Posted on 11/03/2004 7:46:12 AM PST by Michael Goldsberry
ALASKA:
PRESIDENT (3) - Bush easily took a state that has gone Republican for the last 40 years.
SENATE - Republican Lisa Murkowski led former Gov. Tony Knowles, despite resentment from many voters that her father, Frank Murkowski, appointed her to his old job when he became governor in 2002.
HOUSE - Remains: 1R. Incumbent Don Young, who calls himself the "congressman for all Alaskans," won a 17th term.
PROPOSITIONS - Alaskans rejected a measure to legalize and tax the sales of marijuana. Another measure fueled by the Murkowski controversy to eliminate appointments to fill Senate vacancies was trailing in the polls.
EXIT POLL - A quarter of voters said they had served in the military. They voted for Bush by nearly 3 to 1.
ARIZONA:
PRESIDENT (10) - Bush racked up double-digit win.
SENATE - Popular Republican Sen. John McCain (news, bio, voting record), seeking a fourth term, drew broad support across political and demographic lines; he edged out Stuart Starky among Democrats and grabbed a majority of support from independents.
HOUSE - 6R, 2D. Incumbent Republican Congressman Rick Renzi soundly defeated Democrat Paul Babbitt, brother of former Interior Secretary and ex-Gov. Bruce Babbitt, for a seat targeted by both parties in expensive, nasty campaign. Party breakdown remains the same.
PROPOSITIONS - Ignoring opposition from state officials, voters passed measure requiring proof of citizenship for voter registration, and proof of legal immigration to obtain certain government services.
EXIT POLL - Two in five Kerry supporters characterized their votes as anti-Bush; four in five ignored McCain's support for Bush in making their choice.
CALIFORNIA:
PRESIDENT (55) - John Kerry (news - web sites) claimed the nation's largest haul of electoral votes.
SENATE - Democrat Barbara Boxer sailed to a third term, easily outpolling Republican challenger Bill Jones.
HOUSE - 33D, 20R. California's heavily Democratic congressional delegation was set to return to Washington with two new faces among its 53 members. Republican Dan Lungren won a Sacramento-area seat, and Democrat Jim Costa will fill the seat now held by retiring Democratic Rep. Cal Dooley.
PROPOSITIONS - Voters rejected two expensive casino gambling initiatives, but approved sale of $3 billion in bonds to pay for embryonic stem cell research. Measure to roll back "three strikes" sentencing law was too close to call.
EXIT POLL - Four in 10 voters earning more than $150,000 chose Kerry, despite his promises to roll back a tax cut.
COLORADO:
PRESIDENT (9) - Bush enjoyed a comfortable margin of victory despite late visits by John Kerry to the state where he was born.
SENATE - State Attorney General Ken Salazar gave Democrats a pickup in a solidly Republican state, sliding by Republican beer executive Peter Coors in a tight race. Salazar becomes the first Hispanic senator in more than a quarter-century.
HOUSE - 4R, 2D with a final race outstanding. Salazar's brother, Democrat John Salazar, was neck-in-neck with Republican Greg Walcher in the one race for an open seat. All six incumbents - four Republicans and two Democrats - won easily.
PROPOSITIONS - The closely watched referendum over whether to split Colorado's electoral votes based on the popular vote was soundly rejected. Voters approved a 64-cent state cigarette tax to fund health and education programs.
EXIT POLL - Women in Colorado were split evenly between Kerry and Bush; nationally, women overwhelmingly supported Kerry.
HAWAII:
PRESIDENT (4) - Tight race at the end, but Kerry pulled off victory in a state that's gone Democratic in every election but two since gaining statehood. Islands briefly became battleground at campaign's end after polls showed tight race.
SENATE - Veteran Sen. Daniel Inouye (news, bio, voting record), 80, won a lopsided race against Republican Cam Cavasso, a former state legislator.
HOUSE - 2D. Reps. Neil Abercrombie and Ed Case breezed to re-election.
PROPOSITIONS - Four constitutional amendments on ballot, all relating to crime and criminal prosecution, won approval. State attorney general and the Honolulu prosecutor backed them; opponents had said they would infringe on civil rights.
