ABC News Calls Indiana Senate Race for Republican Over Democrat Incumbent

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ABC News has called Indiana’s Senate race for the challenging Republican, Mike Braun, over incumbent Sen. Joe Donnelly, in the first Republican Senate seat conversion of the 2018 midterms.

Braun is a relative unknown in the state and does not have a particularly compelling public speaking style nor a strong public record. Indiana was also an early and huge Donald Trump state in 2016. So it’s fair to wager voters here turned out more for Trump and against Democrats than for Braun specifically. Trump returned the love, visiting the state repeatedly, including just yesterday for a rally of an estimated 20,000 people in the largest stadium in Fort Wayne, Indiana’s second-largest city.

People who had arrived several hours before Trump was due managed to get seats, but a line some 300 yards long still snaked into the parking lot when the stadium reached capacity and outsiders were turned away. Similarly, polling places across the city and state were packed to levels precinct workers said they’d never seen in years of working election days, surpassing even the 2016 record-setting surge. . .

(Read more from “ABC News Calls Indiana Senate Race for Republican Over Democrat Incumbent” HERE)

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GOP Keeps Key Kentucky Seat

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By Townhall. U.S Rep. Andy Barr, and Republicans, can breathe a sigh of relief. For now. The incumbent has held off Democratic congressional candidate Amy McGrath in Kentucky’s sixth congressional district race, according to NBC.

Barr was elected to Congress in 2012 and is a member of the Financial Services Committee. One of his biggest accomplishments, which he lists on his campaign site, was establishing the Sixth District Veterans Coalition, and fighting for reforms at the Veterans Affairs agency. . .

Democrats need to pick up 23 Republican seats tonight to retake control of the House.

(Read more from “GOP Keeps Key Kentucky Seat” HERE)

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Republican Marsha Blackburn Wins Tennessee Senate Race, Beating Democrat Phil Bredesen

By The Federalist. Marsha Blackburn, a Republican congresswoman, was elected to the U.S. Senate on Tuesday night. Blackburn defeated former Democratic Gov. Phil Bredesen in a hotly contested race that was viewed by many analysts to be a toss-up heading into election day. Fox News called the race for Blackburn at 9:04 p.m. Eastern time.

The race between Blackburn and Bredesen was neck and neck, with Bredesen even leading in multiple polls, up until the battle over the Supreme Court nomination of Brett Kavanaugh took center stage. The September fight to confirm Kavanaugh significantly boosted Blackburn, who took her first lead in the RealClearPolitics polling average in early October. (Read more from “Republican Marsha Blackburn Wins Tennessee Senate Race, Beating Democrat Phil Bredesen” HERE)

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Jersey Trash: Sleazy Bob Menendez Wins Re-Election

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Well, it looks like Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez is projected to win re-election. The Jersey trash Democrat was engulfed in a major ethics scandal, in which he was accused of taking lavish gifts from Dr. Salomon Melgen in exchange for political favors. Melgen was recently convicted and sentenced to 17 years in prison for health care fraud. The months-long trial dented Menendez’s approval numbers, but it ended with a hung jury—and the Department of Justice declined to retry him.

Republican Bob Hugin was said to have run an excellent campaign against Menendez, hitting him with endless attack ads. With no real competitive House races in the Garden State to help turn out key areas of Democratic support—party insiders were worried that their base wouldn’t turn out. These fears were complicated by the fact that Menendez’s approval ratings are in the toilet, with Democrats depressed over the ethics fiasco.

(Read more from “Jersey Trash: Sleazy Bob Menendez Wins Re-Election” HERE)

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You Won’t Believe the Technical Issues These Schools Had When People Showed up to Vote

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Technical issues are often hard to avoid, especially come election time. Faulty machines and old equipment cause headaches for county officials trying to organize and run their local voting booths. But, Anderson Livsey Elementary School in Snellville, GA may have just won the award for most embarrassing technical glitch yet. Voters were prevented from casting their ballots because, according to the school, the machines ran out of batteries and power cords.

. . .

Okay. I know I said earlier that the Snellville polling station may have had the worst excuse ever for inoperable voting machines. But then Detroit said hold my beer. Voters who showed up at Martin Luther King Jr. High School to do their civic duty Tuesday were turned away because…election workers could not locate the voting machines.

There have been other voting glitches reported across the country. In South Carolina, voters said their votes were being changed. Officials admitted their equipment was pretty dated. In Chandler, Arizona, election workers were informed that the building they were going to use had been foreclosed overnight. They were eventually moved to a nearby site. Meanwhile, New York City has been plagued with dysfunctional scanners. Voters in Tennessee had to fill out paper ballots because of a power outage. But officials could hardly be blamed for that. Storms had swept through the state. (Read more from “You Won’t Believe the Technical Issues These Schools Had When People Showed up to Vote” HERE)

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The Key Senate Races, All the Latest Results

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Heading into the election, polling data gave Republicans a decided advantage in maintaining control of the U.S. Senate, while Democrats enjoyed a slightly stronger likelihood of taking the House. According to Nate Silver’s FiveThirtyEight on the morning of the election, Republicans had a 4 in 5 chance (80.9%) of maintaining control of the Senate and were likely to end up with 52 seats, a net gain of one seat and one more than they need for the 51-seat majority.

