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I hope that every super- market executive in the country sees these pictures. What they show is the checkout line at the Trader Joe's grocery ...
Baltimore sells its methane to the Coast Guard. Sun
SF mayor may mandate foot patrols. SF Chronicle
Got a Heads Up for us? Email 13thfloor@...
Political candidates control a lot: their appearances, their message, their ads.
If only they could control the news stories about themselves.
Well, there's a ...
If I lived in suburban Detroit, I'd be tempted to accept the invitation I just got from a candidate there, if only because of the ...
If you arrived at this blog via Governing's home page, you'll note that Massachusetts House Speaker Sal DiMasi adorns our current cover, which celebrates our ...
All year, I've kept one eye on the Minnesota governor's race. Not because it's one of the closest in the country -- although there is ...
posted by Josh Goodman
Early this year, officials in Sedgwick County, Kansas announced that they were eliminating more than two thirds of their voting locations. ...
Oops! AL GOP flier accidently endorses a Dem. Decatur Daily
TX state senate candidate thrown in jail before election (again). Austin American-Statesman
A world without ...
As 13th floor readers know, I believe that indexing the minimum wage to inflation would be an excellent way to get Democrats and Republicans to ...
You gotta love Nevada.
Residents of the state will vote tomorrow on whether to ban smoking in public areas in the state. They have a ...
Nearly seven years ago, Governing ran a cover story about Oakland, noting that the city was undergoing a unique experiment in shared power between the ...
We don't get a lot of comments, unfortunately, here on the 13th Floor. But I did get a couple in response to my post the ...
With one day until THE day, I've compiled a list of where to find election results in all fifty states. If you're only interested in ...
As Josh says, we'll be blogging and offering election coverage well into the night tomorrow. If you want to know whether Democrats are really going ...
Talkingpointsmemo.com, a liberal-leaning blog, is chockablock with stories about robocalls sponsored by the National Republican Campaign Committee. People in some swing districts are being ...
The dire predictions of massive voting problems today, electronic and otherwise, remind me of the leadup to Y2K. Remember how airliners were going to ...
My son is currently in the midst of applying to colleges, so I am on heightened alert when it comes to news headlines with the ...
We've been talking a lot here on the 13th Floor about what we expect the new governors to do once they take office. There will ...
To see video of South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford being turned away from voting because he didn't have his voter ID card, click here.
There's some sort of election thingy today. Google
Cities get warning to start saving now for retirees. San Jose Mercury News
Wait, Kinky Friedman rejected ...
Our live election coverage starts tonight around 6:00. Check here for the latest news on the 36 governors, the 30 attorneys general, the 300 mayors and each of the 7,200 ...
As polls close in parts of Indiana and Kentucky in a few minutes, you'll hear a lot about the congressional races in those states foreshadowing ...
One Indiana Republican legislator facing a serious challenge tonight is Bruce Borders. Democrats charge that he's not a serious enough lawmaker. Why would they say ...
I just saw some exit polls for U.S. Senate races. Many are close but if the numbers hold, Democrats would get the gain of ...
NCSL has a helpful guide to which legislatures are in play. This post explains their methodology.
Also, here's my list of where to find election ...
posted by Alan Greenblatt
Early exit polls (and we know how accurate those can be) show bad news for Bush.
Nearly 6 in 10 disapprove of the ...
Here are some potential upsets. And I'm not talking mild surprises, I'm talking UPSETS.
Florida Governor: Republican Charlie Crist has led the whole election, but ...
posted by Alan Greenblatt
But who can wait any longer?
With 37 percent of precincts reporting, Democrat John Yarmuth is leading in Kentucky's 3rd District in ...
Our first call: CNN says that the ban on same-sex marriage will pass in Virginia, which is a surprisingly quick call on a vote that ...
posted by Alan Greenblatt
National Review blog has the Senate numbers also, along with issue questions. Corruption is top concern, followed by terror, economy, Iraq. ...
Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramson looks like a safe bet for reelection, with a 2 to 1 lead and a third of precincts reporting.
posted by Alan Greenblatt
I'm still getting calls from Democratic friends saying they don't believe their party can actually pull off a win tonight. Meanwhile, ...
We have our first gubernatorial call: Democrat Ted Strickland will be the next governor of Ohio.
Few analysts have been talking much about Republicans losing either house of the Ohio legislature, but with the toxic environment for the GOP in the ...
posted by Alan Greenblatt
Ellsworth still way up with 29 percent of vote in.
Baron "The Baron" Hill barely ahead in other southern Indiana ...
posted by Alan Greenblatt
Crist is up 60-38 for Florida gov with 8 percent reporting
So far that's a hold for Brother Bush.
CQ has this useful list of poll closing times. Now that polls are closed in the majority of states, I think it's safe to say ...
Democrat Deval Patrick has won the Massachusetts governorship, according to the AP. Two mind-boggling stats: He will be only the third black governor in American ...
CNN has called IN-08 for Ellsworth. John Hostettler was elected in 1994 and since has been a perennial target for Democrats. It took a Democratic year ...
We have a bunch of winners from various news organizations. Republicans Jodi Rell in CT and Sonny Perdue in GA, plus Democrats Ed Rendell in ...
The AP has called the Illinois governors' race for incumbent Democrat Rod Blagojevich, making him a leading candidate for the Gray Davis Award for most ...
Joe Donnelly is pulling away from Chris Chocola in the South Bend district but it's still early (32 percent). Baron "The Baron" Hill is ...
MSNBC calls Ohio Senate seat for Democat Sherrod Brown. Dems getting the gimmes for Senate, but George Allen up 50-49 in Virginia with 55 percent reporting.
...
Polls about to close in several states. Some tossup House seats (North Carolina 11, even the Mark Foley seat) are nearly tied at the moment. Yarmuth ...
Increases in the minimum wage are projected to pass in Ohio and Missouri. The same goes for bans on same-sex marriage in Tennessee and South ...
The Detroit Free Press says that Democrat Jennifer Granholm is winning big, but that Republicans are winning downballot elections.
MSNBC calling governor races -- Napolitano, Spitzer, Freudenthal, Heineman, Perdue, Richardson, Henry all win.
Granholm wins Michigan, too. I was in Michigan a few weeks ...
Wow. Amy Klobuchar and Debbie Stabenow are being projected winners in Minnesota and Michigan Senate races, right along Hillary and other never-in-doubt winners. Klobuchar has ...
MSNBC called the Pennsylvania Senate race around 8:30 because they knew Casey would beat Santorum and polls had closed in most of the state. CNN held ...
How can a political blog ignore the fact that networks are calling Connecticut for Lieberman?
Ben Cardin wins. That shouldn't have been a race. Maryland is a very blue state, but it stayed close until the end.
Cardin has been ...
This is the first incumbent governor to lose and the first true toss-up gubernatorial election to be called. Democrat Martin O'Malley has defeated Republican Governor ...
That was another Maryland race that Bob Ehrlich, the incumbent Republican governor, kept close. Ehrlich has always had an appealing persona and I'll disagree with ...
Yarmuth wins in Louisville. That's a big win for Democrats in the House.
They also have taken the Rhode Island Senate seat. That's three of ...
State Attorney General Charlie Crist is up 54-44 percent in the FL governor's race with 58 percent of the vote in.
There could be as many ...
The nation's premier downballot election is in Kansas, where Attorney General Phill Kline, a conservative Republican, is facing Democrat Paul Morrison. Kline in big trouble ...
Adrian Fenty, the new mayor of DC, is making his victory speech right now.
It's still earlier in many of these races, but currently five incumbent Republican congressmen in Pennsylvania are behind.
Kansas really is fascinating. Sebelius won four years ago largely because the state GOP there is so fractured. She has been popular but has struggled ...
