GOP Seeks to Take Back Congress
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by Breitbart News 4 Nov 2014, 8:38 AM PDT 487 post a comment
Republicans need to win a net of six Senate seats to take back Congress. Stay with Breitbart News throughout the day and evening for live updates from across the country.
If Thom Tillis and Scott Brown win their races in North Carolina and New Hampshire, respectively, it'll be game over early in the night. Republicans can also wrap things up if their candidates win in Iowa and outright in Georgia and Louisiana. But if Tillis, Brown, and Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS) lose, Republicans may have to wait well into early morning hours until the final votes trickle in from Alaska, the last frontier state. Republicans may even have to wait a month or two until potential runoffs in Louisiana and Georgia are completed to officially take back the Senate.
The battle for the future of the GOP and the 2016 jockeying will begin in earnest tomorrow as well.
Stay with Breitbart News for updates on the congressional races and important gubernatorial and state-level contests (newer updates at top). Clyburn said Grimes's polling numbers plummeted "after she botched that question" and accused Grimes of not knowing how to properly "finesse" the issue.
TEXAS: Are Some Voting Machines Omitting Greg Abbott's Name on Ballots?
Abbott asked voters to report any "ballot irregularities" to state officials. Abbott is on his way to defeating Wendy Davis, the pro-late-term abortion one-trick pony whom the mainstream media and out-of-state liberals desperately and breathlessly tried to build up, essentially attempting to force-feed Texans something they refused to eat. Davis has gotten more nasty and spiteful as her poll numbers plummeted, even after she was resoundingly mocked and condemned for her "wheelchair" ad attacking the disabled Abbott.
VIRGINIA: Voting Machines Malfunction & Democrats Getting 'Nervous'
The Republican Party of Virginia informed the Virginia Department of Elections that, “Voters have difficulty selecting the candidate of their choice using the touch screen because the screen’s touch sensor is not properly aligned with the text that appears on the screen."
Meanwhile, Democrats are reportedly getting "nervous" about Sen. Mark Warner's (D-VA) race against Ed Gillespie.
Election Officials Worried 'Absolutely Nothing Stopping' Non-Citizens from Voting:
Old Dominion professors determined that non-citizens may have tipped elections for Democrats like Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) in the past. And elections officials told Fox News that there is nothing stopping non-citizens from casting illegal ballots.
"In terms of a check and balance that would prevent an individual who is a non U.S. citizen from registering to vote, that doesn't exist. There's absolutely nothing stopping them," Neal Kelley, the Orange County registrar of voters and chairman of the California Association of Election Officials, told Fox News:
The problem, officials say, dates back to the 1993 federal Motor Voter Act, which requires states to offer residents the ability to register to vote when they obtain a driver's license or ID card. In some states, the driver's license and voter registration application are on the same form, and the applicant simply signs. In small print, the form says applicants acknowledge they are U.S. citizens. In other states, voter registration is a separate form and applicants check a box. In either case, once signed, the forms are automatically sent to the county or state registrar of voters, and the name is added to voter rolls.... There are two ways to eliminate or slow the problem. While only U.S. citizens can vote, only four states require proof before registering: Kansas, Arizona, Georgia and Alabama.... States can also compare voter rolls to a federal immigration database known as SAVE, or the Systemic Alien Verification System for Entitlements. Four states tried, but the ACLU and others sued, stopping Virginia, Iowa and Florida from purging voter rolls of non-citizens.
Non-citizen voters have already been found on the rolls in battleground states like North Carolina. And the problem may get worse if the Obama administration grants more immigrant identification cards and work permits to millions of illegal immigrants after Obama's forthcoming executive amnesty.
KANSAS: Joe Biden Blows 'Indepedent' Greg Orman's Cover: "We have a chance of picking up an independent who will be with us in the state of Kansas."
The "independent" who has been playing up his "independence" to a fawning media may be a stealth Democrat after all. White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest, though, insisted the White House has no idea whether Orman will caucus with Republicans or Democrats if he wins.
Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS), a staunch opponent of amnesty and fervently for life, is trying retain the seat for Republicans.
UPDATE: The Roberts campaign is reportedly planning to use Biden's remarks in robocalls to Kansas voters this afternoon.
White House Spins: Midterms Not Referendum on Obama
A day after spinning that it would not be "wise" to draw conclusions from the midterm elections, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest declared on Tuesday that the midterms have nothing to do with President Obama, who has not campaigned for congressional candidates because he is such a liability. Earnest said voters are voting for names on the ballot and "not the name that's not."
A Gallup analysis, though, found that Obama's approval rating was lower than his national average in five of the six most important battleground states. Earnest did say that Obama, who declared that his policies were on the ballot, has "aggressively made the case for Democrats" and taped a number of robocalls for Democrats that will be airing today. Obama has been so toxic that Alison Lundergan Grimes, the Democrat running for Kentucky's Senate seat, refused to say whether she voted for Obama.
Earnest was responding to a question about whether Obama could effectively use his bully pulpit after the elections if Democrats are resoundingly defeated and Republicans take back Congress.
Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC): Black Voters May Not Vote for Democrats Who Run Away from Obama
Black Democrats love President Barack Obama. Reagan Democrats and independents have soured on him. That's the dilemma many Democrats in red states must face. On Tuesday, Rep. James Clyburn said Kentucky Senate candidate Alison Lundergan Grimes may have turned off black Democrats by refusing to say whether she voted for Obama. Clyburn said her poll numbers plummeted "after she botched that question" and Grimes did not know how to "finesse" the issue.
