America Votes: Decisions, decisions, decisions

[11:30 a.m. EST 11/5/14] Just to put a bow on it: Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper — a Democrat — has won (yes, won) his reelection battle against Bob Beauprez. By roughly 22,000 votes. This is in a state that ousted the incumbent Dem Senator, Mark Udall, by about 80,000 votes.

In Vermont, GOP challenger Scott Milne is refusing to concede his race with Democratic Governor Pete Shumlin. Milne trails Shumlin by about 1,300 votes, or 1.2 percent, with almost all the ballots tallied.

[5:30 a.m. EST] Alaska voters are poised to pass two state measures by wide margins.

Ballot Measure 3 would raise the state minimum wage (now at $7.75 an hour) by a buck in 2015, and another dollar in 2016.

Ballot Measure 4 enables the Alaska Legislature to ban mining in the Bristol Bay watershed should lawmakers find the region’s wild salmon were endangered by the proposed Pebble mine project.

With more than 96 percent of precincts reporting, the “Yes” votes for each measure were essentially double the “Nays.”

In the tight Senate race, Alaska seems ready to follow the national trend. Incumbent Democrat Mark Begich trails Republican challenger Dan Sullivan by roughly four percentage points with all but a few percent of votes remaining to be counted.

[2:50 a.m. EST] Kansas stays red. In another one of those cases that shouldn’t be a surprise but somehow is, given what happened over the summer, incumbent Republican Governor Sam Brownback fought off a challenge from Democrat Paul Davis.

Brownback had been thought secure until more than 100 Republican state lawmakers publicly endorsed Davis. But, in the end, the GOP-hardliner who cut state income tax and slashed school budgets won by just under four percent — which, by the way, is about what was tallied by the third candidate in the race, Libertarian Keen Umber.

Earlier, three-term incumbent Pat Roberts kept his Senate seat in the Republican caucus by beating back a strong challenge from independent Greg Orman.

[1:45 a.m. EST] Republicans are now projected to win 250 seats in the House of Representatives. If that number holds, it would represent the largest GOP House majority in United States history.

At this hour, Republicans have taken at least 51 seats in the Senate. Three races have yet to be decided.

[12:45 a.m. EST] Republican Charlie Baker has been called the winner in the Massachusetts governor’s race over Democrat Martha Coakley. Coakley has now lost two statewide races in the Bay State — she previously lost a race for Senate against her now-fellow two-time loser Scott Brown.

Massachusetts’ outgoing governor, Deval Patrick, is a Democrat and has been rumored to be headed for an Obama administration cabinet post or perhaps a run for national office sometime in the future.

In Maryland, Republican Larry Hogan pulled off an upset win over Democrat Anthony Brown to replace outgoing Democratic Governor Martin O’Malley, who is also rumored to have ambitions for higher office.

In Maine, incumbent Republican Governor Paul LePage is claiming victory over Democrat Mike Michaud and independent Eliot Cutler. Maine does not require a 50 percent threshold for victory, so this will likely be the second time LePage takes office because Cutler split the opposition vote with a Democrat.

Colorado and Connecticut also have hotly contested governor’s races. Both are still too close to call.

[12:20 a.m. EST 11/5/14] Oregon voters joined those in the District of Columbia Tuesday in voting to legalize the recreational use of marijuana. The Oregon initiative gives control of sale to the state’s liquor authority. Private citizens would be permitted to grow up to four plants for personal use.

The fate of the D.C. initiative is a little more hazy, as District laws are subject to review by the U.S. Congress, now solidly under Republican control.

Guam voted to approve the use of medicinal marijuana, but voters in Florida rejected their medical marijuana measure.

Alaskans are also considering the legalization of recreational pot.

[11:50 p.m. EST] And the hits keep coming.

First term Sen. Kay Hagan, the North Carolina Democrat, has lost her seat to GOP challenger Thom Tillis. Republicans have now picked up at least seven seats this election.

North Carolina saw some of the country’s most dramatic changes in its voting laws this cycle, eliminating same-day registration and out-of-precinct voting.

