Nate: Murray (WA) and Bennet (CO) likely to win when all votes are counted.

[jefferson_dem]

2:38 A.M. |Math Favors Murray in Washington
The Washington Senate race is a tricky one and we may not know the winner for several days — after more mail ballots have been counted. But Patty Murray, the Democrat, is favored to hold on to her seat. Seattle’s King County, which had been slightly overrepresented earlier in the night, is now somewhat underrepresented instead with 55 percent of its vote counted compared with about 70 percent elsewhere in the state. An extrapolation of county-by-county results would have Ms. Murray eventually winning by about 1.5 points; she leads by 1 point now

2:50 A.M. |Math Also Looks Good For Bennet
By the same method I just outlined for Patty Murray — extrapolating out current voting results on a county-by-county basis based on precincts that have yet to report — Michael Bennet, a Democratic, would eventually win the Senate race in Colorado by 3-4 points. He now trails by about half a point, but both Boulder and Denver counties, where Mr. Bennet leads by wide margins, have only reported a little more than half their vote.

http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/02/live-blogging-election-night/?src=twt&twt=fivethirtyeight#math-also-looks-good-for-bennet

[JI7]

1. what are the numbers for bennet so far ?

[jefferson_dem]

2. Here.

http://elections.nytimes.com/2010/results/colorado

[JI7]

3. i just looked at latimes a couple minutes ago and Bennet was behind

i looked again and now he is ahead by about 5k. i hope it keeps up. but it's so close and making me nervious.

are the remaining areas to be counted in an area favorable to Democrats ?

[jefferson_dem]

5. Yes, parts of Denver, Boulder and their suburbs are still out.

Those tend to be Dem-friendly territories. I would be surprised if Bennet loses the lead he just grabbed.

[CTLawGuy]

4. CO is great news

we need CO going into the future if we want to hold the White House.

[mvd]

6. K&R. Haven't slept well tonight, but this may help

My state just got filled with Repukes. :grr:

[DemocratSinceBirth]

7. I Thought The DU Near Consensus Was That Nate Was A Flake Or A GOP Flack That Couldn't Be Trusted

My, the chickens have come home to roost.

[oswaldactedalone]

8. If a person thought that

then they were just plain wrong. He was so amazingly accurate during '08 that I took everything he said this year with a sense of foreboding. He pretty much nailed this one as well.

[Jennicut]

9. I never thought that. He is brilliant at what he does.

I wondered if the polling was flawed or totally accurate but not Nate. He analyzes data extremely well.

[leftynyc]

11. I think suspicion of someone

who only had one accurate election under his belt is warranted.

[book_worm]

10. If so the final number in Senate will be 53 Dems--a respectable number.

Hopefully IL governorship will go dem, too.

[totodeinhere]

12. Respectable number? Are you kidding me?

With 47 senators the GOP will be able to filibuster at will. GOP gains in the Senate are very significant and anyone who will take off his or her rose colored glasses should see that. Losing six or more Democratic senators including Feingold is devastating.

[Hawkowl]

14. It will force the Dems to be hard

53 will force the Dems to actually make the Rethugs filibuster by actually debating, instead of this fake filibuster bullshit that has almost cost Reid his seat.

It doesn't matter anyway because the now batshit crazy house won't pass anything that looks remotely sane. The dems only recourse is to let the Rethugs shut the government down and make sure, the public knows what the rethugs are doing.

[fugop]

15. Have they got enough to reform the filibuster?

[Hawkowl]

16. Only need 51

A new Congress (which this is) sets its own rules. So they can reform the filibuster by a simple majority vote. The filibuster is not a in the Constitution or any written law. It is an anachronistic piece of shit intended to slow down the Senate from acting. This rule along with the "custom" of allowing a single Senator to hold up any and all legislation for any and no reasons is really the direct reason for the gridlock of the past Congress and is THE REASON, dems were massacred. The dems failed to govern effectively.

[totodeinhere]

18. What if the Dem majority does away with the filibuster and then the GOP takes the Senate

in 2012? And that scenario is possible because in 2012 the Dems will have more Senate seats to defend.

You better believe that the GOP would also operate without the filibuster rule and can you imagine the damage that a simple GOP majority in the Senate could do if not restrained by the filibuster? That's why i am cautious about proposals to eliminate the filibuster. If the GOP ever took control of both the White House and both houses of Congress, the filibuster would be the only source of power that the Dems would have left available to them.

[Hawkowl]

21. The GOP WILL eliminate the filibuster

What makes you think the rethugs wouldn't eliminate the filibuster immediately upon taking control of the Senate? I mean have they shown any inclination in the past few years to give even an inch? See the people running the GOP ARE playing chess and thinking moves ahead. The dems aren't thinking at all--or worse paralyzed by fear. And fear gives off the stink of desperation which leads to getting unelected.

The dems have no choice. Eliminate the filibuster and get something done, or continue to not govern, get unelected, have the filibuster eliminated and then really get marginalized.

[totodeinhere]

22. They didn't so it before. Why would they do it now? They may be evil

but they are not stupid. They would think twice about eliminating it for the same reasons I outlined. You act like it's a fact that they would eliminate it if they could, and you cannot know that. After last night, I have learned to not necessarily believe predictions that I read on DU. Too many predictions have proved to be wrong, and yours might be as well.

[Hawkowl]

23. I think you are behind the curve

And I don't mean that as an insult. The GOP has been getting ever increasingly more mercilessly uncompromising. A win at all costs mentality. This is evident in the Citizens' United case, the teabaggers, and the Republican congressman and Senators obstructing at every turn. I think they will eliminate the filibuster when they get control because they will see their ultimate victory within grasp. They will think that they will be able to destroy the Democrats forever (meaning within their lifetimes). The right wing views politics as war, and the Dems view it as a Sunday golf game at the country club.

[KingFlorez]

17. Honestly, there could have been a bigger loss

Holding onto Nevada was big, as was holding Colorado.

[totodeinhere]

20. I am cautiously optimistic about Colorado but it hasn't been called yet.

It might even come down to a recount.

[timkainemustgo]

13. DENVER POST BENNET

Looks like 54 Senate seats.

[totodeinhere]

19. No, the 53 number already assumes a Bennett victory. If Bennett should lose, then

it would go down to 52.