Rand Paul: Let D.C. Voters Legalize Marijuana if They Want (via Roll Call)
As District of Columbia voters are seemingly poised to approve a ballot item to allow cultivation and possession of small quantities of marijuana for personal use, the Republican in charge of a subpanel with D.C. oversight says home rule should prevail.
“I think there should be a certain amount of discretion for both states and territories and the District, you know,” Sen. Rand Paul said outside his polling place at an elementary school here. “I think really that when we set up our country, we intended that most crime or not crime, things that we determined to be crime or not crimes, was really intended to be determined by localities.”
COLORADO: "Senator Uterus" Heckled by Own Millionaire Donor; Voter Website Crashes in Arapahoe County
Sen. Mark Udall's (D-CO) obsession with the phony "war on women" has backfired big time on him. And even his own donors called him out after a campaign stop. Rep. Cory Gardner (R-CO) has a substantial lead heading into election day. He and Ernst may have been lauded for running good campaigns this election cycle.
From the Guardian:
An angry voice from the crowd jeered: “That’s not the only thing you stand for! Jesus Christ!”
Udall turned to a short, dark man on his left. The senator look genuinely stunned. “I’m sorry?”
“That’s not the only thing you stand for!” The heckler was Leo Beserra, a 73-year-old who made millions on Wall Street and, since the early 1990s, has shared a generous slice of that wealth with Colorado Democrats.
Beserra’s grievance – that the senator’s narrow focus on abortion has backfired – is shared by others in the party, but rarely voiced in public and never in the middle of the candidate’s campaign speech.
In Arapahoe County, which may be the nation's bellwether country, the election website crashed on Tuesday morning.
According to ABC:
The Arapahoe County voter information website crashed on election day morning.
Visitors trying to access ArapahoeVotes.com on Tuesday morning got a message that said the website was "Forbidden You don't have permission to access/on this server" or they got a blank page.
NEW HAMPSHIRE:
Republican Scott Brown closed a double-digit deficit against Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) in a purple state by hammering the illegal immigration issue. On Monday, a bombshell report found that Shaheen was complicit in the IRS's targeting of conservatives. The race is a dead heat, and some clever campaign signs are reinforcing the message that a vote for Shaheen is a vote for the unpopular President Obama. Breitbart's Matt Boyle has been on the ground in the Granite State.
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IOWA: Joni Ernst accepts Tom Harkin's Apology, Tells Hecklers, 'I've Seen Worse, Usually in Iowa
Republican Joni Ernst, who is trying to become the first woman in Iowa to be elected to federal office, accepted Sen. Tom Harkin's (D-IA) patronizing remarks about her looks, saying on Fox News on Monday that, "it is regrettable that he said those things in the first place, but you know what, just like Taylor Swift says, we’re going to shake this off. We’re going to drive on and share my message with Iowans."
Ernst also had the perfect response to hecklers who crashed a campaign event at an Iowa State fraternity: 'I've seen worse, usually in Iraq': The Iowa State Daily has the details:
As Joni Ernst began to speak at Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity at Iowa State Nov. 3, protesters scattered across the room stood up and began to yell, "People in, money out."
Ernst came to the fraternity Nov. 3. as part of her 24-hour tour across Iowa before Election Day. As a mix of students and Story County residents began to shout over Ernst, attendees of the rally ushered them out the door, clapping and chanting, "Joni."
“I’ve seen worse before, usually in Iraq,” Ernst laughed as she continued her speech.
Protesters stood on the public sidewalk outside the fraternity for the remainder of Ernst's speech.
Ernst has the advantage heading into election day:
PPP: Ernst 49, Braley 46
Des Moines Register: Ernst 51, Braley 44
Quinnipiac: Ernst 47, Braley 47
Matt Drudge, expecting a shellacking, declared Tuesday "is be kind to a liberal day."
Ted Cruz Won't Commit to Supporting Mitch McConnell for Majority Leader; Rand Paul Pledges Support
After Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) refused to endorse Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) for Majority Leader, Sen. Rand Paul, who defeated McConnell's handpicked candidate in 2010, expressed his support for his fellow Kentucky Senator on Monday. Paul and Cruz are potential 2016 rivals and McConnell survived a primary challenge because he secured Paul's endorsement, perhaps in exchange for some institutional help if Paul runs for president.
"I don't have any comment on that," Paul said when asked about Cruz's remarks, "but I'm going to support McConnell for Leader."
Voters Report Slew of Problems at Polling Places
It wouldn't be election day without problems at polling places. In Connecticut, voting machines were broken and registration books missing. In D.C., thieves stole digital voter books. In New Mexico, dead people received absentee ballots. No word yet on how often people in Cook County have voted.
Ted Cruz Won't Commit to Supporting Mitch McConnell for Majority Leader; Rand Paul Pledges Support
After Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) refused to endorse Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) for Majority Leader, Sen. Rand Paul, who defeated McConnell's handpicked candidate in 2010, expressed his support for his fellow Kentucky Senator on Monday. Paul and Cruz are potential 2016 rivals and McConnell survived a primary challenge because he secured Paul's endorsement, perhaps in exchange for some institutional help if Paul runs for president.
"I don't have any comment on that," Paul said when asked about Cruz's remarks, "but I'm going to support McConnell for Leader."
Voters Report Slew of Problems at Polling Places
It wouldn't be election day without problems at polling places. In Connecticut, voting machines were broken and registration books missing. In D.C., thieves stole digital voter books. In New Mexico, dead people received absentee ballots. No word yet on how often people in Cook County have voted.
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