He looks like the kind of guy who reacts to any setback by yelling “Dagnabbit!” and throwing his hat onto the ground. Which yes, is perfect for that role.
Should’ve played a whole hand of poker.
Can’t say for sure, but the Republican redistricting seems to have largely backfired. I’ve read here that, in a few races, the losing Dem candidate would likely have won if the disallowed Republican-drawn maps had been used.
I remember that possibility was brought up even as the redistricting was being pushed; that the steps they were taking could very well backfire and end up costing them seats. Of course, they said the same thing about California when they drew up new lines and that didn’t happen to them (at least in this election).
I think Indiana Republicans dodged a large dummymandering error
I am posting this non-paywalled article about Mr. Matta.
I love hearing about young people like him and Mr. Darris-O’Connor in MA. They make my cynical old heart melt a bit.
Yes, and South Carolina. Both resisted Trumpian demands and avoided a massive mistake (from their perspective).
So much for “My vote won’t count”. 
Wow.
I remember that election. I happened to see a news report on the tie, so I added it to the Wikilist of close election results. But someone later modified my addition. It seems the Republican appealed the tie to the Republican-dominated legislature. They put their thumb on the balance and counted several votes that had been disallowed by the local election officials, which gave the R candidate the win.
Just reran my spreadsheet with the most current data from AP, and it projects a further 3k increase to Colom’s lead: 17.1k to 13.9k with 31k remaining. Note: remaining votes calculated based on the estimated votes counted column in AP’s county by county numbers, where no county is showing 100%. I don’t think this is particularly accurate, but I also don’t think it matters much. Altering the calculation to assume no further votes from 99% counties only drops the estimated outstanding vote by 4k and marginally bumps up Colom’s margin.
Given the spreadsheet predicted about 3k last time on the old data while Colom’s lead has grown in the meantime, this suggests that the assumption it’s based on, i.e. that outstanding votes will apportion to the candidates in the same proportions as already counted votes, is wrong. Instead, the outstanding votes are breaking towards Colom at higher rates, which means Colom’s lead is likely to grow by even more than that.
This isn’t a huge shock. The late-counted votes are going to be mostly mail-ins and provisionals, both of which will probably skew a little bluer than the rest of the vote.
It also means that this race is pretty much a lock. The biggest chunk of outstanding votes is in Hinds County where Colom stands to pick up 3500 votes based on extant voting patterns. The rest of the state is basically a wash, with each candidate picking up a few hundred votes here and there but ultimately approximately balancing out - aside from that whole it looks like the ballots remaining to be counted are bluer on average than the rest of them thing, that is.
Um, yes? It’s not like it would even have been a betrayal of their principles: After all, you’d expect conservatives to vote for the more conservative candidate.
Every state has a provision for ties. Last time I remember a state drawing straws, though, the straw-drawing was run by a Republican official, who basically just handed the long straw to the Republican candidate. And they only got the tie by double-counting a few votes.
I’ve heard that in Nevada, the random tiebreaker is done via a single hand of five-card stud. Appropriate, if true.
So what do they do now? There has to be some way to resolve ties, because it does occasionally happen.
Bare-knuckle boxing?
If they banned a game of chance, maybe they use a game of skill?
Or perhaps… A Game of Thrones? Main theme blares
This is the law on the books now:
https://www.cga.ct.gov/2006/rpt/2006-R-0764.htm
Connecticut treats a tie vote differently (1) in a primary and general election and (2) based on the office for which the candidates are running in a general election. If candidates for either statewide or legislative office tie in a primary, the secretary of the state chooses the nominee by drawing lots (CGS § 9-446). If statewide office candidates tie in a general election, the General Assembly elects the winner (CGS § 9-173). Finally, if legislative candidates tie in a general election, the election is adjourned and a runoff is conducted three weeks later (CGS § 9-332).
In a general election a tie is handled by another election of some kind.
I checked Tennessee House. I think this is accurate.
Nine districts. Seven are traditionally Republican. Until recently, the district with Memphis was strong Democrat. The one with Nashville was Democrat, but not strong.
A few years ago they restructured the Nashville area to make it Republican.
Then the restructured the Memphis one to make it Republican. Memphis is in the corner of the state. They split it into three districts, sort of like a pie.
This election: One of the Memphis districts flipped. One of the Nashville districts is one mentioned here that is very close.
And in the Governor’s race. Typically the Republican candidate gets about 20 percent or so more votes than the Democratic candidate. This election the Republican won by about 3 1/2 percent.
hidden by staff, wrong thread
What Should the Democrats in Congress Do Now?
(This should be its own thread, but I couldn’t find that thread.)
The Democratic Congress needs to push for
- Ending the war on Iran
- Ending the tariffs
- Restoring Medicaid, SNAP and other welfare programs degraded by the Big Beautiful Republicans
ALL three of these priorities will offer immediate relief to Americans suffering from increased costs. The cost of living was the key issue on which Americans voted, and the D agenda should focus on that. After January they can pass this legislation (Win-win whether Trumpf vetoes or not); but even now they should fight for these, daring the Rs to unite and vote for a continued bad economy for Americans.
A “continuing resolution” will be required in December to keep the government going. Democrats should refuse to accept any CR without a clause like “Zero funds may be spent on War on Iran.” (This is how the Vietnam War ended: cf. Case–Church Amendment, 1 July 1973.)
After these top priorities, the Ds can pass Medicare-For-All; subsidize schools; restore USAID; restore EPA; etc. Programs that clearly help America and Americans.
These pocketbook issues need to be the top priority. Sure, it would be sweet to impeach or imprison some of the Trumpist menagerie of criminals. But focusing on this would excite only the left-wing. If Ds focus on this “Centrists” will label the D’s as “Same-same” and lead to Red wave in 2028.
Interesting report from AP on why they haven’t called MS yet:
Moderating as you knew wrong thread.
The House is now at 254-163 (44-3 flip). There are 18 left to call including Boebert in Colorado.
This is according to CNN.
*There are three races where the outcome is unknown but the party is known (2 Dem, 1 GOP). It’s difficult to tell but I think that’s included in CNN’s party totals so there are really 21 uncalled races.
Alaska is not expected to update their totals until Monday or Tuesday. They will continue to count ballots received and cured until the 15th. At that point, if needed, they will do the ranked choice calculation.