President Kerry and on...

[SPC]

June 2013: The Helion

The administration found itself embroiled in even more controversy when whistleblower Edward Snowden revealed details about the NSA's PRISM program, which secretly spied on the email and phone records of every American. Civil libertarians on both sides of the aisle called out the White House for its blatant disregard for basic privacy rights. On the other hand, national security advocates such as Defense Secretary Lieberman and Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Eric Cantor (R-VA) were quick to come to the NSA's defense, calling the advanced surveillance measures necessary to thwart another terrorist attack and demanding that China extradite Snowden to the United States for "questioning."

Despite currently unsubstantiated reports of Syrian use of chemical weapons, civil unrest in NATO-allied Turkey has temporarily postponed U.S. efforts in increase the scope of involvement in the conflict.

In other news, the Supreme Court issued a 5-4 ruling declaring that state laws prohibiting same-sex marriage are unconstitutional under the equal protection clause. The breakdown was largely as expected, with Sotomayor issuing the majority opinion concurred by Ginsburg, Breyer, Stevens, and Souter, and Cruz issuing the dissent concurred by Scalia, Thomas, and Kennedy, which opined that the definition of marriage is reserved to the states under the 10th Amendment. While social conservative activists were infuriated by the decision, enforcement has not yet encountered any obstacles in Republican-leaning states.

President Allen Approval Rating (YouGov)
Approve 44%
Disapprove 54%

[SPC]

July 2013: Pollos

The Senate passed a Comprehensive Immigration Reform Bill with unanimous Democratic support and 21 Republicans. The bill contained provisions granting amnesty to immigrants in the United States for greater than five years, a path to citizenship for said immigrants, and appropriations for a militarized fence along the Southern border. Speaker Pelosi believes that she will be able to ensure passage in the House of Representatives as early as next month. President Allen has vowed to sign the bill if it reaches his desk, much to the consternation of conservative activists.

Meanwhile, with summer gasoline prices topping $5 a gallon in many areas, legislators have floated the idea of temporarily suspending the federal gasoline tax to provide temporarily relief. Critics say that this measure does not address the underlying causes behind the price surge. Speaker Pelosi has already made it clear that expanding drilling is "off the table," as such a measure would take several years to affect consumers.

[SPC]

August-September 2013: Fortunate Son

President Allen signed the controversional House version of the immigration reform bill, asserting that this is "not 1986," despite the similarity of the provisions, which now include a nationwide version of the DREAM Act. Allen advisors believe that the measure will improve Republicans' standing among Hispanic voters, which is seen as a long-term demographic problem to future GOP success. However, the issue which had been a hot topic earlier this summer faded into the background as embarrassments for the administration in domestic and foreign politics arose.

In Virginia, while Allen's preferred candidate Bill Bolling was expected to easily retake the governorship against former DNC Chair Terry McAuliffe, Bolling has run a lackluster campaign and has started to trail the controversial McAuliffe in public polls. Allen has sought to make a Republican sweep of his home state a top priority of the off-year elections. Some moderate voices in the party see carpetbagging Senate candidate Rick Santorum's controversial remarks about contraception as dragging down Bolling and the rest of the ticket. However, social conservatives claim that Santorum is not on the ballot until 2014, and thus would not impact turnout for the gubernatorial election.

More unconfirmed revelations of chemical weapon use against civilians by the Syrian government led to an "intensification" of the drone campaign against Syria. However, hawks in the Administration have floated the idea of a unilateral invasion force of 70,000 troops to perform a limited operation to eliminate Syria's chemical weapons stockpile in order to prevent either the Syrian goverment or al-Nusra affiliated rebels from using and/or gaining possession of the weapons. Speaker Pelosi, while agreeing with the sentiment that U.S. should do more for humanitarian relief in the war-torn nation, sought to thwart the administration's attempt to move unilaterally into the country by proposing a resolution authorizing the President to seek approval from the United Nations to send troops into the country. Critics asserted that this was a meaningless gesture, as Russia and China were certain to veto any Western attempt to intervene in Syria, and neoconservatives cited the President's position as Commander-in-Chief as all the authorization necessary to embark on the mission. Senate Republicans sought to counteract the measure by proposing a resolution of their own supporting the President's power to send troops to Syria. However, the administration was left with egg on its face when Republicans failed 59-41 on a vote to break a filibuster led by Senators Feingold and Wyden. In an ironic twist of events, the deciding vote turned out to be the Republicans' own Caucus Whip, with Steele criticizing the effort as "not something the United States should actively prosecute or want to engage in." Pundits such as Bill Kristol and Charles Krauthammer have demanded Steele step down as Whip and even suggested that he resign from the Senate. Nevertheless, the failure of the Senate vote forced the administration to place its invasion plans on hold for the time being.

