The Shift: A 2010 - 2028 TL

[Sestak]

November 2, 2010



Hello and welcome to CNN's coverage of the 2010 midterm elections, I'm Anderson Cooper. Tonight,
 the Republicans try to defend majorities in both houses of Congress, as they hold 250 of the 435 seats in the House of Representatives and 51 of the 100 seats in the US Senate. The Democrats, meanwhile,
 are trying to put an end to eight straight years of complete Republican control on Capitol Hill–They need to make 2 gains in the Senate to take control of the upper chamber, and 33 gains in the House if Nancy Pelosi is to take the Speaker's gavel. Recent polls indicate that they are likely to be successful in the Senate, while polls in the House indicate a much closer battle, with the slight advantage to the Republicans. This election serves as a referendum on both Congress and the White House, who have been unable to pass substantial legislation due to a growing rift between the President and Republican Congressional caucus. Tonight, America votes for the entire House of Representative and one-third of the Senate seats, as well as the vast majority of state governorships.
It is now 6 PM Eastern and polls have closed in two states with two Senate races and to call one of those races right now, Wolf Blitzer.



In Kentucky, Rand Paul will win the Senate seat being vacated by Jim Bunning over state Attorney General Jack Conway.



Kentucky – Senate
0% Reporting
Rand Paul (R)
Jack Conway (D)

Bunning, of course, one one of the most critical voices against the President in his own party, and was forced to retire by party leaders after tensions between the two reached a boiling point.

Moving on, in Indiana we have no projection in the race between incumbent Senator Evan Bayh and Republican Congressman Michael Pence, though exit polls do point to a Bayh victory.

 

Indiana – Senate
<1% Reporting
Michael Pence (R) – 68%
Evan Bayh (D) (incumbent) – 29%

Some results, but with less than 1000 votes counted, there's not much we can make out from this.

Thank you, Wolf. With the Rand Paul victory the Republicans are now guaranteed at least 30 seats in the Senate, while the Democrats will have at least 34.

It's an interesting race in Indiana – Mike Pence was not the first choice of the NRSC. But former Senator Dan Coats declined to run, and then a lot of people in Republican circles were talking about potentially drafting the Vice President to challenge Evan Bayh, people saying he'd be a strong candidate, but he also said that he...that he was going to remain Vice President. And so Congressman Pence got up and took the nomination. There's been a lot of concern raised from several sides about Pence, who is a...a very socially conservative Republican, as to whether or not he'll be able to work with the President, and a lot of people have raised fears that he may become another Senator Bunning when it comes to the President's agenda. And I imagine, that's a major plus for the...for the Bayh reelection campaign.

We have plenty of Senate, House, and Governors' races tonight – you're watching CNN's coverage of the 2010 midterm elections, we'll be back after the break.


SENATE: R 31 D 33

[Sestak]

7 PM EDT

It is now 7 PM, and polls have just closed in four states with key Senate races - and CNN can project all four.



Alright Anderson, and let's start with the big one. In Florida, CNN projects that the incumbent governor Charlie Crist has been elected into the Senate in the seat being vacated by fellow Republican George LeMieux.



Florida – Senate
29% reporting
Charlie Crist (R) – 61%
Kendrick Meek (D) – 35%

Almost 30% of the result already in, and with this combined with the exits, we can say confidently that the governor will hold on to that Republican seat.

In Georgia, Republican Johnny Isakson will be re-elected.



Georgia – Senate
2% reporting
Johnny Isakson (R) – 60%
Michael Thurmond (D) – 33%

The Senator safely holds on to his seat against Labor Commissioner Mike Thurmond.

In South Carolina, another of the President's harshest critics in his own party will be re-elected, Jim DeMint holds on to his seat.



South Carolina – Senate
0% reporting
Jim DeMint (R)
Vic Rawl (D)

And finally, in Vermont, we can project that incumbent Pat Leahy will win reelection overwhelmingly to a seventh term.



Vermont – Senate
6% reporting
Patrick Leahy (D) – 85%
Len Britton (R) – 8%

Of course, the big call here has got to be the Florida one. This was not expected to be called this early, and this may be a promising sign for Republicans who were widely expected to lose the Senate tonight. Republican turnout surprisingly strong in Florida, but the million dollar question is: Is turnout up because of Charlie Crist, or are we going to see strong Republican turnout nationwide?