In Florida, one of America’s least popular governors has held on to his job. Republican Rick Scott beat back a challenge from Charlie Crist, who now holds the distinction of losing statewide elections as a Republican, an independent, and a Democrat.

[11:35 p.m. EST] With the election of Joni Ernst in Iowa, the GOP is now assured a Senate majority in the next session. Ernst beat Democrat Bruce Braley to claim the seat held by retiring Sen. Tom Harkin.

Harkin, a liberal Democrat, had held this seat since 1985. Ernst is the first woman to represent Iowa in the U.S. Senate.

[11:25 p.m. EST] There are now 100 women in Congress, beating the previous record of 99. The record-breaking new elect is North Carolina's Alma Adams (D), a grandmother elected by a wide margin to the state's 12th Congressional District.

[11:10 p.m. EST] Republican Kansas Senator Pat Roberts is headed to victory over independent challenger Greg Orman. Few thought this would even be a question at the start of the year, but the three-term incumbent ran into a stiff primary, followed by a ballot battle where the Dem nominee dropped out in favor of Orman.

Georgia will remain in GOP hands as David Perdue is projected to clear the 50 percent mark and avoid a runoff against Democratic candidate Michelle Nunn. Georgia had been thought an opportunity for a Dem pickup this year, but Peach State voters had other ideas.

Georgia’s gubernatorial election has also gone to the Republican, Nathan Deal, who beat Jason Carter, the grandson of former President Jimmy Carter.

Illinois is also breaking for the GOP with self-funding candidate Bruce Rauner booting incumbent Democrat Pat Quinn.

[10:55 p.m. EST] According to projections, voters in Wisconsin, Ohio and Michigan have reelected their Republican governors, all of whom have contentious histories with their states’ public-sector unions. In 2011, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker faced mass protests over employee pensions, and Ohio Governor John Kasich was rebuked for his attempt to weaken public employee unions. In 2012, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder signed a right-to-work law prohibiting unions from requiring members to pay dues.

[10:45 p.m. EST] Massachusetts and the cities of Trenton and Montclair, New Jersey, have passed initiatives guaranteeing paid time off to most workers in case of illness or to care for sick family members.

[10:20 p.m. EST] Cory Gardner has defeated incumbent Dem Mark Udall to make Colorado the 5th Republican Senate pickup tonight.

[10:00 p.m. EST] In Montana, Republican Steve Daines has captured the seat once held by Max Baucus before he was picked to be U.S. ambassador to China and replaced by Democrat John Walsh. This was thought to be a savvy move at the time, but Walsh ran into all kinds of trouble, with accusations of plagiarism from his U.S. War College days, and was forced to drop out of the race. Walsh, still a sitting Senator, was replaced as a candidate by Amanda Curtis.

With all that disarray on the Dem side, Montana was expected to go this way, but is the fourth pickup for the GOP.

[9:45 p.m. EST] Republican Greg Abbott has been elected the new governor of Texas. He beat Wendy Davis, the charismatic Democrat who rose to prominence in June 2013 for filibustering a state senate debate on abortion. 

The Dallas Morning News reported last week that the candidates spent nearly $90 million combined on their campaigns.

Current Texas Governor Rick Perry (R) announced last year that he would not seek a fourth term. He was indicted on felony charges for abuse of power in August.

[9:25 p.m. EST] Less than an hour after polls closed in Virginia, the Associated Press called Republican Dave Brat the winner of the Seventh Congressional District race. Brat, an economics professor and political newcomer, won a huge upset in the June Republican primary, beating House majority leader Eric Cantor. For more on the District 7 race, redistricting and changing demographics, read our coverage here. 

[9:20 p.m. EST] In past elections, referenda on minimum wage hikes are pretty much sure-fire winners, and 2014 is proving no different.

Despite Republican victories in the state's gubernatorial and Senate races, Arkansas voters have approved a progressive ballot measure for an increased minimum wage. The current state minimum of $6.25, which falls well below the federal floor, will be increased to $8.50 by 2017.