Virginia Governor (WaPo) McAuliffe 49% Bolling 44%

Allen Approval Rating (Reuters) Approve 39% Disapprove 56%

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Steele 2016!

[TX Conservative Dem]

What would happen with Lautenberg and does Booker go for that Senate seat instead of getting Solange'd by Christie in the governor's race ?

[SPC]

What would happen with Lautenberg and does Booker go for that Senate seat instead of getting Solange'd by Christie in the governor's race ?

Senators Pryor and Lautenberg eventually conceded their races in mid-December to Congressman Boozman and former Congressman Zimmer.

Victories in off-year elections in New Jersey and Virginia made Democrats optimistic about their chances in the 2010 midterms.

[SPC]

October-November 2013: Dead Canaries

VIRGINIA GOVERNOR: MCAULIFFE 50.5% BOLLING 44.4%      NEW JERSEY GOVERNOR: BOOKER 62.3% LONEGAN 35.2%

In what many Democrats anticipate to be a good omen for taking control of the Senate next year, Republicans once again lost the gubernatorial election in the President's home state. Given McAuliffe's close ties to the Clintons, many suspect that his victory might prompt a second presidential candidacy by former Senator and 2012 nominee Hillary Clinton, especially since former Governor Eliot Spitzer's fall from grace leaves the Democratic field in 2016 without a clear frontrunner. However, Clinton denies having any interest in running for President again. Likewise, despite his landslide election, Governor-elect Booker has committed to serving his full term in Trenton rather than seeking higher office.

Meanwhile, a series of embarrassments have left the White House in a state of complete paralysis in achieving their foreign policy objectives. With Assad forces gaining the advantage in the situation on the ground in Syria, congressional authorization for direct U.S. military action defeated, and both Turkey and Egypt facing domestic uprisings of their own, virtually all avenues to increase either direct or proxy U.S. involvement in the conflict beyond strategic bombing have been shut for the time being. Additionally, revelations of NSA surveillance of European heads of state have damaged U.S. credibility abroad, and the specter of stagflation has left policymakers too preoccupied with domestic troubles to be concerned with foreign affairs.

[badgate]

IRS scandal gonna happen in this TL?

[TX Conservative Dem]

Booker punked Lonegan big time in NJ Governor's race.

I'm going to assume Christie chose not to seek reelection due to backlash against some of his policies.

[MATTROSE94]

Booker punked Lonegan big time in NJ Governor's race.

I'm going to assume Christie chose not to seek reelection due to backlash against some of his policies.

I think that Jon Corzine was actually re-elected in 2009 against Chris Christie in this timeline.

[TX Conservative Dem]

Would Christie run for statewide office again in NJ ?

[SPC]

December 2013-January 2014: Back Door Man

In addition to the ongoing controversies regarding Operation Fast and Furious, the Benghazi attacks, and covert NSA spying, the Administration has recently become embroiled in another scandal involving the Justice Department. Revelations have shown that prosecutions for insider trading have disproportionately affected those with past affiliations with Goldman Sachs, as well as donors to Jon Corzine's successful 2009 re-election campaign. This has caused some to suspect that Christie has used the position of Attorney General as a tool for personal revenge against political opponents, a charge which both Allen and Christie vehemently deny. The presence of a similar, albeit weaker trend, among donors to the late Governor Creigh Deeds, former Senator Tim Kaine, and Governor Terry McAuliffe has arisen the suspicion that Christie may have been acting with sanction from the Oval Office. The House of Representatives has formed a special committee headed by sophomore Congressman Jack Conway (D-KY) to investigate the Justice Department.