SENATE: R 34 D 34

[Sestak]

Alright, thank you Wolf. The Florida result, a major shock and could prove forboding for the Democrats in the night to come–Again, Charlie Crist was favored in the race, but we did not expect to call the race at poll closing. Charlie Crist, the current governor, who faced a rather intense primary campaign against the more conservative former Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio, bu he was able to win partly by getting out the message that he would be more willing to work with the President than Rubio. And really, I think, that primary got so much attention that the one who came out the winner was automatically favored, and combined with Crist's popularity as governor, Kendrick Meek was unable to make up that ground.

And now, before we go any further, let's go to Jake Tapper for the governor's races in those four states.

Yes, so, in Vermont, CNN can project that Democrat Peter Shumlin has been elected, succeeding Republican Jim Douglas.



Vermont – Governor
7% reporting
Peter Shumlin (D) – 68%
Brian Dubie (R) – 29%

Shumlin defeats Lieutenant Governor Brian Dubie.

Moving on, there are three races where we have no projection.

In Florida, in the eleciton for the governorship being vacated by soon-to-be Senator Charlie Crist, it's looking like a neck-and neck race between Rick Scott and Alex Sink, and we have no projection.

 

Florida – Governor
33% reporting
Rick Scott (R) – 47%
Alex Sink (D) – 46%

This one looks like it's going to be a close one for most of the night.

Also, in Georgia, we can make no projection for the race between Sonny Perdue and former governor Roy Barnes.

 

Georgia – Governor
2% reporting
Sonny Perdue (R) – 53%
Roy Barnes (D) – 46%


And in South Carolina, we can make no projection in the race between Nikki Haley and Representative Jim Clyburn.

  

South Carolina – Governor
0% reporting
Nikki Haley (R)
Jim Clyburn (D)

Yes, thank you Jake, and another major scare for the Republicans in South Carolina, Jim Clyburn's been making up a lot of ground in the polls, which are now showing quite a competitive race in the state.

CNN political commentator Van Jones:
And this, this is something we've seen around the country, with quite a strong push by Democrats trying to win governorships, trying to gain Senate seats, trying to overcome a large House majority. And they've benefited, I think, from having a more visible platform. A lot of Democratic candidates, in light of the Republican government's failure to reform the current healthcare system,
 have been pushing for universal healthcare, and the idea's gained a lot of traction.

Van, let me just interrupt you for a moment, as there's another major Senate projection we can make right now.



In Indiana, CNN can project that Senator Evan Bayh has won reelection over Congressman Mike Pence.



Indiana – Senate
24% reporting
Evan Bayh (D) – 52%
Michael Pence – 45% (R)

SENATE: R 34 D 35

[Sestak]

>Charlie Crist winning as a Republican

Is there less of a TEA Party movement in this TL?

What senators are in for 111st (different than OTL)? I presume Coleman, Stevens, Dole, and Sununu are still in?

Okay, a quick note on questions in general: I'm not really going to answer them during this election night (unless they're corrections of something I got wrong). Most of the answers to potential questions will reveal themselves as the night goes on (and some of them can already be found, if you look hard enough). If you guys have questions unanswered once we've moved on from election night, you can ask me then and I'll answer them.

Also, a couple other things:

1. I'm not actually that familiar with the political contributors on CNN. I literally just watch them on election nights and that's it. So I apologize in advance if I have someone say something they wouldn't have said OTL.

2. I'm also not going to be paying attention to the chronology of pictures I use–Even if it's a picture that hadn't been taken yet or would never have been taken in the TL. I'm prioritizing proper size (especially for the side-by-side of the candidates) over continuity with these. For instance, the Haley image is her portrait as UN Ambassador, which clearly could not have been used by CNN in 2010.

[Sestak]

7:30 PM EDT

It is 7:30 PM, polls have just closed in three states with four, yes, four Senate races. Let's go to Wolf Blitzer for a CNN projection.



Yes, four Senate races now closed, and in West Virginia, we can project that Governor Joe Manchin has won the seat previously held by the late Robert Byrd.



West Virginia – Senate
0% reporting
Joe Manchin (D)
John Raese (R)

Then, in North Carolina, we can make no projection in the tight race between incumbent Richard Burr and Kay Hagan.

 

North Carolina – Senate
12% reporting
Richard Burr (R) – 48.8%
Kay Hagan (D) – 48.5%

In Ohio, we can again make no projection in the race between Sherrod Brown and Rob Portman for the seat being vacated by Republican George Voinovich.

 

Ohio – Senate
8% reporting
Rob Portman (R) – 52%
Sherrod Brown (D) – 47%

And also in Ohio, we have no projection in the special election between incumbent apointee Tim Ryan and Congressman Pat Tiberi for the Attorney General's former seat.