EXIT POLL - One in four voters strongly approved the U.S. decision to go to war with Iraq (news - web sites) and nearly all of them voted for the incumbent. Of the 35 percent of voters who strongly disapproved of the decision, nearly all went to Kerry.
IDAHO:
PRESIDENT (4) - Bush won nearly 70 percent of the vote, one of the highest totals in the heavily Republican state's history.
SENATE - GOP incumbent Michael Crapo raised $2 million - and spent over a third of it - to fend off an anemic write-in challenge. Crapo got more than 99 percent of the vote.
HOUSE - Remains 2R. Underfunded Democrats offered little resistance to Michael Simpson and Butch Otter, who plans a bid for governor in two years.
EXIT POLL - Eight in 10 Idaho voters made up their minds about the presidential race a month or more before the polls opened, and seven of 10 had settled on Bush.
MONTANA:
PRESIDENT (3) - Bush an easy winner.
GOVERNOR - Democrat Brian Schweitzer, who campaigned as an outsider promising bipartisan rule, scored a firm victory over Republican Secretary of State Bob Brown for office GOP has held for 16 years. Schweitzer made history by running with a Republican lieutenant governor.
HOUSE - 1R. Rep. Denny Rehberg by a mile over Democratic challenger Tracy Velazquez.
PROPOSITIONS - Voters turned down mining industry-backed initiative to overturn a ban on using cyanide in mining operations. Voters approved a constitutional ban on gay marriage and legalized medical marijuana.
EXIT POLL - Schweitzer, who supports importing less-expensive prescription drugs from Canada, received nearly two-thirds of the vote among those ages 60 and over.
NEVADA:
PRESIDENT (5) - Bush took 50 percent vs. Kerry's 48 percent. He beat Gore 49.5 percent to 46 percent in 2000.
SENATE - Democrat Harry Reid, the Senate minority whip, easily defeated Republican challenger Richard Ziser and could be a contender for the minority leader's job left vacant by the defeat of South Dakota's Tom Daschle.
HOUSE - 2R, 1D. First-term Republican Rep. Jon Porter (news, bio, voting record) withstood a challenge from former casino executive Tom Gallagher.
PROPOSITIONS - Nevadans voted to raise the minimum wage and to give more protection to doctors from medical malpractice lawsuits. They also made education a top state budget priority.
EXIT POLLS - Exit polls showed Kerry ahead by a narrow margin and Nevadans concerned about a Bush-endorsed nuclear waste dump in the state. But while Kerry led in populous Las Vegas, he trailed in Republican-heavy Reno and in more conservative rural areas.
NEW MEXICO:
PRESIDENT (5) - Bush and Kerry were locked in an extremely tight race with Bush about 3,600 votes ahead. Nearly 30,000 absentee and provisional ballots remained uncounted.
HOUSE - Remains 2R, 1D. Closest race was a repeat of 2002, with Republican Rep. Heather Wilson (news, bio, voting record) retaining her seat by withstanding a challenge from Democrat Richard Romero.
PROPOSITIONS - Voters agreed to allow runoffs in city elections where no candidate wins a majority or some other threshold percentage of the balloting.
EXIT POLL - Bush gained more Hispanic votes than he did in 2000, with about two in five Hispanics supported him. Other minorities, including American Indians, backed Kerry 2 to 1.
OREGON:
PRESIDENT (7) - Kerry prevailed in state's all-mail balloting system.
SENATE - Heavily favored Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden (news, bio, voting record) easily won re-election, defeating little-known Republican newcomer Al King.
HOUSE - 4D, 1R. Rep. David Wu (news, bio, voting record) trounced Republican Goli Ameri, who attacked Wu in television ads, citing an October newspaper report that Wu tried to force a girlfriend to have sex in the 1970s.
PROPOSITIONS - Voters overwhelmingly adopted a constitutional amendment that bans gay marriage.
EXIT POLL - Nearly two of every three women surveyed cast their ballots for Kerry. Hispanics supported the Democratic candidate by a 4-to-1 margin.
UTAH:
PRESIDENT (5) - Bush's win was a foregone conclusion.