Meanwhile, federal courts have issued rulings ordering an end to the NSA warrantless surveillance program, to which President Allen has declared that the Administration is prepared to appeal the decisions all the way to the Supreme Court if such action is necessary to protect the country from terrorist threats.

The recapture of al-Fallujah by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant has led to speculation that American troops may be redeployed to Iraq in order to combat the jihadist group. Some even see the possibility that maintaining the security situation in Iraq, as authorized by the original 2002 Authorization for the Use of Military Force, could be used as a pretext for involvement on the ground in the conflict in Syria on the basis of eliminating ISIL's headquarters in the chaotic northeastern region of the country. However, Iraqi Prime Minister al-Maliki has flatly refused to provide any sanction to another American invasion. Nevertheless, American forces in the region have been put on alert that a redeployment may be imminent.

[TX Conservative Dem]

How would the 2014 Texas gubernatorial contest look like ?

[SPC]

February 2014: East of Eden

The appointment of former Kansas City Fed chairman Herman Cain as chairman of the Federal Reserve Board proved catastrophic to the markets, as Cain floated the idea of setting an target for interest rates of 9% in order to hold off increasing inflation. The sharp collapse in the stock market and corresponding uptick in unemployment numbers precipitated calls for fiscal stimulus from members of Congress. This proved fortuitous for members of both parties, who wished to avoid the painful conversation of budget cuts in order to reduce the $400 billion deficit. However, fears of a double-dip recession have now relegated concerns about inflation to a back-seat.

Meanwhile, President Allen used the 23rd anniversary of Operation Desert Storm to announce the deployment of American forces to Iraq in order to fight Sunni fundamentalists. This proved controversial, with many Democrats accusing Allen of repeating Bush's mistake, while Republicans were generally supportive of the move. The Democratic line of attack may have backfired in the court of public opinion, with polling showing that a plurality of Americans blame former President Kerry's policies for the situation in Iraq. Secretary Lieberman has opined that the Authorization for the Use of Military Force would not limit American operations to Iraqi national borders, and pursuit of ISIS operatives into their headquarters in Syria would be the objective. Also, something happened in Uk-uk-raine-raine-raine.

[SPC]

March 2014: Deck Chairs

Global markets continued to plunge despite the passage of a $400 billion economic stimulus package, over the objections of a substantial portion of the President's own party. To make matters worse, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner announced that he would be stepping down due to a lack of confidence in the Administration's fiscal policy. President Allen sought to assuage concerns by announcing his new pick of HP and former Ebay CEO Meg Whitman, who has vowed to administer the stimulus to promote innovation and growth.

In foreign affairs, the State Department increased sanctions on Russian leadership after the internationally condemned annexation of Crimea, in addition to the deployment of additional U.S. Naval ships to the Black Sea. In response, President Putin stationed additional Russian troops at the naval base in Tartus, considered by many to be a reminder of the alleged hypocrisy of the American position given the recent invasion of Syria. Casualties have been higher than expected, with previously allied Sunni militias using urban guerilla tactics against American troops. In the south of the country, Assad has used anger over the American presence in the northeast to increase support, gaining momentum in the siege of Aleppo and Homs.

The looming midterms pose a challenge for the Republicans, as the possibility that Democrats will capture control of the Senate looks increasingly likely. While Beau Biden's win in the open contest in Delaware is considered inevitable and Senators Coleman (R-MN), Smith (R-OR), Wilson (R-NM), and Zimmer (R-NJ) each facing strong opposition, Democrats have managed to expand the map with capable opponents in Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, New Hampshire, and North Carolina. Some Senators are privately concerned that Majority Leader McConnell may be pressuring RNSC chair Jerry Moran (R-KS) to divert funds from their races to McConnell's own difficult re-election campaign.

