Elections 2012 Open Thread

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Update #3: And Elizabeth Warren wins! Oh, and the swing state of New Hampshire goes to President Obama! -Elisa

Update #2: Hubby and the staff hard at work at Daily Kos. -Elisa

Update #1: I just got photos from our school published in NBC Latino! -Elisa

After months of debates, politicking and open threads, it is finally here — the 2012 elections! There’s the presidential campaign, of course, but also many tightly contested races that involve amazing women like Massachusetts senatorial candidate Elizabeth Warren on right.

While she echoes my thoughts on everything from corporations-are-not-people to affordable childcare, she always had me at health care reform. Massachusetts, please send this working class champion to the senate!

What the heck, I will mention the other races I am interested in: the Missouri senatorial race between Claire McCaskill (on left) and Todd “Legitimate Rape” Akin.

If you will allow me one more senate race — how about Tammy Baldwin (on right)? She’s in a tightly contested senatorial race in Wisconsin, and if elected, would become the first openly gay candidate elected to the U.S. Senate.

And I have lived in various states throughout my life that there are a lot of House races I am looking at. I am hoping Carol Shea Porter re-gains her seat in southern New Hampshire. I am looking at Katie and my family out there to make this happen. :)

In California, we have all those propositions that are so necessary to at least make a dent on our budget crisis as well as address public safety: Proposition 30 (Yes), Proposition 32 (No), Proposition 34 (Yes) and Proposition 37 (Yes). Oh boy, this is going to be a long night.

Finally, I know that this guy on the right didn’t deliver everything that he promised — like immigration reform — but he delivered a lot especially for women: health reform, the Lily Ledbetter Act for fair pay for women and two women justices on the Supreme Court — including the first Latina justice! I am proud to give him my vote again.

I’ve been live-tweeting all things related to the elections from @ElisaBatista. I’ve seen Suzanne77, Ginabad and others. Please do join us here and/or on Facebook and/or on Twitter! Don’t forget to publish photos with celebratory drinks if it’s a good night. :)

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About Elisa

I am a journalist and online organizer who is the co-publisher of this blog. When I am not online, I am shuttling around my two kids, an 8-year-old son and 5-year-old daughter.

87 thoughts on “Elections 2012 Open Thread”

  1. i’m not optimistic about Carol Shea Porter– I actually think if one Democrat goes down in NH it will be here.. I DO think Maggie Hassan and ANnie Kuster will win their races though

    and MOST importantly I think my friend Ed will win his race for school charter commission.. ;-)

  2. yeah Elisa! I’m so nervous and excited! alot at stake today! i was happy to see alot of people at the polls this AM, but worried bc there seemed to be alot of issues!
    will be reading your tweets, things are crazy for me now (was out of work for a week!) so can’t be following as closely as I’d like…
    i am really hoping Prop 37 passes! hopefully California will pave the way for the rest of the country! love Mothertalkers blog!

  3. Of course I am most excited about the top of the ticket but there are so many things to keep an eye on. Prop 30 and Elizabeth Warren are two of the biggest! Along with our school district parcel tax if 30 fails.

    I am keeping my fingers crossed (which is hard to do when typing) and sitting here nervously.

  4. We had a 1.5 hour wait today. It’s our first time at this polling spot and I’ve never waited more than 10 minutes before. Isaac started a “Go Obama” chant that we had to stop given that we could get kicked out for campaigning in line :-) We saw at least one person leave because she needed to get to work. I hope she can come back later. So disheartening to see people unable to vote because of stupid laws that prohibit early voting.

    • Just ran into some OFA volunteers who say that voting on campus is down :-( While all the post-college polling places seem to have 30 min – 1.5 hour lines, the campus polling places apparently are in and out. I really hope the youth vote isn’t down a lot…

      • It *could* be. There was so much excitement and enthusiasm for Obama in 08 that just isn’t there this time around. I’m on a campus with a fairly conservative student body, and yet there was a pretty palpable pro-Obama vibe back then that is just not there now.