 

Ohio – Senate
8% reporting
Pat Tiberi (R) – 54%
Tim Ryan (D) – 46%

Alright yes, so, polls close now for three very important races in Ohio and North Carolina, and the North Carolina one especially, both parties have been bringing in their big stars from surrounding states. The Republicans have brought in senators Allen and Graham–I mean, Lindsey Graham has campaigned more for Senator Burr than he has for Jim DeMint in his own state. And the Democrats too, they've brought in Senator Mark Warner as well. But now let's go to Jake Tapper with some governor's races.

Yes, in the governor's race in Ohio CNN can make no projection, though incumbent governor Ted Strickland is ahead of John Kasich.

 

Ohio – Governor
8% reporting
Ted Strickland (D) – 49.2%
John Kasich (R) – 49.2%

Also, some updates in races where polls have already closed. In Florida, with a just about forty percent of the vote in, Rick Scott maintains a slight lead over Alex Sink.

 

Florida – Governor
39% reporting
Rick Scott (R) – 46.9%
Alex Sink (D) – 46.5%

And in Georgia, the race looking a little bit closer than we expected, still no projection.

 

Georgia – Governor
19% reporting
Sonny Perdue (R) – 51%
Roy Barnes (D) – 47%

SENATE: R 34 D 36

[Sestak]

8 PM EDT

It is now 8 PM on the East Coast, and polls have just closed in 17 states, including for eight Senate races. Let's go to Wolf for a projection.



Alright, in Maryland, we can project that Barbara Mikulski, the longtime incumbent, has been reelected.



Maryland – Senate
0% reporting
Barbara Mikulski (D)
Eric Wargotz (R)

In Illinois, Senator Barack Obama will easily defeat State Senator Kirk Dillard.



Illinois – Senate
1% reporting
Barack Obama (D) – 49%
Kirk Dillard (R) – 50%

In New Hampshire, a Democratic pickup. Current Governor John Lynch, CNN projects, has defeated Kelly Ayotte for the seat being vacated by Judd Gregg.



New Hampshire – Senate
6% reporting
John Lynch (D) – 60%
Kelly Ayotte (R) – 32%

Then, in Oklahoma, we can project that incumbent Senator Dr. Tom Coburn has been re-elected.



Oklahoma – Senate
0% reporting
Tom Coburn (R)
Jim Rogers (D)

And in Alabama, the incumbent Richard Shelby will also win.



Alabama – Senate
0% reporting
Richard Shelby (R)
William Barnes (D)

In Pennsylvania, we have no projection in the race between incumbent Republican Arlen Specter and Democratic Congressman and former 3-star Admiral Joe Sestak.

 

Pennsylvania – Senate
1% reporting
Joe Sestak (D) – 50%
Arlen Specter (R) – 49%

In Missouri, we have no projection between Robin Carnahan and Congressman Roy Blunt.

 

Missouri – Senate
1% reporting
Robin Carnahan (D) – 58%
Roy Blunt (R) – 39%

And finally, in South Dakota, we have no projection between Senator John Thune and Representative Stephanie Sandlin.

 

South Dakota – Senate
0% reporting
John Thune (R)
Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D)

Alright, thank you Wolf. And let's talk about Pennsylvania a bit, because initially, it looked like that was a race that was going to be won easily by Arlen Specter, but later on, things got a little bit complicated, right Van?

Yes, and what we have seen is Joe Sestak running a very, very effective campaign, emphasizing his credentials and his continued opposition to the Iraq war through both of the previous two administrations, and also, we've seen him come out swinging against "Don't Ask, Don't Tell", and he's really been able to rally the more progressive wing of the party with that, while his more moderate economic views are able to satisfy the more centrist wing. And on the opposite side, Arlen Specter has not been able to do that. He's faced a somewhat bitter primary against Pat Toomey, and that left a lot of the right wing of the party somewhat unhappy with him. And so Joe Sestak has been able to climb back up into this thing, and...

...and we've seen him defy the odds like this before, right? I mean, he's twice gone against the national swing, first in 2006 with his successful challenge in an 06 midterm where the Republicans slightly gained nationally, and then somehow, he just barely holds onto his seat in the Republican wave of 2008.

But now, let's go to Jake Tapper, who has thirteen governors' races.

SENATE: R 36 D 39

[Sestak]

Is Obama not President in this TL?

No, he's not. I'm willing to say that much.

[Sestak]

Alright, and let's start in Maine, where independent Eliot Cutler has been elected governor, succeeding Democrat John Baldacci.



Maine – Governor
0% reporting
Eliot Cutler (I)
Libby Mitchell (D)
Paul LePage (R)

In Connecticut, Dan Malloy has defeated Michael Fedele.



