim Davis refused a marriage license… No, David Ermold, who was denied a marriage license, [lost in the primary](https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/politics/2018/05/22/rowan-county-clerk-primary-election-results/635263002/) to Elwood Caudill, who defeated Davis. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2018, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2018-election-day-thread/824079/573 "2018-11-08T17:40:39Z")
Ahhhh, thanks for the correction. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2018, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2018-election-day-thread/824079/574 "2018-11-08T18:05:01Z")
Massachusetts has the weirdest split in US politics. A state that went for Hillary by 27 percentage points just reelected a Republican governor by a margin of 34 points. That’s far more than the Republican candidate for the governorship of \*Alabama \*got. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2018, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2018-election-day-thread/824079/575 "2018-11-08T19:08:40Z")
See [this thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=795480). Ironically, it’s due to the Democratic party being so strong in MA. The first factor is that the state legislature is very heavily Democratic - and about half the legislators run unopposed. So in many districts, if you want to vote for a Republican, you can’t, except the governor. And plenty of people who vote Democratic for other offices vote for a Republican governor as a check on the Democratic legislature. The second factor is that the Democrats tend to nominate lousy candidates for governor. The way to power in the state is to court the Democratic power makers, not the people of the state. So you have Democrats who are used to the infighting inside the party, but generally cruise to victory in the general election. But when they wind up running for governor, they have a real fight on their hands, and wind up losing. That’s at least partially how Weld, Celluci, Romney, & Scott Brown (Senator) all won their elections - their opponent was terrible & uncharismatic. In 2006, Dems were smart enough to nominate Deval Patrick, who easily won over lieutenant governor Kerry Healy. Patrick won a much tighter race in 2010 against Charlie Baker, but that got Baker’s name & face out there, and showed that he was capable of running a real campaign. In 2014, Dems reverted to form and nominated Martha Coakley, whose greatest claim to fame was her loss to Republican Scott Brown in the special Senate election 4 years previously. Baker won in a tight race. Baker has been a very good governor, with an approval rating of 70%. So the Dems essentially gave up, nominating Jay Gonzalez, who had never stood for any election before, and whose only government experience was 4 years in a cabinet position under Patrick. The general response to his nomination was “Who?” And to be honest, Baker would be a conservative Democrat anywhere south of Maryland or west of Illinois. And he’s no Trump fan or supporter - in the final gubernatorial debate, when asked for 3 words to describe Trump, he answered “Outrageous, disgraceful, divider.” ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2018, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2018-election-day-thread/824079/576 "2018-11-08T20:04:56Z")
Just heard that both Florida races – Senator and Governor – are within .5% and thus will qualify for the automatic recount provision. Not likely that anything will change, but we can still hope. It is Florida, after all. Someone might find an alligator or something stuffed full of ballots. ---
**Author:** ![Tapiotar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3be4f8/32.png) [@Tapiotar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapiotar)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2018, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2018-election-day-thread/824079/577 "2018-11-08T22:10:07Z")
We need Serge Storms to come up with that alligator. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2018, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2018-election-day-thread/824079/578 "2018-11-09T00:10:09Z")
[https://results.arizona.vote/#/featured/4/0](https://results.arizona.vote/#/featured/4/0) Dem is in the lead in the AZ Senate race! ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2018, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2018-election-day-thread/824079/579 "2018-11-09T01:34:01Z")
If Sinema wins AZ, then that means 53 seats for the Republicans. If the FL recount leads to a Nelson win, then that’s only 52. With 52, that means in 2020 the Dems will only need to net 2 to control the Senate if they also win the WH, or 3 if they do not. And there are more than 3 swingy states that will have Senate elections in 2020. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2018, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2018-election-day-thread/824079/580 "2018-11-09T03:08:41Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > If Sinema wins AZ, then that means 53 seats for the Republicans. If the FL recount leads to a Nelson win, then that’s only 52. With 52, that means in 2020 the Dems will only need to net 2 to control the Senate if they also win the WH, or 3 if they do not. And there are more than 3 swingy states that will have Senate elections in 2020. This assumes they don’t lose any seats – and Doug Jones will be trying to defend his seat in ruby red Alabama (and probably not running against an accused pedophile this time). Still, holding Republicans to 52 seats would at least make it doable. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2018, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2018-election-day-thread/824079/581 "2018-11-09T03:43:57Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > If Sinema wins AZ, then that means 53 seats for the Republicans. If the FL recount leads to a Nelson win, then that’s only 52. The odds of Sinema pulling it out are probably better than even with most of the outstanding votes in the Phoenix area. Hardly certain, but probably better than 50%. Nelson though, is highly unlikely to win. Hard to make up much ground in a recount unless there was a truly grand screw-up, which is less likely in this day and age. Hundreds of votes, sure. Thousands, not likely. For your own peace of mind I’d suggest just counting this one as lost. You can always be pleasantly surprised if it turns out well. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2018-election-day-thread/824079.md?page=28) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2018-election-day-thread/824079.md?page=30)