Bennet wins in Senate race (Colorado)

[Robb]

Source: Denver Post

Appointed U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet will be elected to the U.S. Senate after pulling ahead of challenger Ken Buck this morning.

Long after most Coloradans -- including the candidates and their supporters -- had gone to bed, returns from Denver and Boulder moved Bennet past Buck and into the lead, 47.5 percent to 47.1 percent.

A recount would be required if the difference between the two candidates' vote totals is less than one-half of 1 percent of the highest vote total, or about 3,900 votes based on current tallies.

Bennet leads by nearly 7,000 votes with an estimated 30,000 still to be counted in Boulder County.

Read more: http://www.denverpost.com/commented/ci_16502977?source=commented-

[babylonsister]

1. m$nbc needs to get with the program; they're talking about

how long it will take to resolve this race right this second! :D

[Dawgs]

3. The only districts that aren't finished reporting are blue.

:)

[babylonsister]

5. Yay! Thanks! nt

[disndat]

14. Thanks.

Good news.

[Dawgs]

2. That's 52. One more would be nice.

:hi:

[karynnj]

12. WA looks likely as well

If you look at the NYT map - and click on WA, it looks like the place where most votes are outstanding is Seattle. The entire eastern half is counted 100%. (Take my comment with a grain of salt - I have never has been in WA - just close to it on a trip to OR.) http://elections.nytimes.com/2010/results/senate

What is interesting is that with all the problems polling has, the Daily Kos prediction has been predicting 52 as the most likely number for most of the last month. Though it is possible that any little change could have tipped IL and PA the other way, I would bet that the Republicans say that of NE, WA and CO.

With the CO win, it seems that the Republicans should blame the tea party for 3 lost seats they could have had with sane candidates - DE, NV, and CO.

[Boudica the Lyoness]

21. I live in eastern WA

It's a nasty red place that's sparsely populated (except for Spokane) so they can count the votes pretty fast. The west side is heavily populated and King County (Seattle) is very blue. The only place that's blue in the eastern half is the 3rd legislative district in Spokane.

Thank goodness for King county. :)

If you look at the reddest part of the state.....that's where I live. And that is the reason I always sound pissed off.

[grantcart]

31. I was born and raised in Spokane, graduated from Ferris and Whitworth

And after graduate school I went to Asia for 20 years, and thats why I sound so relaxed and calm.

[Boudica the Lyoness]

43. lol Good for you.

:hi:

[customerserviceguy]

24. Interesting map

But I don't see where the eastern counties have been 100% counted, as of this point in time. What I do find interesting is that some western WA counties that generally vote blue have voted red, such as Clark County (where Vancouver is) and Island County, where the San Juan Islands are.

I do know WA state, lived there for 37 years, and even was a vote counter in Grays Harbor County (went blue, but mildly so) in the 2004 election where my table found one more vote for Gov. Gregoire. As for King County, there are a lot of suburban areas that tend to vote red, much like the suburbs of Tacoma that are coloring Pierce County pink in that map.

Being as mail-in ballots take awhile to get in, this is still going to be a nail biter for about a week.

[proud patriot]

4. :-)

[Robb]

6. FWIW, best line of the article:

"...Though Republicans were cautiously jubilant (last night) as their candidate pulled ahead, many were perplexed as to why the race was as tight as it was amid what they perceived as widespread Republican momentum."

:rofl:

[niyad]

8. wow, maybe some of CO isn't nearly as stupid as teabagger buck and co.

bennet is no prize, certainly, but the thought of that idiot buck (thank goodness I don't have to watch how I spell his name anymore) actually being a senator made me ill.

[disndat]

15. Maybe, if Tea Party, Sarah Palin,

runs against Obama, '12, it will be no contest.

[AllyCat]

46. I actually think she might not be a bad opponent.

I think she is such a wingnut and the voters are showing they agree with that...she'd be a likely loser.