SENATE - Another safe win for the GOP: two-term incumbent Bob Bennett coasted to a huge victory over Democrat Paul Van Dam, a former attorney general.
GOVERNOR - In a battle of household names, Republican Jon Huntsman Jr., trade official under President Bush (news - web sites) and heir to a chemical fortune, defeated Scott Matheson, son of Utah's last Democratic governor.
HOUSE - Remains 2R, 1D. Matheson's brother, Rep. Jim Matheson (news, bio, voting record), held onto his seat despite a barrage of negative 11th hour campaigning by his opponent, John Swallow. The race was a rematch of 2002.
PROPOSITIONS - Voters overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage.
OTHER - Democrat Peter Corroon barely won the Salt Lake City mayor race, beating a replacement candidate for who only got on the Republican ballot when incumbent Nancy Workman quit amid felony charges of misusing public money.
EXIT POLL - Eight out of 10 Mormons went for Bush.
WASHINGTON:
PRESIDENT (11) - Kerry claimed a comfortable triumph in a state that no Republican has won in 20 years.
SENATE - Democratic Sen. Patty Murray (news, bio, voting record) thrashed GOP challenger George Nethercutt after divisive, expensive campaign.
GOVERNOR - Attorney General Christine Gregoire led Dino Rossi, Republican businessman and former state senator, by just 32 votes at one point early Wednesay with hundreds of thousands of absentee votes outstanding in race to succeed Democratic Gov. Gary Locke.
HOUSE - 6D, 3R. In a tight race for the open 8th, Republican Dave Reichert, the sheriff who hunted down the Green River Killer, led talk radio host Dave Ross.
PROPOSITIONS - Voters adopted a Lousiana-style primary system that would send the top two vote-getters to the general election regardless of party.
EXIT POLL - Washington's wealthiest residents backed Kerry by wide margins, while nationally most people earning more than $100,000 a year voted for Bush.
WYOMING:
PRESIDENT (3) - Dick Cheney (news - web sites)'s home state gives Bush a landslide.
HOUSE - 1R. Republican Barbara Cubin beat political newcomer Ted Ladd for sixth term as Wyoming's lone representative.
PROPOSITIONS - Voters rejected constitutional amendment to allow Legislature to put caps on medical malpractice damage awards.
EXIT POLL - Bush performed strongly among those who said they had a favorable opinion of Cheney, while Kerry had strong support among those who have an unfavorable opinion of Cheney. About two-thirds of Wyoming voters said they had a favorable opinion of Cheney.
ALABAMA:
PRESIDENT (9) - Bush won by 26 percentage points, despite Democrats' bid to rally voters for Kerry.
SENATE - GOP Sen. Richard Shelby (news, bio, voting record) easily claimed a fourth term, marking his 10th straight election to congressional or state office in three decades.
HOUSE - Current: 5R, 2D. All incumbents won, including first-term Republican Rep. Mike Rogers, who sought re-election in a district Democrats had hoped to capture.
PROPOSITIONS - Voters were divided over a measure to repeal segregation-era language from the state constitution. The measure, which remained undecided early Wednesday, drew criticism from opponents who claimed it could trigger a court order to increase public school funding, risking a potential tax increase.
EXIT POLL - Bush won in every age range, including 18-to-24-year-old voters and more than two-thirds of those over 65.
ARKANSAS:
PRESIDENT (6) - Bush benefited from heavy conservative turnout for anti-gay marriage amendment, winning by larger margin than his 2000 victory over Al Gore (news - web sites).
SENATE - Blanche Lincoln won second term, easily surviving bid by state Sen. Jim Holt, who called liberal federal judges a greater threat to the nation than terrorists.
HOUSE - Remains 3D, 1R. Incumbents coasted. PROPOSITIONS - Anti-gay marriage approved by 3-1 margin. Voters also gave Legislature permission to OK incentives for large businesses wanting to invest in state.
EXIT POLL - Voters who believe nation is safer from terrorism now than in 2000 went for Bush by a 9-1 margin.
FLORIDA:
PRESIDENT (27) - President Bush claimed victory in the nation's top battleground state, four years after it took a 36-day recount and U.S. Supreme Court (news - web sites) decision to settle the battle of Florida.
