The Rise of an Old, New, America: 2018-?

[King Lear]

Background
At the start of 2018 it seemed as though the Trump administration was on the verge of collapse due to salacious revelations from various journalists combined with an ominous Mueller probe and Democrats seemed to be on the cusp of a "Blue Wave" that would flip the House and possibly even the Senate, due to their 11 point lead in the Generic Congressional Ballot polling average from RealClearPolitics. However, on April 15th 2018, Donald Trump signed into law a Bipartisan Infrastructure package called the "Investing in America Act" that had passed the house 355-80 and the Senate 83-17. This, alongside the booming Dow Jones Indusrial Average that had just hit 27,000 points, caused Trump to receive an Approval Rating bump that got his Approval to 45% in the RealClearPolitics Average by the start of May. It also caused The Democrats Generic Congressional Ballot lead to fall to 6 points in the RealClearPolitics average, causing much concern among senior Democratic strategists. Then, on June 27th 2018 Robert Mueller announced the conclusion of the Russia Investigation with no evidence of Collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, sending shockwaves throughout the nation. Trump responded by thanking Mueller for carrying out a "Fair Investigation", and by accusing Democrats of "trying to overturn the will of the people by pushing a dangerous conspiracy theory", He also announced the Pardoning of his Former National Security Adviser Micheal Flynn, who had just been convicted of Perjury in Federal Court on May 17th and was awaiting a sentencing trial that was due to occur in July. This caused massive backlash among Democratic politicians and their allies in the media, who accused Trump of "Bailing his friend out of Jail as a reward for not spilling the beans to Mueller", some even called for a new Special Consul to investigate Trump's business's. However, Polls showed that 50% of American voters supported the pardoning of Flynn, and that 57% were satisfied with the conclusion of the Russia Investigation, while only 35% wanted another Special Consul. Due to these events by the end of July, Trumps Approval was 49% in the RealClearPolitics Average and the Democrats Generic Congressional Ballot lead had fallen to 3 points. The next couple months proved to be realativly quiet as Midterm campaigning slowly picked up and Trumps approval rating bump from the end of the Russia investigation started to slowly ware off. However, everything changed on October 20th 2018 when a Muslim Immigrant from Afghanistan detonated a suicide vest in New York city's Grand Central Station during rush hour, Killing himself and 257 innocent civilians in the deadliest Terrorist attack since 911. Trump responded to this heartbreaking event by calling for the end of all Immigration from the 57 Muslim-Majority countries, generating fierce criticism from prominent Democratic politicians who accused Trump of "using a horrific tragedy to promote Racist, Zenophobic, and Islamophobic policies". Unfortunately for Democrats, this criticism fell flat with the American people, and by the day before the 2018 Midterms Trump's approval was at 55% and the Republicans had a two point edge in the Generic ballot, causing massive panic among Democrats who just six months ago were expecting the Midterms to be a repeat of 2006, but were now fearing it could be just as bad as 2014 or possibly even worse.

[King Lear]

2018 CNN Election Night Coverage (Part 1):
Wolf Blitzer: Good evening America and welcome to CNN’s election night coverage of the 2018 Midterms, It’s 7 pm on the east coast and we already have some important projections.

-CNN Projections-
VERMONT
Senator
WINNER
BERNIE SANDERS
INDIANA
Senator
WINNER
LUKE MESSER

VERMONT
Governor
WINNER
PHILL SCOTT
SOUTH CAROLINA
Governor
WINNER
HENRY MCMASTER
GEORGIA
Governor
WINNER
CASEY CAGLE

Wolf Blitzer: CNN can now project that Vermont Independent Senator Bernie Sanders has unsurprisingly won reelection, and that Indiana Democratic Senator Joe Donnelly has lost reelection to Republican Congressman Luke Messer for the first Republican Senate Pickup of the night. CNN can also project Republicans have held the Governors mansions in Vermont, South Carolina, and Georgia, and that all House seats have been held by their Incumbent Party in Indiana, Kentucky, Vermont, Virginia, South Carolina and Georgia with the exception of the Race in VA-10 which is still to close to call. The Virginia Senate Race is also to close to call, though Corey Stewart has a larger lead then expected which has to be making Democrats nervous right now.