[pasto76]

16. no dude, CO is an interesting mix

make no mistake that actual conservatism is the most common point of view, but moderation is the word. I also welcome all the out of staters moving here (like myself) to dilute the religious and right wing fervor.

In a year where there was (another) state constituional amendment proposal to make a fertilized egg in the fallopian tubes a "person", the tea party craziness and the implosion of TWO republican candidates, they faced a huge uphill battle.

[joshcryer]

40. I'm so glad that those commercials are going to be off the TV now. And I'm proud CO voted it down.

Fucking bullshit that CO even had to consider it. I'm actually quite proud of the way CO voted on all of its propositions and elected officials (OK Co. Springs is still a winger stronghold, but yeah).

[joshcryer]

39. CO is one of the most diverse states in the country.

It has everything, it's crazy.

[Crunchy Frog]

51. Boulder is heavily Democratic.

Not all of Colorado is idiot teabagger country by a long shot.

Very good that all the votes left to count are Boulder County. That should give him a comfortable margin.

[MattyGroves]

17. Were they perplexed when O'Donnell and Angle lost?

It seems that the tea-bagger candidates that went down all shared the no abortions under any circumstance POV.

Now, it seems that Joe Miller may dodge that bullet. However, that should be an indication to the baggers and R's that the voters are sending them to DC for economic issues, not social issues.

The question is will they pick up on that or will they overstep like the crop from 1994 eventually did?

[kmac3]

47. Issues basically . . . .

It's about time people came to understand social issues have no rightful place ~ unfortunately it is the strongest emphasis these Conservatives use to base their campaigns on because they get the free backing of churches.

[Gin Blossom]

25. First reaction: YYYEESSS! Second: That is rich.

I mean, wasn't Buck part of the republican "tea party" tsunami the Chuck Todd media-whore brigade has been trumpeting? Their brains must be in a world of hurt trying to figure out how Buck could possibly lose.

Sirota came up with a funny line yesterday, saying he knew where Buck stands, but "Thurston Howell the Bennett", not so much (I love a good Gilligan's Island reference). There's no doubt in my mind that Romanoff would have energized the base more, but it's good to see Colorado reaffirm basic sanity. The Doug Brucean amendments went down hard, and Tancredo didn't get close after all - even with Palin's last minute endorsement!

Wait - How could Tancredo have lost? We're the Tea Party Tsunami! Ouch! Ouch!

[earthside]

7. Mixed outcome.

Now we have two Repuglican-lite U.S. Senators from Colorado.

[niyad]

9. the only positive thing I can say about bennet is that his local office staff are very helpful.

[Hippo_Tron]

26. I thought Mark Udall was pretty progressive

[joshcryer]

44. I'm happy with an 80% progressive agenda and not a 0% progressive agenda.

Bennet represents his constituents, and if he runs again in 2016 Colorado will only be more blue (thus forcing him to be more left in his positions).

[onehandle]

10. Freakin' Awesome! Suck it, freepbaggers! nt

[Hawkeye-X]

11. Yup - if ol' Bucktooth Beaver wants a recount

he's going to have to fork it out of his own damn pockets.

Like I said, Bennet wins by a squeaker, but he's out in 2016 - I don't even want him (but my vote made the difference). Romanoff may run again and win it outright now that they know Bennet, Anschutz's buttboy a little bit better.

Hawkeye-X

[madamesilverspurs]

13. pic from the front page of the Greeley Tribune

You ain't going to the Senate, fella. Maybe now we can get you out of the DA's office, too.

[Robb]

19. Comedy. I just got a tweet that he's waiting to see all the returns.

Yeah, buddy. Boulder's gonna pull you out. :rofl:

[Robb]

32. A note on polling data:

Just take a gander at how far back you have to go http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2010/senate/co/colorado_senate_buck_vs_bennet-1106.html">to find anyone but PPP putting Bennet ahead. :rofl:

[backscatter712]

20. Hey, Buck up!

:evilgrin:

Seriously, I busted my butt for Michael Bennet this year. We won this one by the skin of our teeth.