Connecticut – Governor
6% reporting
Dannel Malloy (D) – 65%
Michael Fedele (R) - 29%

In Massachusetts, Elizabeth Warren will defeat former Senator Kerry Healey.



Massachusetts – Governor
0% reporting
Elizabeth Warren (D)
Kerry Healey (R)

She will become Massachusetts' first elected female governor. For Healey, her third straight statewide election loss in as many cycles.

In New Hampshire, another Democratic victory, Maggie Hassan succeeds Senator-elect John Lynch.



New Hampshire – Governor
6% reporting
Maggie Hassan (D) – 54%
John Stephen (R) – 37%

In Maryland, Martin O'Malley has been re-elected.



Maryland – Governor
0% reporting
Martin O'Malley (D)
Bob Ehrlich (R)

Down in Alabama, Robert Bentley will be the next governor.



Alabama – Governor
0% reporting
Robert Bentley (R)
Ron Sparks (D)

In Oklahoma, the Republican Mary Fallin will take the seat previously held by Democrat Brad Henry.



Oklahoma – Governor
4% reporting
Mary Fallin (R) – 60%
Drew Edmondson – 40% (D)

In Tennessee, Republican Bill Haslam will win.



Tennessee – Governor
17% reporting
Bill Haslam (R) – 56%
Mike McWherter (D) – 42%

In South Dakota, Dennis Daugaard has been elected. The Lieutenant Governor defeats Democratic State Senator Scott Heidepriem.



South Dakota – Governor
0% reporting
Dennis Daugaard (R)
Scott Heidepriem (D)

In Texas, Rick Perry will get a record third term. Perry defeats Houston mayor Bill White.



Texas – Governor
3% reporting
Rick Perry (R) – 47%
Bill White (D) – 49%

Now, CNN cannot project in Illinois, the race between incumbent Pat Quinn and U.S. Representative Mark Kirk.

 

Illinois – Governor
1% reporting
Mark Kirk (R) – 52%
Pat Quinn (D) – 44%

CNN also cannot project in Michigan, the race there between Kerry's Attorney General and former Detroit mayor Dennis Archer and Representative Pete Hoekstra.

 

Michigan – Governor
10% reporting
Pieter Hoekstra (R) – 52%
Dennis Archer (D) – 45%

And in Pennsylvania, in the race between Dan Onorato and Tom Corbett, there is no projection, but Onorato does lead.

 

Pennsylvania – Governor
1% reporting
Dan Onorato (D) – 53%
Tom Corbett (R) – 47%

SENATE: R 36 D 39

[Sestak]

By the way, guys, feel free to make predictions on who will win outstanding races, who's running in the non-closed races, and also other facts about the scenario I haven't revealed yet. I'd like to see what you guys think.

[Sestak]

Alright, let's talk about that pair of Ohio Senate races. First, we have the race for the open seat, between two pretty major candidates. On the Democratic side, you've got Sherrod Brown, who has been, along with Russ Feingold, one of the leaders of the progressive movement that's really been the story of the election cycle. He's got a lot of passionate supporters–not just in Ohio, but over the country–and they've been organizing for progressive Democrats throughout this cycle. And his opponent, Rob Portman, well, he's a former Congressman, and then he was the budget director for the Chafee administration until this March, when he resigned to focus on his Senate run. So, well, you've got a guy who's known for his conservative fiscal policy against a progressive hero who's been railing against Wall Street, against the big banks, and he's lambasted the lack of regulatory efforts after the financial crisis of 08.

And of course, you have the second race, for Attorney General DeWine's former seat, of course, which is now held by the appointee, Democrat Tim Ryan. It's normally not considered a good idea to pick a Senator for your cabinet whose governor is of the opposite party, but allowing Ted Strickland to pick a Democrat was actually part of a deal that allowed the president's judicial nominees to go through.

And actually, let's get some updates in those Ohio races, as well as some others: Wolf Blitzer has a Key Race Alert.






In Ohio, Rob Portman is holding a narrow lead over Sherrod Brown, who has made it a little bit closer.

 

Ohio – Senate
37% reporting
Rob Portman (R) – 51%
Sherrod Brown (D) – 48%

But Portman now has got to be thinking about Cuyahoga County. The Cleveland, of course, heavily Democratic, and doesn't come in until late in the count, and his lead is likely going to need to be better than this if he wants to overcome the Democratic votes in Cuyahoga. Meanwhile, a similar story in the other race, though Pat Tiberi does hold a slightly larger lead.

 

Ohio – Senate
37% reporting
Pat Tiberi (R) – 52%
Tim Ryan (D) – 47%

In North Carolina, it is virtually tied between Senator Burr and Kay Hagan.

