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This is a big night for primary results, with elections today in 11 states. South Carolina and Virginia will be the first polls to close at 7 p.m. Eastern, and that’s when we will start live-blogging results on FDL Elections. The 11 states and their closing times are listed here. Don’t forget to vote!
The big race is the Democratic Senate primary runoff in Arkansas between Bill Halter and incumbent Blanche Lincoln. The election has become a flash point about accountability, the direction of the party and anti-Washington anger. FDL has a page dedicated to the race.
The other two big Senate elections are the Republican primaries in Nevada and California. Here is a summary of the three major Senate contests. Swing State Project has a good look at the dozens of interesting races to watch this evening.
In addition to the primaries, I’m also going to focus on several important ballot initiatives in California.
Today might be the last time voters in California get to elect their party’s official nominee in a primary if they vote yes on Prop. 14. The so-called top-two primary, if approved, would take away the ability of parties to select their nominees for the general election. It would produce a runoff election system with a long gap between the primary and the general. The measure could produce a host of problems and will likely make running for office even more expensive, which is probably why the California Chamber of Commerce supports it.
Prop. 15 would be a small step toward public financing of elections in California. It creates a pilot program for the Secretary of State races but more important, makes it easier to adopt public financing laws. It is a tiny step to curb the political power of corporate money, so no surprise—the Chamber opposes it.
Prop. 16 is a pure disgusting power grab by Pacific Gas & Electric, and the utility has spent millions on it. If Prop. 16 passes, it would become harder for local entities to form municipal utilities, by creating a two-thirds vote requirement. It is a move by PG&E to protect it against competition from local “public options” for utilities. Again, the California Chamber of Commerce is supporting this corporate profit protection measure.
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PG&E has also lied in their ads, saying Prop 16 is supported by a coalition of labor and business. That’s not true, there is no coalition, it’s entirely funded by PG&E. And they’ve spent about twenty million to get it approved.
Don’t forget our gubernatorial primary out here in CA, Jon! Lots of over/under on eMeg’s margin — will she beat Poizner by more than 30 points?
And the GOP race for SecState — will Carli and eMeg share the ticket with Orly Taitz?
OT,
Did you get an email from info@couragecampaign.org today about a Ted Olson conf call tomorrow in advance of closing arguments in Prop 8 trial on 6/16?
Imagine the bitch queen wins by a whisker, the exit polls show Halter (the ‘progressive’ – guffaw, guffaw) way ahead, and several tens of thousands of people claiming they couldn’t vote.
Who decides then?
Scalia. Get over it.
Putting a summation sign before the stunning first year and half of the corporate stoogie one’s presidency, and the “corporate stooge, but not too much”, party’s control of both houses, I can only say, get ready for President Palin, for the Tundra Tart shall indeed come to pass.
To watch such a big place with so many people in it, circling a drain is amazing. Watching it sucked under will be horrifying. But I believe I can safely recommend you book your ringside seats for Armageddon. Because it seems you are a rolling series of corporate-inflicted disasters of increasing magnitude, with a lunatic’s willingness to repeat endlessly, expecting different results.
That rather ludicrous ‘America’s future now’ conference, at least exposed the utter hopelessness of it all, something the blogger began to realise, if you read between the lines. There is simply nothing happening to stop this. Therefore it will continue at an exponentially accelerating rate.
I’ll go back to my earlier advice. Get the hell out of there if you can. You’re too good for the place. Devote your energy to helping those without the means but who want to, getting out as well.
If Prop 16 passes it will be a depressing day.
Oh gad, pleese: noooooooooooooo!!!! The pits. There has been some good advertising out there – in print and on air – about the reality of this disgusting power grab by PG&E.
My fervent hope: many (not all) CA voters are at least *somewhat* aware that the Props are written in devious and disingenous and confusing ways, so many do take a few moments to try to figure them out. I surely hope so in this case.
First results suck for CA props, everything turning out opposite of what I voted, including Prop 16: Local Electricity Providers: Yes 385,311 52.5%, No 349,699 47.5%. (Are these absentee ballots?) From CA Secretary of State website, with 6.9% of the vote tallied.