The networks finally recognizing that it's election night. ABC is calling all three contested Indiana House seats for the Democrats.
Nancy Johnson, a 24-year Connecticut ...
Hodes beats Bass in New Hampshire. Bass was, along with defeated Republican Rhode Island Senator Lincoln Chaffee and Connecticut's Nancy Johnson, a classic GOP moderate ...
The ban on same-sex marriage is ahead in Colorado, while the effort to legalize domestic partnerships is currently behind.
The ban on affirmative action is ...
CNN calls Ed Rendell's reelection in Pennsylvania.
Also, another term for Jim Doyle, the governor of Wisconsin.
Democratic candidates holding big leads right now in ...
Mark Foley/Joe Negron still hanging tough in Florida, but Republicans have lost one of the other "scandal seats." The Ohio seat held ...
CNN calls Florida for Charlie Crist, the Republican state attorney general who will succeed Governor Jeb Bush. Exit polls showed 66 percent approval among voters for ...
CNN has Republican Rick Perry winning another term as governor of Texas. Democrat Chris Bell appears to be finishing second, while Kinky Friedman is languishing ...
Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano, a Democrat, has won reelection. Napolitano rejected a pay increase for herself and the modest pay for the office is one ...
Legislative returns are slow in coming. Looks like Democrats have knocked off 8 GOP incumbents in the Vermont House, adding to their majority.
Democratic candidate/former ...
An astute reader in Alabama notes an interesting comeback bid: Former Alabama Governor Jim Folsom Jr., a Democrat, is currently leading in the race for ...
Democrats are claiming victory in Indiana, where they appear to have erased the GOP's slender 52-48 lead.
Here's the statement from the DLCC. Can't believe ...
Scandal notwithstanding, Alan Hevesi has been reelected comptroller of New York according to the New York Times. Andrew Cuomo will be the next attorney general.
Dems have made three pickups in the Delaware House, according to NCSL.
Check out the NCSL blog, where Bill Wyatt reports:
"The Democratic pickups ...
CNN says Dems have the net gain of 15 seats that they need to take the U.S. House.
There are plenty of races yet to ...
Obviously, what a Dem House means right now is a rebuke to the Bush White House.
The cable commentators have been talking about whether the ...
CNN says Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle has won four more years.
Have to say, despite the call for O'Malley, Ehrlich's lead is holding steady with ...
Here's my one character analysis: ?
And here's the longer version. I expect a Democratic majority to pursue an increase in the minimum wage, look to ...
CNN projects that the South Dakota ban on abortion will go down to defeat. The legislature and governor had signed off on a ban without ...
In Arizona, the minimum wage increase is winning, English as the official language is winning, the gay marriage ban is down 51%-49% and voters have ...
Have we called Arkansas for Beebe yet? He'll be yet one more AG-turned-governor.
Despite a successful 10-year run by outgoing Republican Mike Huckabee, Democrats have ...
CNN has the call, that the abortion ban in South Dakota will fail. Let me be the first to suggest that this is a blessing ...
Note that the Washington Post has withdrawn its call for Ben Cardin in the Maryland Senate race.
Republican Governor Bob Ehrlich still leads the governor's ...
AP calls California for incumbent Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
No surprise there, but still it's one of the amazing political comeback stories of the year.
We've had a lot of easy calls tonight, but there are at least a few extremely close races for governor: Minnesota, Nevada and Rhode Island (...
Dem gains: New York (of course), Ohio, Colorado.
Hatch is ahead in Minnesota, 47-45.
AP has called Maine for incumbent John Baldacci, with an unimpressive 40 ...
Webb, who has been behind all night, has taken the lead over Allen as the last few percent of precincts are coming in. Apparently the ...
Eminent domain measures are passing all over the country. Our friends at NCSL say ballot measures have passed in six states, with Arizona looking good ...
