Here is what I will be watching as the returns unfold tonight:
Early in the evening I will be watching Virginia. I will be watching to see just how close Ed Gillespie gets to catching Mark Warner. Some are making a bold prediction that Ed will win the upset of the night. I will also be watching for signs to see where Va. is heading into 2016. I will also be looking at N.H. and N.C. in the Senate races. Should the GOP candidates in one or both win, the GOP will end this year's elections with more than a majority in the U.S. Senate. I will also be watching the races for governor in some of the most left-voting states. Those races in Md., Mass., Conn. and Maine are all competitive for the GOP to potentially win. Md. is the most intriguing. It was not competitive until recently, but it looks like a toss-up. Naturally, I will also be watching close the two big races in Georgia as well. If Perdue wins the Senate race tonight, the GOP will have an excellent night!
Also in the East, I will be watching several U.S. House races with the potential for some new blood into the GOP delegation in the House:
-GA 10: Jody Hice is a minister and radio show host on issues regarding traditional values. He
would be a solid values conservative of which we really need more of in Washington.
-NY 21: Elise Stefanik is running as a 30-year-old young conservative woman eager to replace
Obamacare and stand on conservative values. She is favored and would bring a fresh breath of air
to Washington.
-NH 2: Marilinda Garcia is also running as a young conservative woman and also around 30 years
of age. She is also a state representative there and of Hispanic descent. She is trailing in recent
polls but should she win, imagine what that projects about conservatism, particularly to the youth
and Hispanic vote. (I don't particularly like hyphenating America, but people do look at these
things.)
As the night continues on, I will look at how things develop in the South and Midwest. I will be looking at Florida's race for governor and at the seat in Congress based in the Sunshine State's panhandle (District 2). I will obviously be watching the U.S. Senate races in Arkansas and Louisiana. In our home state of Tennessee, I am closely watching how ballot amendments 1 & 2 come out.
In the Midwest, the two major states I am watching are the adjacent states of Illinois and Wisconsin. Watching the race for governor in Illinois and interested to see if embattled incumbent Quinn finally goes down. Also watching 3 or so House races there, particularly in IL-12 where I spent time helping a candidate 2 years ago. In Wisconsin, watching close the race for governor there. Scott Walker looks favored for another term, and if he pulls that out will automatically be a seriously talked about candidate for President in 2016. He would be one of the best candidates for the White House from my estimation. Will then be watching Iowa and anticipating Joni Ernst picking up the Senate seat there for the GOP. My eyes will also be watching Kansas and the tightly-competitive races for the Senate and governor there. I believe Roberts will hold on and win another term in the Senate, and I am hoping Brownback gets another term as governor, but I am not so sure he will hold out.
As we continue westward through the night, I will turn attention to Colorado and the hard-fought races for governor and the Senate there. Cory Gardner looks posed to enter the Senate from Colorado and would be a good one. Bob Beauprez is also in a dead-heat race with embattled Colo. Gov. John Hickenlooper and I hope Bob wins it! Also watching CO-6 and hoping Mike Coffman holds on there. Also watching several other Congressional races, particularly in Arizona, Nevada, California and Hawaii, particularly Arizona's 2nd District. Here, Martha McSally is in a close race to unseat Ron Barber. McSally is a retired U.S. Air Force officer and Gulf War vet. She would be a tough conservative in the House to take on the Dems.
Finally, I will be watching Alaska's close races for the U.S. Senate and for governor. Sean Parnell has been a good governor in the Last Frontier but still is struggling there. Dan Sullivan looks poised to take down Mark Begich and pick up another U.S. Senate seat for the GOP. We won't know the results there until early in the morning.
I will be podcasting the returns tonight with Mark Holloway and Tyler Carr. Listen in starting at 6 PM Central, 7 Eastern at http://www.podomatic.com/