 

North Carolina – Senate
26% reporting
Richard Burr (R) – 49.0%
Kay Hagan (D) – 48.9%

In Pennsylvania, Joe Sestak has opened up an early lead as results from deep blue Philadelphia come in.

 

Pennsylvania – Senate
13% reporting
Joe Sestak (D) – 61%
Arlen Specter (R) – 37%

And in the Florida Governor's race, the margins are razor-thin between Rick Scott and Alex Sink.

 

Florida – Governor
57% reporting
Rick Scott (R) – 46.55%
Alex Sink (D) – 46.53%

SENATE: R 36 D 39

[Sestak]

8:22 PM EDT

Alright, the night is young, but we do have some results in, let's take a look at the Senate map.

SENATE: R 35 D 40

The Democrats, of course, have already gained one seat in New Hampshire, which... which is a Chafee state, which is quite significant. And they need a net gain of two to take the chamber. But let's look at the actual seats that are there. They are at 40 right now. Going to the deep blue West Coast,
 they have incumbents in Hawaii, California, Oregon, and Washington who are all expected to win, that takes them to 44. New York is 45. The incumbent in Arkansas, Blanche Lincoln, is expected to win, as is the outgoing Minority Leader, Harry Reid, in Nevada. That takes them to 47. Russ Feingold in Wisconsin is 48. And in Colorado, there's another Democratic-held seat that's expected to stay Democratic, that's 49.

So it looks like they've got 49. Now they need 51. Now you start to wonder, where do the other two come from? Well, here we've got Ohio, where there are two races. The incumbent Tim Ryan, as well as Sherrod Brown, who's run an electrifying campaign, the numbers are looking solid from them right now. So there's your 51.

And even without automatically giving them the Ohio races, they've only got to win two out of a number of them, including both the Ohio races as well as the races in Pennsylvania, North Carolina,
Rhode Island, Missouri, and Louisiana. So it's looking to be a good night for Democrats at least on the Senate side of things.

And over on the governor side of things, we've got a projection to make... Let's go to Jake Tapper.




In South Carolina, Nikki Haley has defeated Jim Clyburn.



South Carolina – Governor
20% reporting
Nikki Haley (R) - 61%
Jim Clyburn (D) - 36%

The polls showed that this one may be close, but at the end of the day, it looks like Clyburn didn't get the African-American turnout he was hoping for, and as many South Carolinians came out for Jim DeMint, that pushed Haley over the line.

[Sestak]

Sidenote: I was originally going to have Clyburn pull off a narrow, shocking upset. However, after the whole Conyers situation, that's no longer happening. He's lost and will never again be mentioned in this TL.

Also, I missed it earlier, but Blumenthal succeeded Dodd.

[Sestak]

Alright, as the results continue to come in, let's talk about the policy achievements of the Republicans during the Chafee adminstration. Although, it really is more like the lack of acheivements.

The President's been wanting to come at things from a more moderate angle. Said he supported some 'moderate' reforms of Wall Street. So much Republican bickering on it and nothing ever manifested. Said he wanted a push for a market-based healthcare reform. It was killed in committee. He wanted to cut corporate tax rates, and even that–The GOP's bread and butter, where they even had some Democrats on their side –they couldn't do, as a group of GOP Senators led by DeMint said they couldn't do taxes until Planned Parenthood was defunded. Which, by the way, they also weren't able to do.

They tried to push through a marraige amendment, which polling showed was extremely unpopular, and that fell short with the President coming out strongly against it.

Really, it's almost a bigger story when you look at the Democrats' near-victories. The first was the immigration reform, the 'conservative' immigration reform, Rubio-Smith, which had majority Democratic support, and that bill failed dramatically on the Senate floor. Then, of course, there was George Voinovich's...shocking...gambit, where he, having decided to retire, decided to defy party leadership, and with the support of Democrats, tried to seize control of the chamber to force a vote on Don't Ask, Don't Tell. And in that very, very dramatic vote, they ultimately fell just one vote short of what they needed. So really, it's been a story of a dysfunctional Republican Party and a very, very determined Democratic Party, who have nearly been able to push major legislation despite not controlling any branch of government.


Alright, I'm going to have to interrupt you there, because it is nearly half-past eight, and polls are about to close in the state of Arkansas.

[Sestak]

Damn, a shame Chafee didn't manage to get anything through. Tea Party extremist Republicans should be blamed for this- not the President.

It's the 2010 midterm -- it doesn't seem like there is a Tea Party ITT. Not yet, anyway.