        On the other hand, the push this year for early voting and absentee voting could have had an impact on campus voting. I teach almost exclusively first year students this semester and most of them voted absentee in their home states. While I didn’t make them all raise their hands and count how many voted, I thought it was easily the majority of the students who piped up in discussions about early voting.

  5. I saw this linked on FB. A brief video supposedly from voting this morning in central PA (it was uploaded today) with a digital voting screen – ‘Obama’ selection highlights ‘Romney.’

  6. I Voted! Hopefully we will know the Presidential race early and then just have to stay up to wait for all the Props. And in San Diego we have a really important mayoral race. The Democrat, Bob Filner was a good Congressman, but I’m not convinced he will be a great mayor. HOWEVER his opponent Carl DeMaio is just AWFUL. Beyond awful. This will give you a hint why I think so – from the NY Times:

    “A victory for Carl DeMaio, who is locked in a tight mayoral race, would make San Diego the second-largest city in the country to elect an openly gay mayor, and by far the largest to elect a gay Republican.

    Yet, perhaps no group has opposed Mr. DeMaio as loudly as this city’s sizable gay and lesbian population.

    Angered by his reticence on gay issues and his acceptance of campaign donations from backers of Proposition 8, California’s 2008 ban on same-sex marriage, parts of the crowd booed Mr. DeMaio at a mayoral debate at the gay and lesbian community center here.

  7. OK, screwed on my Courage Cap and made some phone calls – it was HARD!! I’m so not with this script. I got on Strong Obama, and one “I already spoke you guys” (there is no option for that???) No one is home other than that. PA working hours I guess…

  8. I’m also watching Iowa House District 4. Christie Vilsack, wife of USDA head (and former Iowa Governor) Tom Vilsack is within striking distance of Steve King, a$$hat in chief in the state of Iowa. I hope and pray.

    We voted this morning and it was quick and easy. An abundance of poll workers and polling booths at our precinct. I wonder how it is in poorer neighborhoods in town.

    I’m trying to Keep Calm and Trust Nate Silver (and Daily Kos!).

  9. We have a senate race (Bob Kerrey v. crazy teaparty lady, Deb Fischer) that I’m watching. This was Ben Nelson’s seat, so moderate/conservative Democrats can win. Whether Kerrey can is another story. I’m not optimistic, but I’m a little hopeful. We also have a congressional race–John Ewing is challenging Lee Terry (incumbent Republican and generally just a tool). John Ewing is an African-American former police officer and the current County Treasurer. He’s an awesome candidate, but unfortunately didn’t get any help from the national party because it was assumed Terry would win hands down. Now it’s become pretty close, but he probably we won’t win. The only hope is a very large African-American turnout for Obama in the cities. Still, one of my colleagues who has been helping Ewing with debate and speechwriting thinks even a failed campaign will result in future opportunities for him.

  10. Pins and needles about Maine’s marriage equality vote (and Maryland’s and others..) but Maine… that’s my home… and that’s where Kelly and i want to move when liza goes off to college.. it would be nice to have our marriage recognized there…

  11. I knocked on about 120 doors for Warren today. Like ginabad found, virtually no one is home. Which makes it easier, but also makes it feel kinda pointless…

    I was supposed to make stew for dinner but now I think we are going the mac and cheese route. I’m tired and I still have to go play a soccer game, and it is COLD. Last game, and we are playing with the young guys, so it will be really challenging. Going out with a bang.

  12. I voted this morning. No wait, which validates my decision not to vote early, where there is always a wait. :)

    I couldn’t bring myself to vote for either of the yahoos running for governor. It’s clear which one is going to win, so I felt comfortable with that little sit down strike.

    I’m worried about the top of the ticket, though I’m trying to have faith in Nate. The most potentially fun part of the night could be watching the village idiots from our school board who have decided to try for higher office get their a$$es handed to them. I hope at least one of those races is called before 8:00. Of course we’ll still be stuck with them on the school board.