SENATE - Republican Mel Martinez held slight lead over Democrat Betty Castor and claimed victory in a tight race to succeed retiring Democratic Sen. Bob Graham (news, bio, voting record). Castor indicated she may challenge the results. Martinez would be state's first Hispanic senator, Castor its second female senator.
HOUSE - 18R, 7D. Republican Rep. Katherine Harris (news, bio, voting record), vilified by Democrats while she served as secretary of state during 2000 recount, won in rematch with Sarasota attorney Jan Schneider. Republican Connie Mack IV, son of the ex-senator, took seat given up by new CIA (news - web sites) director Porter Goss.
PROPOSITIONS - Voters approved a $1-an-hour hike in the state minimum wage and approved an initiative to limit privacy rights of girls under age 18, so that law could be changed to require parental notice if minors seek abortions.
EXIT POLL - Nearly eight in 10 voters picked their candidate more than a month ago. Kerry got a strong majority from people who made up their minds over the last month.
GEORGIA:
PRESIDENT (15) - Bush trumped his 2000 margin of victory, getting 59 percent of the vote this time, compared to 55 percent then.
SENATE - "Cream always rises to the top," said retiring Sen. Zell Miller (news, bio, voting record), a maverick Democrat, about his GOP replacement, Rep. Johnny Isakson (news, bio, voting record). Denise Majette was trounced in her bid to become the state's first black senator.
HOUSE - Democratic newcomer John Barrow and Republican freshman Rep. Max Burns (news, bio, voting record) remained locked in a race too close to call. Democrat Jim Marshall easily survived a GOP threat, while Democrat Cynthia McKinney clinched the seat she lost two years ago to Majette.
PROPOSITIONS - Opponents of the state's new constitutional ban on gay marriages vowed to take it to the courts after it passed by more than a 3-to-1 margin.
EXIT POLL - With touch-screen machines in every precinct, nine of 10 voters said they were confident their votes would be accurately counted.
KENTUCKY:
PRESIDENT (8) - Bush trounced Kerry, another big Southern loss for the Massachusetts senator.
SENATE - GOP incumbent Jim Bunning in a squeaker over Daniel Mongiardo, denying the Democrats a potential pickup in the Senate. Bunning's odd behavior in the campaign's final days made it close.
HOUSE - Current, 4R, 2D; new 5R, 1D. Republican businessman Geoff Davis picked up the seat of retiring Democrat Ken Lucas in conservative district. Davis beat Nick Clooney, father of George.
PROPOSITIONS - Voters approved amendment banning gay marriage and civil unions by 3-to-1 margin.
OTHER - Former Gov. Julian Carroll, a Democrat, made a return to politics with a state Senate win over the governor's brother, Republican Harold Fletcher.
EXIT POLL - Nearly three-fourths of voters who described themselves as evangelical or born-again Christians backed Bush, and six in 10 supported Bunning.
LOUISIANA:
PRESIDENT (9) - Bush easily took the state that neighbors his native Texas.
SENATE - Rep. David Vitter (news, bio, voting record) won a slim majority and barely avoided a runoff, becoming the first Republican from Louisiana to serve in the Senate since Reconstruction.
HOUSE - Remains 5R, 2D. Republican Bobby Jindal, who lost the governor's race last year, won to become the first Indian American in Congress. Republican Billy Tauzin III advanced to Dec. 4 runoff for the seat vacated by his father. He'll face Democrat Charlie Melancon.
PROPOSITIONS - Amendment established constitutional right to hunt and fish.
EXIT POLL - Although women nationwide were more likely to vote for Kerry, Bush was the choice of 60 percent of Louisiana's women.
MISSISSIPPI:
PRESIDENT (6) - Bush swept in a state that has gone Republican in every presidential election since 1980.
HOUSE - Remains 2R, 2D. All four of Mississippi's incumbent congressmen won re-election, including Democrat Bennie Thompson, who faced a rematch against Republican Clinton LeSueur in a poor, primarily rural District stretching through the Delta.
PROPOSITIONS - A constitutional amendment banning gay marriage passed overwhelmingly; opponents plan a challenge in the courts.