President Allen Job Approval (FOX News) Approve 38% Disapprove 54%

Kentucky Senate (SUSA) Grimes 43% McConnell 42%

[SPC]

April 2014: HMS Bounty

The Treasury and the Federal Reserve's efforts to provide emergency liquidity to endangered firms appear to have stopped the bleeding in world financial markets. However, the demonstration of the fragility of the American economy has led many prominent Democrats, most notably Senator Warren, to argue that the Allen tax cuts have been discredited as a method of economic stimulus and that the rich should "pay their fair share." On the other hand, the White House has stated unequivocally that tax hikes during an economic panic are "off the table." The goal of deficit reduction appears to have been shelved by both sides of the aisle. Americans for Tax Reform President Grover Norquist has criticized the stimulus package for being "pure pork," citing the disproportionate amount of spending on infrastructure in Oregon, New Mexico, and Minnesota.

White House concerns about the upcoming midterm elections continue to deepen with the perceived threat of poor turnout from the base. Conservative activists have become aggravated by Secretary Bush's efforts to implement Common Core education standards in every state, with elements of both the GOP's religious and federalist wings speaking out against what they perceive as a Rube Goldberg-esque approach to teaching. Senator DeMint (R-SC) has called the proposal an "abomination," while some Democrats have complained that Common Core's provisions regarding charter schools are discriminatory against poorer children. Despite this opposition, most states have attempted to comply with the new education standards.

In a surprise 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court upheld Michigan's ban on affirmative action in Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, with the Court ruling that Michigan's Proposition 2 was not only not in violation of the Equal Protection Clause, but entirely consistent with it. Breyer sided with the Court's conservatives on the decision, while Chief Justice Sotomayor issued a dissent. While some Republican stategists hoped to use the decision to mend the increasing divide within the Republican Party, the White House has shied away from interjecting an opinion into the debate, considered by many a deliberate avoidance of the issue given the President's history of racial controversy.

With the duration of the conflict in Iraq and Syria exceeding the attention span of a fruit fly, media attention has increasingly turned to the crisis in Ukraine, in which Russian-backed separatists in in the eastern part of the country have rebelled against the central government. In response to the crisis, bipartisan agreement for a $15 billion bailout of the impoverished European nation was reached, in addition to the dispatching of 300 military advisers to assist the government in its efforts to restore order to Donetsk and other Russian-held regions. Despite the administration's increasingly poor marks on both domestic and foreign affairs, Senator Feingold still remains the most high-profile critic of the President's foreign policy toward Europe, the Pacific, and the Middle East, with most other prominent members of his party advocating a middle-ground between the President's hawkishness and Feingold's perceived isolationism.

Oregon Senate (Rasmussen) DeFazio 44% Smith 41%

Minnesota Senate (SurveyUSA) Coleman 47% Rybak 45%

New Mexico Senate (PPP) Balderas 48% Wilson 42%

[SPC]

May 2014: Uncharted Waters

The White House faced more political headaches this month with the unveiling of yet another scandal, this time involving the Department of Veteran's Affairs. Reportedly, over 40 veterans had died waiting for care from the VA while treatment was being systematically delayed. Secretary Franks submitted his resignation at the end of the month after numerous calls from members of both parties. President Allen announced that he would appoint a special prosecutor to conduct an independent investigation into the matter, which many have intepreted as a sign that even the President lacks confidence in either the VA or the Christie Justice Department to perform the task adequately.

In the Syrian front of what some of the more crass commentators are referring to as the Great Middle Eastern Cluster     , over 150 American casualities occured during a siege of Deir ez-Zur against Sunni jihadists, with the soldiers showing characteristic signs of exposure to sarin gas. This resulted in even more outrage at the Allen administration's foreign policy, as the Deir ez-Zur incident gave plausibility to the previously discredited allegations that chemical weapons were used by the rebels rather than the Assad regime. Later, seized canisters of the gas revealed that the sarin originated not from Syria but from Libya, leading to calls for another investigation into the Benghazi attack in addition to the Deir ez-Zur siege.