John King: The Indiana Senate Result is very bad news for Democrats because though Donnelly has been trailing in the polls for most of this cycle, our results show him losing by a whopping 15 points when the last polls had him only down 5 points, that is a significant underperformance that has to have Chuck Schumer worried about his other Red-State Democratic incumbents.

Wolf Blitzer: Democrats can’t be feeling to confident about Virginia right now either with 25% of the vote in Corey Stewart has a 12 point lead over incumbent Democratic Senator Tim Kaine. I understand the state has a Republican counting bias and Northern Virginia isn’t in yet, but due to the devastating Thunderstorms that have caused flash floods throughout that area and subsequent low-turnout, Democrats may not have enough votes to Bail themselves out.

John King: Well that’s definitely cause to concern for Democrats, but we’re still nowhere near a projection in that Senate Race.

Wolf Blitzer: Thanks for the analysis King, Were now heading for a quick commercial break, we’ll be back at the bottom of the hour with some more poll closings.

2018 Indiana Senate Race Results (45% in):
Joe Donnelly: 42%
Luke Messer: 57% WINNER
2018 Virginia Senate Race Results (25% in):
Tim Kaine: 43%
Corey Stewart: 55%
Current Senate Makeup:
Republicans: 44
Democrats: 24
Current House Makeup:
Republicans: 34
Democrats: 13

[Sestak]

If you really want this to be readable, please put in some line spacing. The blocks of text really do not work.

[King Lear]

If you really want this to be readable, please put in some line spacing. The blocks of text really do not work.

I just put spacing between the paragraphs, does that help at all or would you like me to do something else?

[Sestak]

If you really want this to be readable, please put in some line spacing. The blocks of text really do not work.

I just put spacing between the paragraphs, does that help at all or would you like me to do something else?

That's definitely more readable, yeah.

[King Lear]

2018 CNN Election Night Coverage (Part 2):
Wolf Blitzer: it’s 7:30 pm and we can now make some more projections.

-CNN Projections-
WEST VIRGINIA
Senator
WINNER
EVAN JENKINS
OHIO
Governor
WINNER
MIKE DEWINE

Wolf Blitzer: We can now project Incumbent Democratic Senator Joe Manchin has lost reelection to Republican Congressmen Evan Jenkins for Republicans second Senate Pickup of the night, this ends over a hundred years of Democratic Senate representation in West Virginia and has officially completed the States transformation into a Republican stronghold. We can also project that Republicans have held onto the Ohio Governorship, and that all House seats have been held by their Incumbent party in Ohio, West Virginia, and North Carolina, However we can also now project that Democrats have flipped VA-10, Defeating long time Republican Congresswomen Barbra Comstock for Democrats first House pickup of the night. Meanwhile, the Ohio Senate Race is to close to call.

John King: Like his colleague in Indiana, Joe Manchin has lost by a much larger margin then the polls suggested. Though the polls had him losing by only 3 points, our initial results have him losing by 10 points, this shows how powerful polarization has gotten in that even when the polls show incumbent Democratic Senators in Red states only down by small margins they end up losing by double-digits on Election Day.

Wolf Blitzer: Thanks for the analysis King, were going to have a short break and will return at the top of the hour when their will be a major wave of poll closings.
2018 West Virginia Senate Race Results (20% in):
Joe Manchin: 44%
Evan Jenkins: 54% WINNER
2018 Virginia Senate Race Results (50% in):
Tim Kaine: 46%
Corey Stewart: 53%
2018 Ohio Senate Race Results (15% in):
Sherrod Brown: 47%
Mike Gibbons: 51%
Current Senate Makeup:
Republicans: 45
Democrats: 24
Current House Makeup:
Republicans: 59
Democrats: 21

[King Lear]