Well, there's no Tea Party (though there are some elements of it), but most of the GOP is way to the right of Chafee and has a different agenda. Hastert and McConnell have no real interest in pursuing a moderate agenda (McConnell especially, as he single-handedly killed the Rubio-Smith immigration bill by forcing Sen. Smith to include the Gregg provision. The bill would have likely passed without it.) Among other things, GOP leadership (and extreme conservatives like DeMint) believe that Chafee has not governed in a conservative way (for instance, he vetoed an estate tax repeal). They want him to make more concessions to conservatives (for instance, he promised to appoint conservative judges to the federal bench and make his first SCOTUS appointment a strong conservative in exchange for their full support during the election). They wanted more concessions in exchange for their continual support of his administration and its agenda.

But I'm getting into quite a bit of spoiler territory. We'll get into this more during the flashbacks of Chafee's first two years.

[Sestak]

8:30 PM EDT



In the governor's race in Arkansas, incumbent Mike Beebe is unopposed and will win.



Arkansas – Governor
9% Reporting
Mike Beebe (D) – 94%

In the Senate race, we are not ready to make a call, but incumbent Democrat Blanche Lincoln does lead.

 

Arkansas – Senate
9% Reporting
Blanche Lincoln (D) – 60%
Asa Hutchinson (R) – 36%

[Sestak]

Goddamn Asa Hutchinson doesn't have a 240px high portrait.

Anyway, the next update will be our first flashback. The appearances of these flashbacks are going to be sporadic, and they aren't in any particular order. I will be focusing on the first two years of Chafee before Kerry's term, though. Flashbacks will usually be accompanied by some statistic, such as an election result, poll result, or congressional vote, but not always.

[Sestak]

just remove the space after the 240

Ah, thanks. Will fix.

[Sestak]

November 5, 2009, 3:30 PM EST - Providence, Rhode Island

President-Elect Lincoln Chafee looked at the TV screen, still displaying the results that had trickled in the previous night.

Chafee/Hostettler – 328
Kerry/Nelson – 210

The headlines, of course, were hailing this as a new era of the Republican party. The largest Republican electoral victory since Reagan's presidency. The first person to win both the electoral vote and popular vote this millenium.

Lincoln Chafee, on the other hand, was thinking about his Cabinet.

Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney would be leading the transition team, and they'd already figured out a few of the spots. They'd talked to Chuck about State, and he seemed to be up to them. For Treasury, every Republican seemed to want Meg Whitman, and he saw no reason to go against that. Defense...he'd need someone who was anti-Iraq, to be sure. But they also couldn't be too dovish, lest they give the impression that America was toothless. And maybe contrast it with someone with a strong military background at Homeland Security.

There was no use thinking about AG without a LOT more consultation with Mitt and other Republican leaders. So his mind next turned to the Democrats. During the campiagn, he'd promised to have three Democrats in his initial cabinet to promote bipartisanship. The question was which three they would be. The first was obvious: Education. In fact, he knew of an education-oriented Democratic congressman who'd just lost his job.

After a little bit more thinking, he decided it'd be easy enough to keep Gephardt on at Labor. The third one was probably between Ag, Transportation, HUD, and VA. But he wanted to look at the actual candidates before he decided on which one.

He'd probably need to elevate a Bush guy, just to satisfy the party establishment. Commerce would probably be good for that. And that wasn't the only concession he'd be making to them. Congressional leadership had already informed him that Rep. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia was their pick for Energy.

He also owed Jodi Rell for being a prominent early endorser of his campaign. HHS would probably be a good position for her.

At that moment, a knock came at the door. The rest would have to wait.

CABINET OF LINCOLN CHAFEE, 45TH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

Elected Officials

President: Former US Senator Lincoln D. Chafee from Rhode Island – Inaugurated Jan 20, 2009

Vice President: Former US Representative John N. Hostettler from Indiana – Inaugurated Jan 20, 2009

Department Heads

Secretary of State: Former US Senator Charles T. Hagel from Iowa – Confirmed Feb 4, 2009

Secretary of the Treasury: Former CEO of eBay Margaret C. Whitman from California – Confirmed Feb  20, 2009

Secretary of Defense: Former US Representative Walter B. Jones, Jr. from North Carolina – Confirmed Mar 30, 2009

Attorney General: Former US Senator R. Michael DeWine from Ohio – Confirmed May 26, 2009

Secretary of the Interior: Former US Representative Cathy A. McMorris Rodgers from Washington – Confirmed Mar 3, 2009

Secretary of Agriculture: Former US Representative Jo Ann Emerson from Missouri – Confirmed Feb 12, 2009