Democratic Governor Brad Henry of Oklahoma is winning reelection right now with 67% of the vote. That's incredible on at least three levels:
1) Oklahoma is very ...
NCSL reports that Democrats will take the Michigan House. I was just trying to find numbers on the Michigan Senate, where Democrats have had hopes ...
That's what MSNBC says: Four more years of the Governator.
They only have five governors races left undecided: Minnesota, Rhode Island, Nevada, Alaska and Idaho.
Note that the five states where Josh reports the governor's race is still in doubt -- MN, RI, NV, AK, ID -- are all held ...
Tester has been holding a big lead since polls closed in Montana. Webb is still up by 2,000 in Virginia.
If those results hold, that means ...
Gay marriage bans seem to be passing in every state but one: Arizona. In that state, NCSL says the ban (which also would forbid other ...
We were having some dialogue on this page in recent days about the impact of third party candidates. Note that a Green Party candidate has ...
Bob Corker, the former mayor of Chattanooga, wins the Tennessee Senate seat, according to MSNBC.
That gives Republicans 49 seats.
George Allen is thanking God and ...
Don Carcieri survives the Democratic storm in Rhode Island, winning another term 51-49.
Note that AP still is not calling Maryland gov.
These are all early results, about 11 percent of precincts:
Voters are overwhelmingly approving Proposition 83, one of the toughest versions of the tough-on-sex-offenders "Jessica's Law&...
I asked Burdett Loomis, a political scientist at the University of Kansas, his thoughts on the results there. (Note that Loomis has worked for Governor ...
Nebraska, Oregon and Maine are all rejecting TABORs. No matter how often Colorado Governor Bill Owens makes the point that his state saved, rather than ...
California voters, having rejected every measure on the special election ballot last November, are feeling in a more positive frame of mind, it seems.
As ...
Jim Webb is speaking now, sounding a lot more upbeat than George Allen did a while ago. That one will drag on for weeks, I'm ...
Jim Black, the scandal-prone speaker of the North Carolina House, will doubtless face a recount after winning reelection by -- get this -- 7 votes.
That's ...
That's the big judicial one on my list, other than the South Dakota vote.
Here's the latest on the four that MSNBC hasn't called:
AK: Palin (R) 52%, Knowles (D) 37% (43% reporting)
ID: Otter (R) 54%, Brady (D) 43% (35% reporting)
MN: Pawlenty (...
Jennie Bowser of NCSL sums up the major measures here.
I checked that site to see what else was happening on abortion, after we've noted ...
Still no Dem losses. As of now, Democrats are up 19 seats, with about three dozen yet to be called.
Nick Lampson has just been declared ...
No change in Tennessee Senate. Democrats pick up a minor party seat in the House.
Democrats pick up 10 seats in the Vermont House, plus one ...
There was a lot of 13th Floor chatter about whether big gubernatorial victories could help Democrats pick up legislative seats in states like Ohio, Pennsylvania ...
In addition to their House seat gains and Chet Culver's election -- the first time Iowa has elected one Democrat to succeed another as governor ...
I was on NPR a few minutes ago, where the subject turned to the difference between this year's congressional elections and governors' elections. I pointed ...
McCaskill wins Missouri. Tester is still ahead in Montana.
That's a tied Senate, with VP Cheney breaking the tie.
Webb has declared victory in Virginia. ...
Democrats are claiming control of a majority of chambers, including new majorities in the Indiana House, New Hampshire House and Senate, Iowa House and Senate, ...
Otter wins Idaho.
O'Malley is solid in Maryland.
AP isn't calling, but looks like Pawlenty wins another term. He'll have to deal with a Democratic ...
posted by Alan Greenblatt
At nearly 3 am, still not seeing any definitive call on the stem cell vote in Missouri, but the pro side is ...
Most Bay Area incumbents are winning easily, but scandals are having an effect there as elsewhere.
It looks like Chuck Reed will be the new ...
Josh and Alan were here all night, burning the midnight blogging oil.