EXIT POLL - Nine of 10 voters supported Bush's handling of the war in Iraq in a state that has 4,000 soldiers who have either served there or are preparing to.
NORTH CAROLINA:
PRESIDENT (15) - Bush handily wins state traditionally in GOP column.
SENATE - Rep. Richard Burr (news, bio, voting record) won John Edwards (news - web sites)' old seat, defeating former Clinton aide Erskine Bowles, who became a two-time loser after falling in the 2002 Senate race to Elizabeth Dole (news - web sites).
GOVERNOR - Incumbent Mike Easley won a second term, defeating GOP challenger Patrick Ballantine with a campaign that argued that Easley effectively led the state through tough fiscal times.
HOUSE - Remains 7R, 6D. For the third straight election, no seats changed party hands as Republican Charles Taylor won an eighth term, beating challenger Patsy Keever in western 11th District.
EXIT POLL - Republican appeals to moral and faith issues were effective; one quarter of Bush supporters said religious faith was their most important presidential quality.
SOUTH CAROLINA:
PRESIDENT (8) - Bush rolls with about 58 percent, a margin almost identical to his victory in 2000.
SENATE - Rep. Jim DeMint (news, bio, voting record) picked up an extra seat for the Republican Party despite a tough challenge from Democratic state Education Superintendent Inez Tenenbaum. Both hoped to succeed retiring Democratic Sen. Ernest "Fritz" Hollings.
HOUSE - Remains 4R, 2D. Republican Bob Inglis easily recaptured the 4th District seat, which he gave up six years ago. It came open when DeMint began his quest for Senate.
PROPOSITIONS - Ballot question lifting the requirement that bars and restaurants pour drinks from miniature bottles of liquor like those used on airliners was approved by a 3-2 margin.
EXIT POLL - Bush grabbed support from about 21 percent of minority men but only from about 12 percent of minority women. The state's population is almost 30 percent black.
TENNESSEE:
PRESIDENT (11) - Blowout for Bush, who recaptured 2000 rival Al Gore's home state in 14-percentage point landslide.
HOUSE - Remains 5D, 4R. All incumbents win another term. Democrat Lincoln Davis had the only serious race - a repeat of his 2002 victory over Tullahoma alderwoman Janice Bowling.
EXIT POLL - A third of Tennessee voters said "moral values" was the most important issue in choosing a president. Of those voters, nine of 10 chose Bush.
TEXAS:
PRESIDENT (34) - What'd you expect? Bush, former governor and favorite son of Crawford, claimed state and nation's second-largest trove of electoral votes.
HOUSE - 21R, 11D. After GOP-led redistricting, Chet Edwards was only one of five incumbent Democrats to win competitive races in Republican-tilted districts. Losers were Martin Frost, Max Sandlin, Nick Lampson and Charlie Stenholm.
PROPOSITIONS - Voters in Arlington, home of the Texas Rangers, approved a tax hike to pay half the $650 million price tag for new Dallas Cowboys stadium.
EXIT POLL - Nearly two-thirds of those surveyed said they supported Bush's decision to invade Iraq. Bush also majority of the Hispanic vote, improving on his mark of four years ago.
VIRGINIA:
PRESIDENT (13) - It looked close early on, but Bush picked up the rural vote, allowing Republicans to keep alive their presidential win streak going back 40 years.
HOUSE - Remains 8R, 3D. Republican state legislator Thelma Drake stepped in to keep Democrats from picking up a seat after incumbent Ed Schrock retired amid gay sex allegations. Democrat Jim Moran holds onto seat despite comments perceived as anti-Semitic.
PROPOSITIONS - Voters in state hit by Sept. 11 attackers backed constitutional amendment expanding list of successors to governor in event of an emergency.
OTHER - L. Douglas Wilder goes from first black elected governor in country's history to 1992 presidential candidate and now mayor of his hometown, Richmond. He beats the incumbent in a landslide.
EXIT POLL - Veterans in Virginia, home of several major military bases, went strongly for Bush, not the Vietnam-serving Kerry.
WEST VIRGINIA:
PRESIDENT (5) - Bush's 12 percentage-point win doubled his winning margin in 2000.