Secretary of Commerce: Former Deputy Secretary Theodore W. Kassinger from Georgia – Confirmed Jan 29, 2009

Secretary of Labor: Former US Representative Richard A. Gephardt from Missouri – Confirmed Mar 2, 2005

Secretary of Health and Human Services: Former Governor M. Jodi Rell from Connecticut – Confirmed Feb 17, 2009

Secretary of Housing and Urban Development: Former US Representative Judith B. Biggert from Illinois – Confirmed April 9, 2009

Secretary of Transportation: Former FHWA Administrator Mary E. Peters from Arizona – Confirmed April 10, 2009

Secretary of Energy: Former US Representative Shelley W. Moore Capito from West Virginia – Confirmed Feb 26, 2009

Secretary of Education: Former US Representative Bobby R. Etheridge from North Carolina – Confirmed April 21, 2009

Secretary of Veterans Affairs: Former State VA Director L. Tammy Duckworth from Illinois – Confirmed April 22, 2009

Secretary of Homeland Security: US Navy Admiral J. Paul Reason (Ret.) from Virginia – Confirmed Jan 21, 2009

Cabinet-level

White House Chief of Staff: Former Governor John E. Bush, Sr. from Florida – Took office Jan 21, 2009

US Trade Representative: Former Governor George E. Pataki from New York – Confirmed Mar 31, 2009

Director of National Intelligence: US Navy Admiral Dennis C. Blair (Ret.) from Washington, D.C. – Confirmed Feb 26, 2009

Ambassador to the United Nations: Former Governor John M. Hunstman, Jr. from Utah – Confirmed Feb 23, 2009

Director of the Office of Management and Budget: Former US Representative Robert J. Portman from Ohio – Confirmed Jan 21, 2009

Director of the Central Intelligence Agency: US Army General David H. Petraeus (Ret.) from New Hampshire – Confirmed Feb 10, 2009

Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency: Former US Representative Dave Reichert from Washington – Confirmed Jun 24, 2009

[Sestak]

I'm thinking of doing another flashback before we get back to the election night. Does anyone have any specific event they want highlighted? (Chafee admin, please.)

[Sestak]

Well, I don't have anything specific in mind other than the 2008 Republican primaries, because I don't really know the specific events of the Chafee administration. I'd be glad for anything, though.

You can see an overview of some in Reply 26, and a few more in Reply 29. Also, in general, major world events, figures' deaths, SCOTUS retirements, etc. happen at about the same time (at least at this stage in the TL).

[Sestak]

Well, I don't have anything specific in mind other than the 2008 Republican primaries, because I don't really know the specific events of the Chafee administration. I'd be glad for anything, though.

Also, the primaries may take a while to make, because there's a lot of calculations to do for it, and I haven't finalized how they played out. I'll get to them eventually, but probably not now.

[Sestak]

Alright, so I'm just going to speed through the rest of these results.

9:00 PM EDT
NY-Sen called for Schumer
NY-Gov called for Kirsten Gillibrand
RI-Gov called for Frank Caprio
KS-Sen called for Moran
WI-Sen called for Feingold
NE-Gov called for Heineman

(Senate 37-41)


9:13 PM: IL-Gov called for Quinn over Kirk

9:19 PM: GA-Gov called for Perdue over Barnes
9:19 PM: SD-Sen called for Thune over Sandlin (Senate 38-41)

9:22 PM: AR-Sen called for Lincoln over Hutchinson (Senate 38-42)

9:27 PM: OH-Gov called for Strickland over Kasich

9:34 PM: NM-Gov called for Diane Denish over Martinez

9:41 PM: MI-Gov called for Archer over Hoekstra

10:00 PM EDT
IA-Sen called for Grasslord
ND-Sen called for Hoeven
ID-Sen called for Crapo
ID-Gov called for Otter
AZ-Sen called for McCain
AZ-Gov called for Brewer
NV-Sen called for Reid
UT-Sen called for Bennett
UT-Gov called for Herbert
(Senate 43-43)

10:07 PM: IA-Gov called for Culver

10:11 PM: FL-Gov called for Sink over Scott

10:13 PM: RI-Sen special called for Sheldon Whitehouse over Sen. Avedisian (Senate 43-44)

10:17 PM: PA-Gov called for Onorato over Corbett

10:38 PM: OH-Sen non-special called for Brown over Portman (Senate 43-45)

10:46 PM: KS-Gov called for Brownback

11:00 PM
CA-Sen called for Boxer
CA-Gov called for Gavin Newsom
OR-Sen called for Wyden
OR-Gov called for Jeff Merkley
WA-Sen called for Murray
HI-Sen called for Inouye
HI-Gov called for Abercrombie
(Senate 43-49)

11:02 PM: NV-Gov called for Rory Reid over Sandoval

11:05 PM: OH-Sen special called for Ryan over Tiberi (Senate 43-50)

11:12 PM: Senate control called for Democrats as PA-Sen called for Sestak over Specter. 51-43, Democratic control.