In a shocking development in domestic politics, upstart opthamologist Rand Paul succeeded in a primary challenge against Senator Mitch McConnell, becoming the first man since Barry Goldwater in 1952 to successfully oust the sitting Senate Majority Leader. With McConnell mostly focused on the difficult general election campaign, Paul's primary campaign against surveillance, bailouts, immigration reform, and interventionism went largely unnoticed until late in the campaign. However, some retrospectively say that the nail in McConnell's coffin came with a poorly produced ad a week before the primary accusing Paul of being a worshiper of "Aqua Buddha." McConnell has thus far refused to endorse Paul's candidacy.

McConnell announced shortly after the primary defeat that he would resign from leadership effective June 30, setting off a leadership battle between Majority Whip Steele, Conference Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN), and Senator DeMint. Many say that McConnell's resignation is both a sign of McConnell's favoritism toward Alexander's candidacy and an implicit acknowledgement that enough moderate Republican Senators will not be returning to the 114th Congress for Alexander to win a leadership battle with DeMint in January. Alexander narrowly prevailed over DeMint, with Steele finishing an embarrassingly distant third.

Kentucky Senate (PPP) Paul 42% Grimes 41%

Colorado Senate (Quinnipiac) Schaffer 47% Romanoff 43%

New Jersey Senate (Rasmussen) Pallone 45% Zimmer 38%

[SPC]

June 2014: No Apology

The Department of Justice was supposed to provide the congressional investigation into the scandal regarding politically-motivated prosecutions with evidence regarding their activities. Coincidentally, hard drives at the Department of Justice crashed, deleting all email correspondence with Attorney General Christie. This led to allegations of deliberate obstruction of justice on the part of Christie by critics. A heated argument ensued between Christie and Congressman Conway during a congressional hearing on the matter, which featured a flimsy defense of the statistically-improbable event interspersed between gratuitous ad hominem attacks from both parties. Leaked copies of one of the deleted emails indicated that Christie may have singled out Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) for investigation into ethics violations, likely due to his outspoken criticism of the DOJ's electronic surveillance measures.

The Supreme Court ruled unanimously in Riley v. California that warrantless search of the contents of a cell phone during an arrest is unconstitutional, delivering a landmark victory for civil libertarians.

Yet another controversy arose when images of thousands of immigrant children being housed in a DHS facility in southern Arizona. The humanitarian catastrophe has been used to criticize the immigration measure President Allen signed last year as "completely ineffectual." Secretary Mukasey has responded to the incident, claiming that DHS will do the best job possible to ensure that children smuggled into the country are repatriated to their parents.

The release of former Secretary Mitt Romney's political treatise No Apology was anticipated as being a preliminary step toward a presidential bid. However, Romney's promotional tour for the book left a middling impression on the media, with sales for the book dwindling soon after its release date. Some commentators failed to see a substantive distinction between the policy proposals suggested in Romney's book and that which the Allen administration and Senate Republicans have pursued. Romney particularly encountered criticism during an interview when he casually bet Diane Sawyer $10,000 that his book did not endorse a nationwide individual mandate for health insurance. Privately, some Republican strategists have expressed the opinion that the book tour may expose fundamental flaws about Romney as the party's standard bearer, although they are pressed when asked for viable alternatives.

Rand Paul drew controversy after an interview with Rachel Maddow featured the Republican Senate nominee waffling on whether he would support the Civil Rights Act. The NRSC has used Paul's comments as a pretext for cutting off funding to Paul's campaign in favor of vulnerable incumbents. Vice-President McCain even referred to Paul as a "wacko bird," cementing the efforts by the Republican establishment to distance themselves from Paul's campaign. Senator DeMint remains Paul's most high-profile supporter, which some believe may be an indication that DeMint may seek a rematch against Alexander. The greatest beneficiary from the Kentucky Senate race appears to be Senator Warren, who endorsed nascent frontrunner Alison Grimes when she was a heavy underdog against McConnell.

Intermission

This seems like a logical stopping point for the time being; however I do plan on continuing until at least 2016. Thus, I would appreciate some feedback before I venture into pure speculation. Thank you!

