2012 Election Night Live Blog

02:30am

Meet Alan West, former Congressman/future Fox News pundit.  #defeated

02:18am

Lou Gentile, the top targeted Democrats in the State Senate as a GOP pickup, has retained his seat.

02:03am

Romney also only saw a 1.8 improvement in Warren County.  GOP wanted 65% in Butler County to feel like Romney could win. http://spectator.org/archives/2012/11/02/butler-county-usa

01:59am

Obama ends his speech revisiting many of the lines from the DNC Convention speech that launched him onto the national stage as a future presidential candidate.

01:58am

Key reason for Obama’s victory in Ohio: Butler County went 62.3% for Romney, only 1.7 better than McCain in ’08.

01:52am

Boy, you just look at this audiance and see the coaltion that led to Obama’s victory.   Racial diverse group with very strong female presence.  Obama talking about the lessons learn in his first term and his renewed determination to get the system work in a more bipartisan fashion.

01:50am

Romney campaign website streaming President Obama’s speech.  #Classy

01:48am

You can tell the Obama campaign had put much thought into tonight’s speech.  Very well crafted.  Right tone, themes.

01:44am

Barack Obama just told the nation he won’t buy his kids another dog.  Cue #DrudgeSiren

01:43am

Praising VP Joe Biden as the “Happy Warrior,” and now praising his wife.

01:42am

President seems to suggest he will sit down with Romney to discuss what issues they can work together on.

01:42am

CNN has not called Florida.  Swore they had it colored blue earlier.  Likely will call it soon, though.

01:41am

“By the way, we have to fix that…” (long lines to vote.)

01:40am

“While our road has been long, and our journey hard, you have picked ourselves up, and the best is yet to come.”

01:39am

President Obama giving a very powerful, motivational victory speech.

01:38am

Looks like Obama will be re-elected with >50% PV and more EV than Bush ’04.  #Mandate

01:37am

Looks like gay marriage will win by the ballots in MD, ME, and WA.   Very close on gay marriage constitutional ban in MN.

01:28am

So, has Fox asked Dick Morris when the Romney landslide is coming? http://twitpic.com/bb0lzf

01:21am

Exit poll showed an electorate that was +7 D. http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/news/national-govt-politics/poll-ohio-voters-gave-obama-slight-edge-on-economy/nSy8X/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter So much for the polls being skewed too much for the Democrats.

01:20am

Did we miss it?  CNN appears to have called Florida for Obama. #GettingTired

01:14am

OH-16: Congressman Jim Renacci is up four points against Democratic Congresswoman Betty Sutton thanks to gerrymandering.  #Disappointing

01:13am

Bil Johnson (OH-6) has been re-elected over rematch with Democrat Charlie Wilson. 54%/47%.

01:03am

David Gergen basically says Paul Ryan has a future in the Republican Party under logic that makes no sense to me.

01:02am

Romney is correct.  He and Paul Ryan left nothing on the table.  They campaigned incredibly hard.

01:00am

Romney thanks his campaign staff and volunteers.  Very classy concession speech.  Advocates bipartisan and compromise. Some grumbling in the crowd.  But Romney is doing a very good job for a concession speech he reportedly didn’t have prepared.

12:57am

Romney still calling pick of Paul Ryan the best choice second to his wife he’s ever made.  I think there’ll be signficant dissention in that in the post-election analysis.  Ryan appeared to have brought nothing to the ticket.

12:56am

Romney has taken the stage to give his concession speech.  His very hoarse, like every candidate tonight.

12:55am

Bill O’Neill pulls an upset and wins a seat on the Ohio Supreme Court, but Yvette McGhee Brown loses to a candidate the Ohio State Bar Associate rated as “Not Qualified.”

12:51am

CNN reporting that Governor Mitt Romney has called President Obama to concede the election.  Concession speech coming in five minutes, Candy Crowley reports.

12:43am

CNN finally calls Virginia for Obama.  Moving his win of Ohio even more irrelevant. #MapShrinkage

12:41am

So, on a very special episode of A&E’s hit show “Intervention,” Michael Barone talks Karl Rove off the edge and release the Fox News decision desk staffers he took hostage over Ohio.  Srsly, did you all see that?

11:51pm

Obama will likely take Florida and Virginia too WOW

11:47pm

Colorado for Obama as well

11:26pm

Ted Strickland speaking now says we are proud of our great state of Ohio

11:19pm

Dems retain control of the Senate

11:13pm

Obama wins Ohio It’s over pandemonium here

11:10pm

Iowa called for President Obama Romney down to 3 paths to victory

11:02pm

We’re at 243 to 188 EVs 270 to win

11:01pm

CA & HI called for Obama  59 more EVs no surprise

10:45pm

MN called for Obama

10:31pm

Obama has a slight lead in FL and OH and we think he could hold both If so over

10:24pm

CBS News says Tim Kaine over George Allen in VA Senate

10:17pm

Brown literally has zero voice now.  Connie stepping in to finish his speech to large ovation.

10:13pm

A victorious and hoarse Sherrod Brown is speaking now at the Dem party:  ”Today the middle class won…again”

10:10pm

Akin goes down in MO to Claire McCaskill

09:34pm

CBS calls New Hampshire for Obama.

09:31pm

Correction: Elizabeth Warren and Tammy Baldwin calls premature.  We retract … for now. #OurBad

09:29pm

Fox News calls Wisconsin for… Obama. #ExpandingMapFAIL

09:27pm

AP calls it for Tammy Baldwin, Wisconisn Senator-elect.

09:26pm

AP calls it for Sherrod Brown.  #SixMoreYears  Time of death of Josh Mandel’s career: 9:25 p.m.

09:22pm

Romney only +17 points in Butler County’s early voting.  Needs to gain +10 to meet GOP expactations.

09:17pm

Fox News, NBC News call PA for Obama.  #ExpandingTheMapFAIL

09:13pm

CNN just called the House for the Republicans. With how many states yet to report? Says a lot about how uncompetitive most House races are.

09:03pm

Michigan called for Obama.  #ExpandingtheMapFAIL

09:00pm

“@WCPN: CNN and MSNBC have both pointed to NE Ohio tonight -MSNBC saying Obama is “over performing” in Akron

08:55pm

WaPo: “The [Ohio exit poll] electorate is also slightly more liberal, more African American and slightly less evangelical” than in 2008.

08:51pm

Voters still in line voting in Franklin Co.  Hearing 800 still in line at Ohio Union after polls closed.  50 more still to vote.

08:12pm

Early exit polling showing D+7 in Ohio.  Unskewed.

08:01pm

Cuyahoga County results 176162 Obama, 72135 – with zero precincts reporting. We assume this is the early vote – http://bit.ly/RHlhtv

07:16pm

Polls close in just a few minutes.  PB crew headed out for a pint before the madness begins.

07:07pm

Dems gathering at new Hilton downtown Cbus.  Hoping for celebratory night!