11:21 PM: House control called for Democrats

11:25 PM: NC-Sen called for Hagan over Burr (Senate 52-43)

11:29 PM: CO-Sen called for Udall (Senate 53-43)

11:42 PM: CO-Gov called for Michael Bennet

11:46 PM: MO-Sen called for Carnahan over Blunt (Senate 54-43)

12:00 AM: AK-Sen non-special called for Murkowski (Senate 54-44)

12:20 AM: LA-Sen called for Landrieu over Vitter (Senate 55-44)

4:07 AM: AK-Gov called for Ethan Berkowitz over Palin

5:20 AM: AK-Sen special called for Mark Begich over Sen. Joe Miller

Final Senate Composition: 56-44 Democrat (previously 51-49 Republican)
Final House Composition: 230-205 Democrat (previously 250-185 Republican)

Previous Congressional Leadership
Senate:

Vice President: John Hostettler (R-IN)
Majority Leader: Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
Majority Whip: Jon Kyl (R-AZ)
Minority Leader: Harry Reid (D-NV)
Minority Whip: Dick Durbin (D-IL)

House:

Speaker: Dennis Hastert (R-IL)
Majority Leader: Roy Blunt (R-MO)
Majority Whip: John Boehner (R-OH)
Minority Leader: Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)
Minority Whip: Steny Hoyer (D-MD)

Incoming Congressional Leadership
Senate:

Vice President: John Hostettler (R-IN)
Majority Leader: Joe Biden (D-DE)
Majority Whip: Barack Obama (D-IL)
Minority Leader: Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
Minority Whip: Pat Roberts (R-KS)

House:

Speaker: Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)
Majority Leader: John Lewis (D-GA)
Majority Whip: Steny Hoyer (D-MD)
Minority Leader: John Boehner (R-OH)
Minority Whip: Eric Cantor (R-VA)

[Sestak]

Is there any remaining interest in this or should I just kill it?

[Sestak]

SENATE

GOVERNORS

Lincoln Chafee stared glumly at the screens. 57? 230? He knew the Democrats would be taking the Senate, and was prepared for a narrow takeover of the House, but this...this was absolutely ridiculous.

The only places where they won governorships were the Deep South and the Desert West. That was it. In addition to the West Coast, Democrats had built a solid coalition in the East and Center. In addition to the Northeast, they also cut through the rust belt and to the MIMAL states, and also won big in the coastal Upper South. In fact, out of all of those states, the only Republican to win was Chuck Grassley.

He'd been prepared for the Alaska special and for Palin losing. He'd been prepared for Florida's governor race. He'd been prepared for Ohio. But... North Carolina? Louisiana? The Nevada governorship? Even TEXAS was still too close to call, with White currently holding a small lead.

Of course, Perry with his comments on the "gay lobby", attacks on Chafee, extreme education cuts, and genuine cluelessness was far from an ideal incumbent, but this had to be the shock of the night. They'd called the race for him. No one had paid any attention to it. And then a few hours later, Boom! Too close to call. They said they wouldn't jump the gun again like they did for Gore in Florida... It took them just ten years.

His mind wandered to what it'd be like with a Democratic Congress. Mitch had stalled immigration reform—that was probably going to happen now. DADT was on its way out the window. Corporate tax reductions? Nah, that's not happening.

Then there was the big one. Healthcare. The GOP trifecta's inability to handle the healthcare crisis was still a dark cloud over his administration, and the Democrats were ready to capitalize. Russ Feingold was already waving around his single-payer plan, dubbed GoldCare by the media. Lincoln, however, knew the Senate. This wasn't going to pass. Democrats had pushed single-payer into the party mainstream with a winning midterm campaign centered around it, but it wouldn't be enough. And of course he couldn't sign it.

A more mild Democrat-led bill, on the other hand, would be able to pass. Hell, it might even give him something to sign. But that wasn't going to gain traction unless...unless.

Link paused for a moment, then came to a decision, calling for his secretary.

"Get me the new Senate Majority Whip!"

[Sestak]

Is there any remaining interest in this or should I just kill it?

It's an interesting and unique scenario, I'd like to see it continued.

Well, I guess the people have spoken. Ask and ye shall receive.