  13. my friend Mike who is a state rep in my ward, just texted me that the line for new voter registration was out the door, down the parkinglot and around the school … another ward reported over 500 new voters registered. he doesn’t think we’ll have results til about 1030…

  14. MA is projected for Obama…who would have guessed? Hopefully the rest of the country believed us when we expressed how much we don’t like our former Gov.

  15. When I picked Maya up from school, she told me her friend said she heard that Mitt Romney killed a puppy.

    BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

    I told her the real story, and she was still pretty appalled. Not a Romney fan, that one.

      • My mom is a nice Christian lady. She even always had nice things to say about Brown.

        My mom’s a teacher too. She saw the ad quoting Romney saying smaller class sizes aren’t necessary and a union scam. Pretty sure if my mom ever gets near Romney she’ll kick him.

  16. Wisconsin and Pennsylvania — that’s all I gotta say! Woot!

    And it looks like Tammy Baldwin and Elizabeth Warren are winning. Now, waiting on my childhood home states of FL and NH. Come on, people.

  21. Stepped out when a friend offered to take me for ice cream for my birthday. Came back, took off jacket, saw the count flip to 274!!! Best birthday gift ever, even if I’m celebrating a few minutes early :)

  25. Congratulations, my dear friends, on re-electing your president! You did the world a biog favor. Ever since the GWB-(s)election in 2000 I am a bit apprehensive when going to bed with things looking good for the Dem – I was so relieved this morning to see that it is a clear win for Obama. Well done, USA!!

      • Me too. I guess I misunderestimated him because I felt pretty sure he was gonna drag it out. A short, sweet concession speech has redeemed him somewhat in my book.

        DH was in the hall with Obama and sent me a little movie of the pandemonium around him when the whole family came out to “Here I am, baby, signed, sealed, delivered, I’m yours.” He is a spectator of history!

  26. Went to sleep looking at THE PRESIDENT’S smiling face on the front page of nytimes.com I was so tired, I couldn’t stay awake for the speeches. Then I woke up scared that it would be a repeat of 2000….so now, with my coffee, I am watching Obama and Romney’s speeches.

    I am so happy today! Congrats to all of us, all of you, everyone who helped GOTV or bring forward the messages. <3 Among all the other amazing Dem victories, I am now represented in Congress by an Asian-American woman! We lost Weiner, got re-districted, and then got Bob Turner (R) for Weiner's seat. This is our first election in the new district and I wasn't sure how it would play out…. Keep an eye out for Grace Meng, MTs. She's young, but she's smart and ambitious, and will represent NY well. And add her to the list of women breaking ground – not the first woman from NY, of course, but the first Asian woman from NY in Congress.

    • Watching the speeches this morning, too! I conked out on the couch last night and DH assured me that Obama had won and had given his speech. In a sleepy blur I asked, “And Romney conceded, right?” For me, it’s not certain until I hear the loser say, “I just called my opponent to congratulate him on his victory.”

    • We hd a little party at our house. The last guests were leaving just as it flipped to 274, so they stayed a little longer to celebrate. DH and I enjoyed a little bit of whiskey and I went to bed, figuring if Karl Rove was freaking out on Fox News, that was as good as a concession from Romney. DH stayed up to watch the rest of the results and the speeches. He came to bed about 2 and said Romney had conceded. YAY!!!

      BTW, Elisa, if your husband wants some political geek based in Cleveland for the Kos staff, DH is his man. :)

  28. I can’t tell you how excited I am by what has happened. OK, we didn’t elect enough Dems to get the House, and I am really sorry for the individual races that people are mourning. But some major crazies went down – Allen West, YEAH! – and I hope that this bodes well for the temper of the next Congress.

    Most of all, I am so excited by the new wave of diversity coming in and by the fact that new communities stood up and organised for political candidates. I love it that Latino-Americans made their voices known (acknowledging, yes, of course, that they are not a monolithic bloc with one unified voice). I love the fact that there are Asian-Americans coming in. Love Tammy Baldwin. Love Maine and MD. Love CO And WA. Love it, love it, love it. Forward!!!

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