[hurricanehink]

Great read so far! It seems like you're setting up 2014 to be a version of 2006 from OTL, with some 2008 thrown in (thanks to the recession). I'd love to see more in the way of laws that are passed during the Allen administration (or lack thereof?).

[SPC]

July 2014: Smoother Sailing?

The following month provided the administration with respite from the virtually unending cycle of bad publicity of the last year. Both unemployment and GDP figures were released, demonstrating that the economy has thus far been able to avert a second recession. Many credit Secretary Whitman's swift actions in the face of crisis for the apparent recovery, although some have criticized the official BLS data as being heavily manipulated to obtain a desirable outcome for the White House. Senator Warren appeared incensed when questioning Whitman over whether the turnaround in GDP represented a true turnaround or merely a "recovery for the 1% at the expense of everyone else."

The House of Representatives passed a minimum wage increase to $7.50 per hour, which the Senate appears poised to pass over the objections of conservative members, perhaps fearing a repeat of McConnell's primary loss. President Allen has made clear that he will sign such an increase, although with the recent stabilization in inflation numbers the original impetus for the increase appears to have subsided.

In a surprising shift from previous policy toward Iran, the United States has entered into multilateral negotiations with other world and regional powers to resolve Iranian nuclear enrichment and the wider Syria-Iraq conflict. Observers believe this could be the sign of a shift in influence over the White House from being dominated by Vice-President McCain and Secretary Lieberman to a greater role for Secretary Rice. Discussion of the negotiations along with news of the successful recapture of Tikrit from Sunni rebels appear to have temporarily silenced critics of the President's foreign policy from the left.

NH Senate (WMUR/UNH) Sununu 45% Shea-Porter 39%

Florida Governor (SUSA) Nelson 42% Kottkamp 41%

Ohio Governor (Quinnipiac) Ryan 47% Mandel 41%

[SPC]

August 2014: Blowing Smoke

A referendum on the Alaska primary ballot made the Frontier State to first one in the nation to legalize marijuana for recreational purposes. The referendum comes as a major victory for the legalization movement, which suffered setbacks with narrow ballot box defeats in California, Colorado, and Washington two years ago. However, Attorney General Christie announced shortly thereafter that cannabis was still a Schedule I controlled substance on the federal level, and that the Justice Department would continue to enforce and prosecute federal drug laws even in states where cannabis is legalized. Christie's announcement drew criticism from both civil libertarians on the left and state sovereignty activists on the right, with many, including Senator Begich (D-AK) accusing Christie of trying to distract from his own personal scandals.

Some members of Congress, including Congressmen Grijalva (D-AZ), Conyers (D-MI), Lee (D-CA), and Jones (R-NC), have sponsored a resolution to impeach the President and the Attorney General for their roles in the Justice Department political targeting scandal, given the testimony of thus far anonymous whistleblowers claiming that President Allen had prior knowledge of the Justice Department's activities. Surprisingly, a few conservative commentators have even joined the bandwagon, citing Allen as a failure on foreign and economic policy. Senate candidate Rand Paul noted that "the only reason I'm against it is because I don't think this country can survive two years of President McCain." However, Speaker Pelosi has prevented the resolution from coming to a vote, fearing a repeat of 1998 if the House were to seriously pursue the impeachment route. Nevertheless, the President's growing unpopularity has been reflected by the deliberate avoidance of many Senators and Congressmen up for re-election of being seen campaigning with him.

Colorado Governor (PPP) Markey 48% Tancredo 44%

Pennsylvania Governor (Quinnipiac) Casey 43% English 43%

[Maxwell]

How is Paul doing in the polls? Who is he facing?

Great update by the way.

[SPC]

How is Paul doing in the polls? Who is he facing?

Great update by the way.

Paul's only trailing Grimes by single digits despite only token support from the NRSC.

Thank you! I am glad the quality could keep up. Things should get more interesting after the midterms are concluded.