 2018 CNN Election Night Coverage (Part 3):
Wolf Blitzer: it’s 8 pm and we have a major wave of projections.
 
-CNN Projections-
Senator
WINNER
ELIZABETH WARREN (MA)
SHELDON WHITEHOUSE (RI)
CHRIS MURPHY (CT)
BOB MENENDEZ (NJ)
TOM CARPER (DE)
BEN CARDIN (MD)
Senator
WINNER
MIKE GIBBONS (OH)
JOSH HAWLEY (MO)
MARSHA BLACKBURN (TN)
ROGER WICKER (MS)

Governor
WINNER
DAN DREW (CT)
GINA RAIMONDO (RI)
CHRIS KENNADY (IL)
JAMES BOYLE (ME)
Governor
WINNER
CHRIS SUNUNU (NH)
CHARLIE BAKER (MA)
LARRY HOGAN (MD)
KAY IVEY (AL)
TODD LAMB (OK)
DIANE BLACK (TN)

Wolf Blitzer: We can now project Democrats have held Senate seats in MA, CT, RI, NJ, DE, and MD, while Republicans have held Senate seats in Tennessee and Mississippi and have also defeated Incumbent Ohio Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown and Incumbent Missouri Democratic Senator Claire Mccaskill for their third and fourth Senate pickups of the night. We can also now project Republicans have held Governorships in NH, MA, MD, AL, OK, and TN, while Democrats have held their Governorships in Connecticut and Rhode Island along with flipping Republican Governorships in Illinois and Maine for their first and second gubernatorial pickups of the night. On the House front all House seats have been held by their incumbent party except NH-01, PA-17, PA-08, PA-07, PA-06, IL-06, IL-17, and NJ-07 which are still to close to call along with FL-27 and FL-26 which have flipped from Republican to Democratic for the second and third Democratic house pickups of the night. Meanwhile the Senate and Governor races in Florida and Pennsylvania along with the Maine and Virginia Senate Race are still to close to call.

John King: The defeat of Brown and Mccaskill are very ominous signs for Democrats, especially considering their are still many vulnerable Democratic Senate seats where polls are still open. Mccaskills loss is not that surprising considering she’s been trailing throughout the cycle, however the 20 point margin she’s losing by is much bigger then expected. Browns defeat on the other hand is little more surprising considering the polls had him tied and his Republican opponent was not a top recruit. By the way here is the map of the current situation in the Senate.

Wolf Blitzer: Thanks for the analysis King, we’ll be back at the top of the hour.
2018 Missouri Senate Race Results (35% in):
Claire Mcckaskil: 39%
Josh Hawley: 59% WINNER
2018 Ohio Senate Race Results (60% in):
Sherrod Brown: 45%
Mike Gibbons: 53% WINNER
2018 Florida Senate Race Results (55% in)
Bill Nelson: 49%
Rick Scott: 50%
2018 Virginia Senate Race Results (70% in):
Tim Kaine: 48%
Corey Stewart: 51%
2018 Pennsylvania Senate Race Results (20% in):
Bob Casey: 52%
Lou Barletta: 46%
2018 Maine Senate Race Results (15% in):
Angus King: 45%
Paul Lepage: 40%
Zac Ringlestein: 15%
Current Senate Makeup:
Republicans: 49
Democrats: 30
Current House Makeup:
Republicans: 121
Democrats: 93

[King Lear]

2018 CNN Election Night Coverage (Part 4):
Wolf Blitzer: Its now 8:30 pm and we have some more important projections.

-CNN Projections-
VIRGINIA
Senator
WINNER
TIM KAINE
MAINE
Senator
WINNER
ANGUS KING

ARKANSAS
Governor
WINNER
ASA HUTCHISON

Wolf Blitzer: We can now project that Democrats have held two critical Senate Seats in Virginia and Maine, and that Republicans have held the Arkansas Governorship along with all 5 House seats in the state. Also on the House front, we can now project Republicans will hold PA-06, PA-07, PA-08, IL-06, and NJ-07, while we can also project Republicans have flipped IL-17, NH-01, and PA-17 for their first three house pickups of the night. Meanwhile, the Florida and Pennsylvania Senate and Governor Races are still to close to call.