[pasto76]

27. a very serious thank you.

if you actually worked for the campaign, which is more than I can seem to do, you are in fact a part of beating back this tea party nonsense in this state. Thank you.

I do my own stumping in my own circles here in the COS.

good job

[joshcryer]

38. I'm in the wrong district to be able to really GOTV.

It'd just be a mess and I'm a sorry bastard anyway.

[joshcryer]

37. I sadly didn't do any GOTV, but thank you.

You did it. Bennet thanks you too.

[Rozlee]

18. And again, they said the Latino vote had played a vital part in the victory

The defeats of Angle, Tancredo and Whitman were attributed to high Latino turnout at the polls. It bodes well for our side that a rising Hispanic population that tilts toward Democrats, and a Teabagger Republican base that is militantly racist, will eventually whittle away at Rethugs as time goes on.

[Plucketeer]

22. Damned sweet news!

F*ck Buck!

[DimplesinMI]

23. Visited Denver One Time and ......

Love Denver! Colorado voters are the smartest ones in the room today. Congratulations Senator Michael Bennett (D)! Good job last night and maybe Midwestern Democrats need to be schooled by both yourself, Senator Boxer, Senator Murray and Senator Reid out West on how to freaking WIN!!

One thing of note...my favorite Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) was not on the ballot last night. Either way, I will vow to work with her to ensure she wins in 2012, even if President Obama happens to lose his race. We need her in the Senate!

[Zambero]

28. Statewide Colorado: Tea Party 0-for-2

By pushing too far to the dark side they shot themselves in both feet. Nice work 'Baggers!

[David__77]

29. 53 votes is workable.

Washington will come through as well. We also need to aggressively court the Maine ladies to cross over. I know no one likes the thought of this, but having a working majority in this chamber is important. We need to get our judges in power.

[craigmatic]

30. We also won the governorship in CO

[jonthebru]

33. This was a petty important race

The teabagges was a real problem. Good for you Colorado.

[joshcryer]

41. Ken Buck was insane, I am so glad that he's gone.

Man what a real scumbag that guy was.

[YankeeLeft7x]

34. Great Win!!!

Congrats to you.

[joshcryer]

35. Bennet just declared victory and had an aweeeeeeesomeeeeeeee victory speech.

Love that guy.

[joshcryer]

36. Note: Buck has not conceeded and will likely be a brat about it.

[Robb]

50. 3:51 p.m. Buck campaign issues press release that he's conceded.

...Nearly four hours after Bennet's victory speech downtown ended. :rofl:

[joshcryer]

53. Haha, nice.

[Aviation Pro]

42. After all the insipid commercials I heard....

...I can happily 'Fuck Buck.'

[indimuse]

Thank God!!!

knr

[indimuse]

45. Thank God!!!

knr

[David Zephyr]

48. Great news!

Colorado stays blue!

[Lasher]

49. Aaaaaa, ha ha haaaa!!!

Thank you, thank you for posting this! Now that's 52 Senate seats in the bag!



According to poll averages we were only supposed to get 51. Washington has yet to be called but Murray is ahead there 722,396 to 708,391 so we could take that one for 53!



Let's hope Alaska gets Al Frankened for year or so by Republicans fighting among themselves. Until that's settled, and if we win in Washington, that would give us a 53 to 46 advantage for the duration.

[last_texas_dem]

52. Good news. Looks like CO was one of the few bright spots

from last night, at least in terms of the gubernatorial and senatorial races.

I know we did lose a couple of House seats there, but don't know enough about the particular races to know how much of an uphill battle it will be to win them back. From what I'd heard, it may have been of a bit of a fluke for Markey to have won that seat in the first place, and I figure it was almost impossible for her to hold on in a red wave. I don't know as much about Salazar's seat. Anyway, perhaps with a saner electorate more typical of a presidential year we'll be able to gain back some ground in CO in 2012.