[badgate]

$7.50 an hour in 2014 is flat out insulting












imho

[SPC]

Election Day


U.S. Senate
Alaska:
Mark Begich 55%
Sarah Palin 41%
Palin's much-anticipated return to politics after a hasty, unexplained resignation from the Interior proved to be a flop against the popular incumbent.

Colorado:
Andrew Romanoff 48%
Bob Schaffer 47%
In one of the closest contests of the year, most believe social issues ultimately put Romanoff over the top.

Delaware:
Beau Biden 65%
Christine O'Donell 34%
Need I say more?

Georgia:
Jack Kingston 51%
Michelle Nunn 45%
Kingston's good campaign combined with Georgia's partisan lean was enough to overcome the national tide.

Kentucky:
Alison Grimes 51%
Rand Paul 49%
Movement conservatives were infuriated by the conduct of establishment Republicans in this race, where additional support could have made the difference.

Minnesota:
R.T. Rybak 49%
Norm Coleman 43%
Coleman ultimately fell victim to the national trend.

Montana:
John Walsh 46.4%
Denny Rehberg 46.2%
In one of the biggest upsets of the night, many blame the Libertarian candidate as a spoiler for Rehberg, who most analysts considered safe.

New Hampshire:
Carol Shea-Porter 53%
John Sununu 44%
Despite his criticism of the NSA, Sununu too could not overcome Republicans' unpopularity.

New Jersey:
Frank Pallone 61%
Dick Zimmer 38%
Zimmer's anemic campaign combined with ties to embattled Attorney General Christie resulted in the most embarrassing defeat for an incumbent in 34 years.

New Mexico:
Heather Wilson 50%
Hector Balderas 49%
Wilson's great campaign and Balderas's gaffes proved barely enough to ensure Wilson another term.

North Carolina:
Elizabeth Dole 49%
Roy Cooper 48%
Pundits are still scratching their heads trying to figure this one out.

Oregon:
Pete DeFazio 56%
Gordon Smith 39%
Many believe Oregon's civil libertarian streak combined with the legalization issue proved decisive for DeFazio's victory.

Virginia:
Mark Warner 58%
Rick Santorum 34%
LOL

Democrats 53 (+8)
Republicans 46 (-8)
Independent 1

US House
Democrats 245 (+8)
Republicans 190 (-8)
Democrats picked up seats from unpopular incumbents in California, Colorado, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Nebraska and open contests in Iowa, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. Republicans' only pickups came from two open seats in Arkansas.

Gubernatorial
Arizona:
Terry Goddard 53%
Ken Bennett 44%
Frustration over Goddard's gun control measures was not enough to deny him a third election victory in four years
.
Arkansas:
Mike Ross 58%
Mark Darr 41%
Corruption allegations ultimately sunk the Darr campaign.

Colorado:
Betsy Markey 51%
Tom Tancredo 46%
Xenophobia ultimately sunk the Tancredo campaign.

Florida:
Bill Nelson 50%
Jeff Kottkamp 48%
Nelson narrowly prevailed in one of the most bitter races of the cycle.

Georgia:
Nathan Deal 48.3%
Jason Carter 48.1%
While most expect Deal to prevail in the lower turnout runoff next month, all eyes will by on Georgia until then...

Kansas:
Paul Davis 54%
Sam Brownback 45%
Kansas's partisan lean was not enough to save the unpopular incumbent.

Nevada:
Rory Reid 48%
Sue Lowden 40%
Most credit Reid's victory to his ability to influence the results of the Republican primary.

Ohio:
Tim Ryan 52%
Josh Mandel 47%
Mandel's poor campaign and inexperience put Ryan over the top.

Pennsylvania:
Phil English 52%
Bob Casey 47%
Casey's nonexistent re-election campaign combined with frustration with his handling of the Penn State scandal gave Republicans their one bright spot of the evening.

South Carolina:
Elizabeth Colbert-Busch 52%
Nikki Haley 47%
Haley's unpopularity plus support from her notable brother enabled the novice Colbert-Busch to pull off an upset.

Democrats 30 (+4)
Republicans 19 (-5)
Pending 1 (GA)