GOVERNOR - Democratic Secretary of State Joe Manchin received 64 percent of the vote to defeat Republican Monty Warner and Mountain Party candidate Jesse Johnson in three-way race. Gov. Bob Wise did not seek re-election.
HOUSE - Remains 2D, 1R. West Virginia's three House members, including lone GOP member Shelley Moore Capito, were re-elected.
PROPOSITIONS - Veterans who served in Kosovo, Afghanistan (news - web sites) or Iraq to receive cash bonus.
EXIT POLL - Seven in 10 voters said someone in their household owns a gun, and more than three in five of them voted for Bush.
ILLINOIS:
PRESIDENT (21) - Kerry, in a landslide.
SENATE - For the second time in 12 years, Illinois elected a black U.S. senator. Democrat Barack Obama easily bested Republican Alan Keyes (news - web sites) in race for seat of retiring GOP Sen. Peter Fitzgerald (news, bio, voting record). Keyes moved from Maryland after a sex scandal forced primary winner Jack Ryan out.
HOUSE - Old: 10R, 9D. New: 10D, 9R. Phil Crane, 35-year veteran congressman and most senior Republican in the House, lost to Democratic businesswoman Melissa Bean, who argued that his long service didn't add up to clout in the House.
EXIT POLL - One-third of conservatives and four of 10 Republicans chose Obama over the staunchly conservative Keyes.
INDIANA:
PRESIDENT (11) - Bush rolled to easy victory in state that hasn't backed a Democrat for White House since Lyndon Johnson.
SENATE - Democratic incumbent Evan Bayh bested sociology professor Marvin Scott.
GOVERNOR - Former Bush budget director Mitch Daniels notched comfortable win over Democratic Gov. Joe Kernan, who took office last year upon death of Gov. Frank O'Bannon.
HOUSE - 6R, 3D before election. Race between GOP challenger Mike Sodrel and incumbent Democrat Baron Hill in 9th District too close to call early Wednesday. Hill win would maintain the pre-election party breakdown.
PROPOSITIONS - Ballot question passed that ensures homes, equipment can be exempted from property taxes.
EXIT POLL - Voters maintained their reputation as ticket splitters; nearly a fifth of Bush backers crossed over to vote for Kernan while a smaller number of Kerry supporters voted for Daniels.
IOWA:
PRESIDENT (7) - With a batch of absentee ballots still not returned and less than a percentage point separating the candidates, the presidential race in Iowa remained too close to call.
SENATE - Sen. Charles Grassley (news, bio, voting record), head of the powerful Senate Finance Committee, easily won re-election.
HOUSE - Remains 4R, 1D. All five incumbents were re-elected, including Rep. Leonard Boswell (news, bio, voting record), who survived a second challenge from Des Moines attorney Stan Thompson.
EXIT POLL - Voters who thought the war in Iraq was most important chose Kerry. Those who thought the war on terrorism as the top issue picked Bush.
KANSAS:
PRESIDENT (6) - Bush victory in GOP stronghold never contested.
SENATE - Republican incumbent Sam Brownback built a 70 percent majority with help from liberals and Democrats who preferred him over Democratic railroad engineer Lee Jones.
HOUSE - Remains 3R, 1D. Rep. Dennis Moore (news, bio, voting record) defeated conservative Republican Kris Kobach to win a fourth term with his widest margin yet.
PROPOSITIONS - A proposed bistate sales tax to benefit the arts as well as renovations of two professional sports stadiums in Kansas City, Mo., was soundly defeated in two counties on the Kansas side of the metropolitan area.
EXIT POLL - Bush supplemented his solid support from majority Republicans with about one of every six votes cast by Democrats, who make up less than one-third of Kansas voters.
MICHIGAN:
PRESIDENT (17) - Kerry grabbed this state where disappearing manufacturing jobs have been a top concern.
HOUSE - Current: 9R, 6D. Former state Sen. John "Joe" Schwarz won Michigan's only open seat.
PROPOSITIONS - Michigan voters approved an amendment to the state constitution to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman. Another new amendment requires new gambling venues to get voter approval.
EXIT POLL - Voters who considered the economy and jobs the top issue supported Kerry by about 4-1.