Real Clear Politics’ average of the key polls Tuesday morning gave Republicans 49 seats that polling data indicates are highly likely to go their way, including two that “lean” heavily in Republicans’ favor (North Dakota and Texas), one (Mississippi’s special election) that is “likely” to go to the GOP, and 46 that are fully “safe” or not up. RCP gives Democrats a total of 43 seats that are very likely to go their way (five that “lean,” two that are “likely,” and 37 that are safe or not up).

If RCP’s averages of the polls are correct, that means that just eight Senate seats are truly in play: Arizona, Florida, Indiana, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, Tennessee, and West Virginia. Other races that have garnered a lot of attention include North Dakota and Texas. Below is the final polling data for each of these key races and the latest updates on vote counts. . .

The contest for the traditionally center-right Arizona seat left empty by retiring Republican Jeff Flake is one of the Democrats’ best hopes of picking up a traditionally red seat. Polling data has consistently shown a very tight race between Republican Rep. Martha McSally and Democrat Rep. Kyrsten Sinema. RCP’s average of the latest polls gave McSally a razor-thin 1-point advantage, a statistical tie. The final Gravis poll showed McSally up by 1; Emerson gave Sinema a 1-point edge; HarrisX had McSally up by 3; ABC 15/OH Predictive Insights gave the Republican a 1-point edge; and Trafalgar Group gave McSally a 2-point lead. . . .

Incumbent Democrat Sen. Bill Nelson has found himself in neck-and-neck contest with Republican Gov. Rick Scott for the Florida seat, though most of the polls have given Nelson the edge. RCP’s averages of the most recent polls gives Nelson a 2.4% lead over Scott. Quinnipiac’s final poll showed Nelson up by 7 points; HarrisX found Scott leading by 2; Emerson gave Nelson a 5-point advantage; St. Pete Polls gave the incumbent a 4-point lead; and Trafalgar Group showed Scott with a slim 2-point edge. (Read more from “The Key Senate Races, All the Latest Results” HERE)

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Senate Judiciary: Here’s Everyone We Interviewed About Ford’s Allegations and What They Said

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On Nov. 2, the Senate Judiciary Committee released a 28-page summary of its investigation into the sexual misconduct allegations against then-Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, along with 386 pages of exhibits.

“After an extensive investigation that included the thorough review of all potentially credible evidence submitted and interviews of more than 40 individuals with information relating to the allegations, including classmates and friends of all those involved, Committee investigators found no witness who could provide any verifiable evidence to support any of the allegations brought against Justice Kavanaugh,” the committee concludes in the report. “In other words, following the separate and extensive investigations by both the Committee and the FBI, there was no evidence to substantiate any of the claims of sexual assault made against Justice Kavanaugh.”

The committee goes on to provide summaries of all the key evidence and interviews they conducted into the misconduct claims, including those related to the allegations leveled by Christine Blasey Ford. Along with detailing some of the evidence challenging some of Ford’s claims — including her alleged fear of flying and small spaces, as well as her claim that she had no experience taking or preparing for a polygraph test — the committee explained what potential witnesses told them under oath.

In addition to Ford, Kavanaugh and the three witnesses Ford named — who either denied any knowledge of the alleged incident or directly refuted her claims — the committee spoke with 14 former classmates of Ford and Kavanaugh. “None of them had any knowledge of the conduct alleged against Justice Kavanaugh by Dr. Ford or of the gathering at which she claimed to have been assaulted,” the committee states.

The committee notes that a “large portion of individuals providing testimony in support of Justice Kavanaugh asked that their names be redacted out of fear that their statements might result in personal or professional retribution or personal physical harm – or even risk the safety and well-being of their families and friends.” The committee respected those requests for anonymity and redacted their names from the summary and documents. (Read more from “Senate Judiciary: Here’s Everyone We Interviewed About Ford’s Allegations and What They Said” HERE)

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Trump Calls Sarah Sanders up on Stage at Massive Rally – Her First Words Bring the House Down

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By The Daily Caller. President Donald Trump made a surprise introduction midway through his Monday rally at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

The president stopped and looked to the side of the stage, and recognized perhaps the two most well-known women in his administration. “I have two other great women with me. You’ve never heard of them,” Trump said, “They’re very shy — Kellyanne Conway and Sarah Huckabee Sanders.” . . .

She began with an apology. “You’ll have to forgive Kellyanne and I. We’re a little speechless because we’re not used to friendly crowds,” Sanders said to roars from the audience. Sanders is famous for jousting with a contentious press corps at the White House. (Read more from “Trump Calls Sarah Sanders up on Stage at Massive Rally – Her First Words Bring the House Down” HERE)

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Trump’s GOP Braces for Midwest Massacre

By Politico. . .Now, on the eve of the 2018 midterm elections, Republicans are bracing for a massacre in the Midwest.