John King: With 85% of the vote in, its now obvious that Tim Kaine will win reelection in a critical hold for Senate Democrats. Though his lead is only 2 points, all the remaining precincts are in Northern Virginia, which makes it easy for us to project him the winner. Maine's Senate Race didn't turn out to be as competitive as Republicans had hoped when controversial Maine Governor Paul Lepage announced his Senate bid, with 40% of the vote in Independent Senator Angus King has opened up a 10 point lead over Lepage and a underfunded Democrat. Meanwhile we are closely watching the Senate races in Florida and Pennsylvania where Democratic incumbents Bill Nelson and Bob Casey are desperately trying to beat back tough Republican challenges from Governor Rick Scott and Conngressmen Lou Barletta respectively. Right now, Nelson is trailing by 3 points with 75% of the vote in, while Casey is only 2 points ahead with 45% of the vote in. If Democrats lose one, or let alone both, of these two Senate Races, it will make what is already shaping up to be a bad night for Senate Democrats with the loss of Manchin, Donnelly, Mccaskill, and Brown, even more devastating. Looking ahead, if Democrats can't hold on to the Florida and Pennsylvania senate seats it will make President Trump all that more confident in his reelection, considering if Democrats can't even hold their Senate seats in those two critical battleground states, there's no way they'll beat Trump in those two states come 2020.
 
Wolf Blitzer: Thanks for the thoughtful analysis King, we'll be back at the top of the hour with another major round of Poll closings.
2018 Virginia Senate Race Results (85% in):
Tim Kaine: 50% WINNER
Corey Stewart: 48%
2018 Maine Senate Race Results (40% in):
Angus King: 50% WINNER
Paul Lepage: 40%
Zac Ringlestein: 10%
2018 Florida Senate Race Results (75% in):
Bill Nelson: 48%
Rick Scott: 51%
2018 Pennsylvania Senate Race Results (45% in):
Bob Casey: 50%
Lou Barletta: 48%
Current Senate Makeup:
Republicans: 49
Democrats: 32
Current House Makeup:
Republicans: 134
Democrats: 93

[King Lear]

2018 CNN Election Night Coverage (Part 5):
Wolf Blitzer: It's now 9 pm and we have another major wave of projections.

-CNN Projections-
Senator
WINNER
KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND (NY)
MARTIN HEINRICH (NM)
AMY KLOBACHER (MN)
Senator
WINNER
TED CRUZ (TX)
DEB FISCHER (NE)
JOHN BARRASO (WY)
TOM CAMPBELL (ND)
RICK SCOTT (FL)

Governor
WINNER
ANDREW COUMO (NY)
JARED POLIS (CO)
MICHELLE LUJAN GRISHAM (NM)
Governor
WINNER
SCOTT WALKER (WI)
GREGG ABOTT (TX)
ADAM PUTNAM (FL)
KRISTI NOEM (SD)
JEFF COYLER (KS)
MARK GORDON (WY)
PETE RICKETTS (NE)

Wolf Blitzer: We can now project Democrats have held their Senate Seats in NY, NM, and MN, while Republicans have held their Senate seats in TX, NE, and WY, and have also defeated Incumbent North Dakota Senator Heidi Hentkemp and Incumbent Florida Senator Bill Nelson for their fifth and sixth senate pickups of the night, and due to these holds and gains Republicans have officially held control of the US Senate. On the Governor front, Democrats have held their Governorships in New York and Colorado, and have also flipped the New Mexico Governorship for their third Gubernatorial pickup of the night, while Republicans have held their Governorships in WI, TX, FL, SD, KS, WY, and NE. On the House front all seats have been held by their incumbent party except AZ-01, AZ-02, CO-06, TX-23, NE-02, MN-02, MN-03, MI-11, NY-19, NY-24 which are all still to close to call, and MN-01, MN-07, MN-08 which have all flipped from Democratic to Republican. The Senate Races in Pennsylvania, Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesotas Special Election along with the Governors Races in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Minnesota, and Arizona are all to close to call.