MINNESOTA:
PRESIDENT (10) - John Kerry dashed Republican hopes to claim the hotly contested state for the first time since 1972.
HOUSE - Remains 4R, 4D. Republican Mark Kennedy fended off unexpectedly strong challenge from Patty Wetterling, an advocate for missing children since her 11-year-old son was abducted in 1989.
EXIT POLL - Nearly one in 10 Election Day voters said they made up their minds in the final three days of the campaign, and a majority of that bunch sided with Kerry.
MISSOURI:
PRESIDENT (11) - Bush won a state that has picked the winner in all but one election (1956) in the last century.
SENATE - Republican Sen. Kit Bond, also a former two-term governor, handily defeated Democratic State Treasurer Nancy Farmer.
GOVERNOR - Republican Secretary of State Matt Blunt narrowly beat State Auditor Claire McCaskill, who had ousted incumbent Bob Holden in Democratic primary.
HOUSE - Remains 5R, 4D. Democrat Russ Carnahan, son of former Sen. Jean Carnahan and the late Gov. Mel Carnahan (news - web sites), won the seat of retiring Rep. Dick Gephardt (news - web sites).
OTHER - Another Carnahan, Russ's sister Robin, won a bid for secretary of state.
EXIT POLL - Asked which one issue mattered most, a quarter of Missourians cited "moral values." And nearly nine in 10 of those voters favored Bush.
NEBRASKA:
PRESIDENT (5) - Bush, unsurprisingly. Since 1964, Nebraska has backed Republicans every time.
HOUSE - 2R, 1 vacant. Republican Jeff Fortenberry will replace Republican Rep. Doug Bereuter (news, bio, voting record), who left in 13th term to become head of the Asia Foundation.
PROPOSITIONS - Voters rejected legislative proposal allowing two casinos anywhere in the state; also considering another proposal to allow two casinos in Omaha, and 4,900 video poker and slot machines around state. The latter proposal was too close to call early Wednesday.
EXIT POLL - Bush did well among voters who live in small cities and rural areas, where half of those polled in Nebraska live. Kerry fared nearly as well as Bush with voters from urban areas.
NORTH DAKOTA:
PRESIDENT (3) - Bush rolls up bigger margin than against Al Gore in 2000. Only three Democratic presidential candidates - Woodrow Wilson, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Lyndon B. Johnson - have ever carried the state.
SENATE - On the flip side, the state hasn't sent a Republican to Congress since 1986. Sen. Byron Dorgan (news, bio, voting record) is the state's toughest Democrat, easily winning third term.
GOVERNOR - Republican incumbent John Hoeven increased his victory margin in winning a second term.
HOUSE - Remains 1D. Democratic Rep. Earl Pomeroy (news, bio, voting record), who has a history of tight races, handily defeated a former Navy submarine officer for his seventh term.
PROPOSITIONS - Voters overwhelmingly approved constitutional amendment against same-sex marriages and civil unions.
EXIT POLL - Nearly eight of 10 voters said their finances were same or better than four years ago; most of those supported Bush.
More importantly, PresBush won the state by 7% and Prop36 was soundly defeated!
I cant wait to see the precinct map of red-blue areas. It will show very small dots of blue in a sea of red.
Coors seems to have undercut his support from social conservatives with his company's sponsorship of some pretty far-out, leftwing activities. He was, in my opinion, terrible on their Meet the Press debate. But still, these people who voted for Bush but not Coors should have looked at the big picture; a vote for Salazar or not for Coors is a defacto vote for the type of awful judge that will thwart social conservatives at every turn. Salazar can comfortably vote with the Left for the next 4 yrs or so before he has to worry about moderating his record.
Thanks for posting. I've been looking for a state recap.
Time to move on.
I agree that Coors is preferrable to Salazar. I agree that Christian conservatives should have looked at the big picture and judged him by what he promised to do in the Senate instead of his company's wacko policies. And I agree that Salazar was a weak candidate, which makes his victory that much more bitter.
I personally liked Coors, but I thought he was terrible in the Meet the Press debate. Salazar, too, was awful in the debate but didn't seem to be as bad as Coors to me. Its too bad, as I think Coors would have made a good Senator.
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