Nebraska has approved a ballot measure raising the state's minimum wage from $7.25 to $9.00 per hour in 2016. The hike is expected to benefit approximately 143,000 workers, according to the National Employment Law Project. 

[9:10 p.m. EST] The Elkhart Truth newspaper reports that incumbent Rep. Jackie Walorski (R) has won a second term in Indiana's Second Congressional District, beating Democrat Joe Bock. Last month, Al Jazeera America spoke with dozens of low-income voters in that district about poverty and voting restrictions. (See here and here.) 

In the race for Indiana secretary of state, an office that oversees elections and voting rights, early polling shows incumbent Republican Connie Lawson leading Democrat Beth White.

Indiana was among the first states to institute strict voting rules, back in 2005. It also has below-average rates of voter turnout. 

[9:05 p.m. EST] South Dakota looks like it will fall into the GOP Senate column with the projected win of Mike Rounds.

NBC is now also calling New Hampshire for Sen. Shaheen. Scott Brown becomes the first candidate in U.S. history to lose two Senate races to two different women.

Democrat Al Franken will return to the Senate as expected. What’s interesting here is that Franken was called the winner as soon as the Minnesota polls closed. Six years ago, Franken was tied up in recount for months and won by only a few hundred votes.

[8:50 p.m. EST] ABC is calling the New Hampshire Senate race for incumbent Democrat Jeanne Shaheen. Shaheen had been challenged by former Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown, and though Shaheen was ahead in the polls most of the race, the numbers had tightened in the last week.

AP and NBC have both held off making a call at this point.

Democratic Governor Maggie Hassan has been projected the winner in her contest.

[8:30 p.m. EST] Arkansas goes GOP: The Democrats have lost another Senate seat as incumbent Mark Pryor falls to Republican Tom Cotton. GOP Rep. Asa Hutchinson defeated Dem Mike Ross to capture the state’s governorship.

[8 p.m. EST] A slew of poll closings and a slew of Senate races called. Mostly incumbents holding seats.

In Pennsylvania, Democrat Tom Wolf has defeated Gov. Jim Corbett.

The Senate races in North Carolina, New Hampshire, and Georgia are still considered too close to call.

The Florida governor’s race is also too close to call. Same for the Georgia, Massachusetts, Maryland, VIrignia and Rhode Island governor races.

[7:55 p.m. EST] Complaining of voting malfunctions and irregularities in Broward County, the Florida Democratic Party filed an emergency motion Tuesday evening to keep polling places open until 9 p.m. (PDF). It was denied by Broward Circuit Judge Jack Tuter at 7:50 p.m.

The motion was made at the request of Charlie Crist, the Republican turned Democrat locked in a toss-up race against incumbent Governor Rick Scott. In seeking an extension of polling hours in Broward, Crist and his party set out four arguments: that one polling place was delayed in opening due to problems with the EViD brand electronic voter ID system; that EViD malfunctioned throughout the day, preventing voters from updating their current address; that redistricting led to confusion in precincts and polling places; and that voters in one precinct were given the wrong information on their polling place.

Even if the motion were granted, it is unclear what difference it would make. South Florida’s Sun-Sentinel newspaper reports that fewer than half of eligible Broward County voters cast a ballot.

[7:35 p.m. EST] In Ohio, Republican Gov. John Kasich is expected to hold on to his job. Kasich was expected to face a tougher challenge — he barely won his election four years ago and had faced tough challenges to his agenda early on. But the Democrat, Ed Fitzgerald, pretty much self-immolated in this race, so Kasich is first to the post in the GOP’s second-term-governors-who-want-to-be-president race.

Google Kasich, and “Kasich 2016” already autofills.

[7:20 p.m. EST] In the first closely watched race of the night, Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell has successfully defended his seat against a challenge from Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes. McConnell is poised to lead the Senate should the GOP capture six or more seats held by Democrats in the last Congress.

South Carolina GOP three-term incumbent Lindsey Graham has retained his Senate seat.