They stared into the gaping maw of state and local politics -- here's ...
Al From, the head of the Democratic Leadership Council, has released a statement celebrating "a broad and deep Democratic win."
Fair enough. But ...
Here's a cheat sheet on the overall scoreboard in races for governor:
THE GOVERNORS Next Year Republicans 22 Democrats 28 ...
What does it mean to claim victory before others declare you the winner? I think it's another symptom of our bruising, in-your-face political culture.
The ...
In one obvious way, Tuesday wasn't good for gays: Seven states passed constitutional amendments banning gay marriage. Arizona was the exception, where voters rejected a ...
Here's a fun bit of trivia out of this year's elections. Four of the new state attorneys general are the sons of former governors.
Andrew ...
I'm not a great believer in the idea that foul language should necessarily be more prevalent on a blog than in a print publication. But ...
It makes sense that Republicans were able to make gains this year in Oklahoma and Montana. Oklahoma is a conservative state and the Montana legislature ...
Surge in Hollywood divorces is tough on LA city clerks. LA Times
OH county officials: Election tally can wait until after football. Columbus Dispatch
Judge ...
For VA state police, "10-4" gets 86'ed. Washington Post
Jerry Brown: California's once and future governor?? Oakland Tribune
How cities compete in the ...
posted Alan Greenblatt
States should start getting along better with Congress. Issues that congressional Democrats are touting, such as stem cell research and a minimum ...
Our news cup runneth over, so here's a second Heads Up for today. You're welcome.
No experience? No problem! You, too, can be a Boston ...
While many New Orleans residents are still concerned with rebuilding their homes, their neighborhoods and their lives, the city is also embarking on an effort ...
The 13th Floor's Alan Greenblatt was interviewed on NPR this weekend, dicussing the impact of last week's gubernatorial elections on domestic policy.
You can hear ...
Ru-dee! Ru-dee! Ru-dee! NY Daily News
A Utah health care panel takes 2 years and $300k to do absolutely nothing. Salt Lake Trib
CA ...
From the Washington Post's Off/beat blog, we learn that a town in Spain is going to fight sexism by replacing half of the males ...
We on the the 13th Floor have long admired Mike Leavitt.
As governor of Utah and the fedeal Secretary of Health and Human Services, ...
Well, here's one I bet you haven't heard before.
A Missouri House committee has issued a report linking present-day illegal immigration rates with liberal social ...
I still remember what the first day of school was like -- the excitement of seeing friends, meeting new teachers and getting ready to learn. ...
Earlier this year I wrote a feature on baseball stadium financing, with the premise that it's getting harder for teams to win funding from state ...
A belated thought about what happened in Virginia last Tuesday, and what it might mean for other states:
There was a time, not too ...
Gary Hart to mayors: Link the war and global warming. Salt Lake Tribune
If you only resign for seven weeks, isn't that called a "...
CO legislators who want to be lobbyists are getting out while they can. Denver Post
No more piggybacking! New parking meters cause a stir. Boston ...
"Pharmaceuticals are the most politically charged Medicaid issue."
That's how Ray Hanley, the former director of Medicaid for Arkansas, introduced the last panel ...
Last week's Public Officials of the Year awards dinner was, as always, a celebratory event.
But seeing Chicago Library Commissioner Mary Dempsey (one of our ...
You may already be too drunk to drive! USA Today
London mayor wants $50 SUV charge. Streetsblog
Is hunting by airplane ethical? Anchorage Daily News
Is ...
If you were the C.E.O. of an airline, say, or a chain of restaurants, it would be pretty easy to put yourself in ...
Now you, too, can smell like an Ohio town! AP
Sex offender law snare hospice patient and a man with Alzheimer's. WaPo
Suburban hospital boom ...
!!Blatant Cross-Promotion Alert!!
Governing recognizes several public officials each year, with an award we oh-so-creatively call Public Officials of the Year.
In addition to writing ...