“When we woke up after the 2016 election, there was a real possibility that we were seeing a realignment among white-working class voters in the Midwest—and that they could go the way that white-working class voters have gone in the south over the past generation,” said Matt Grossman, a political scientist at Michigan State University. “But two years later, there’s no sign that those gains are holding or being extended. Instead, there are a lot of campaigns in that region where Republicans are struggling to be competitive.”

Trump bears much of the responsibility. His approval rating has plunged, by double digits, in most Midwestern states. His presidency has energized the Democratic base in ways Hillary Clinton never could. His party’s rewrite of the tax code was disproportionately beneficial to wealthy people and corporations; to the extent the law is popular with voters, he barely tries to promote it. And his trade warring has been particularly burdensome to farmers, manufacturers and blue-collar workers in the Rust Belt, with numerous Republicans from affected states, including Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin and National Republican Congressional Committee chairman Steve Stivers of Ohio, pleading privately with Trump and his aides to find resolution. (Read more from “Trump’s GOP Braces for Midwest Massacre” HERE)

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That Was Fast: New York Lawmakers Want to Use Social Media History to Block People From Gun Ownership

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Some New York City lawmakers want to use people’s social media history to take away their Second Amendment rights.

According to reports, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams and state Senator Kevin Palmer are drafting legislation that would give law enforcement the ability to comb through up to three years of a person’s social media and internet history before the person could purchase a firearm.

“If the police department is reviewing a gang assault, a robbery, some type of shooting, they go and do a social media profile investigation,” Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams said of the proposal on a recent radio appearance. “A three-year review of a social media profile would give an easy profile of a person who is not suitable to hold and possess a firearm.”

Wow. If you thought the “no-fly, no buy” idea of stripping the Second Amendment rights of people on an arbitrary list with no due process was an unconstitutional farce, just wait until this becomes the next big gun trend.

The anti-gun crowd is sure to cling to it because it seems to directly address the details of the most recent gun crime — just like stripping rights from people on the “no-fly” list became the gun-grab proposal du jour after the Orlando shooting. However, it doesn’t hold up.

Yes, there are different forms of unprotected speech, like fighting words and direct incitement of violence, and there are crimes and conditions that can and should bar someone from gun ownership, but that’s not what we’re talking about.

What we’re really talking about is policing things that offend others under the vague premise of fighting “hate” with government force. Like “assault weapon,” there’s no real definition of “hate speech,” and the term never seems to stop evolving in a society where every form of legitimate right-leaning political disagreement is quickly labeled as some “hate” or prejudiced “ism.”

What’s to stop those whose real end game is to ban all private gun ownership from calling pro-life posts “hate speech” against women or pro-traditional marriage posts “hate speech” against gays? They might even start considering anti-Israel BDS propaganda anti-Semitic “hate speech” if it keeps guns out of private citizens’ hands. Who knows? Such is the problem with using subjective, arbitrary standards to take away constitutional rights.

But saying things that hurt people’s feelings on social media isn’t a crime in the United States — and under the First Amendment, it should never be. And it certainly shouldn’t mean that citizens lose a constitutional liberty over it.

There’s an old adage that says “bad facts make bad law.” It’s very true, and fact-free frenzies driven by gun-related atrocities make even worse law. (For more from the author of “That Was Fast: New York Lawmakers Want to Use Social Media History to Block People From Gun Ownership” please click HERE)

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President Trump Tells Levin GOP Will ‘Do Better … Than Anyone Expects’

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LevinTV host Mark Levin began his radio show Monday evening with an exclusive interview of President Trump, who spoke about the importance of voting Republican tomorrow on Election Day.

President Trump spoke of an “electricity in the air” on the campaign trail that “reminds me very much of November ’16; there’s an electricity that’s incredible.”

Speaking to Levin from the campaign trail in Indiana, the president predicted that Republicans will do “better in the House than anybody expects.”

“Nobody’s ever had an economy like we have,” he added, touting the administration’s success with Republican leadership in the House and Senate. “I think we’re going to have tremendous success tomorrow.”

Listen:

(For more from the author of “President Trump Tells Levin Gop Will ‘Do Better … Than Anyone Expects’” please click HERE)

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Historic: Arizona Newspaper Endorses a Republican for This Seat for the First Time in Two Decades

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Arizona Governor Doug Ducey (R) is touting a new endorsement one day before the 2018 midterm elections. The Arizona Daily Star, Tucson’s main newspaper, endorsed Ducey in his reelection bid for governor.

While this seems like a fairly standard endorsement, especially in a red state, it’s not. Ducey’s endorsement is the first time the Tucson-based paper has endorsed a Republican for Governor of Arizona in two decades.

The main reason the paper endorsed Ducey is because of his work on education. While the paper recognizes Democratic candidate David Garcia’s stance education, the editorial board seems to think it’s the only policy position he’s been clear on. . .

Interestingly enough, the paper also gives Ducey credit for understanding that Tucson’s economy is directly tied to Mexico and applauds him for his efforts to mend broken relationships.

(Read more from “Historic: Arizona Newspaper Endorses a Republican for This Seat for the First Time in Two Decades” HERE)

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