John King: The Senate Results in North Dakota and Florida are devastating for the Democratic Party. Like her other blue dog counterparts Heidi Hentkemp was only trailing by 3 points in the polls but on Election Day she is losing by 19 points with 25% of the vote in and we can easily project her defeat based on these early results. Meanwhile, with 90% of the vote in, Bill Nelson is trailing Rick Scott by 5 points with all the votes counted in South Florida, and all the outstanding votes are in Conservative Rural areas making it easy for us to project his defeat. So far Republicans have picked up 6 Senate seats and with the tight races we are seeing in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, along with the upcoming results from Montana, it is not totally out of the realm of possibilities that Republicans could win a 60 seat senate supermajority tonight. By the way here's the current map of the Senate.

Wolf Blitzer: Thanks for the interesting analysis King, we'll be back after a short commercial break.
2018 Florida Senate Race Results (90% in):
Bill Nelson: 47%
Rick Scott: 52% WINNER
2018 North Dakota Senate Race Results (25% in):
Heidi Hentkemp: 40%
Tom Campbell: 59% WINNER
2018 Pennsylvania Senate Race Results (70% in):
Bob Casey: 49%
Lou Barletta: 49%
2018 Michigan Senate Race Results (50% in):
Debie Stabenow: 55%
Bob Carr: 44%
2018 Wisconsin Senate Race Results (20% in)
Tammy Baldwin: 49%
Kevin Nicholson: 48%
2018 Minnesota Special Election Results (15% in):
Tina Smith: 53%
Tim Pawlenty: 46%
2018 Arizona Senate Race Results (10% in):
Martha Mcsally: 51%
Kristen Sinema: 47%
Current Senate Makeup:
Republicans: 54
Democrats: 35
Current House Makeup:
Republicans: 205
Democrats: 141

[King Lear]

Does anyone want to comment on my TL?

[CookieDamage]

Does anyone want to comment on my TL?

Yeah it sucks like everything else you put out. Stop trolling.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Does anyone want to comment on my TL?

Yeah it sucks like everything else you put out. Stop trolling.

Oh like you’re of any value.

[King Lear]

2018 CNN Election Night Coverage (Part 6):
Wolf Blitzer: It’s now 10 pm and we have some more critical projections.

-CNN Projections-
Senator
WINNER
DEBIE STABENOW (MI)
TINA SMITH (MN)
Senator
WINNER
LOU BARLETTA (PA)
MARTHA MCSALLY (AZ)
MATT ROSENDALE (MT)
MITT ROMNEY (UT)

Governor
WINNER
GRETCHEN WHITMER (MI)
TIM WALZ (MN)
Governor
WINNER
SCOTT WAGNER (PA)
DOUG DUCEY (AZ)
KIM REYNOLDS (IA)

Wolf Blitzer: We can now project that Republicans have held their Senate seats in Arizona and Utah, and have defeated Incumbent Montana Democratic Senator Jon Tester and Incumbent Pennsylvania Democratic Senator Bob Casey for their seventh and eighth senate pickups of the night, meanwhile Democrats held their senate seat in Michigan and their Senate seat in the Minnesota Special Election. On the Governor front we can project Republicans have held their Goverorships in Iowa and Arizona, and have flipped the Democratic Governorship in Pennsylvania for their first Gubernatorial pickup of the night, while Democrats have held the Minnesota Governorship and flipped the Michigan Governorship for their fourth gubernatorial pickup of the night. Meanwhile on the House front we can project that all house seats in these states have been held by their incumbent party except IA-01, IA-02, IA-03, NV-02, and NV-04 which are still to close to call, we also can project Republicans will hold their seats in AZ-02, NE-02, MN-02, MN-03, MI-11, NY-19, and NY-24, and that Republicans have flipped Democratic House seats in WI-03 and AZ-01, while Democrats have flipped Republican House seats in TX-23, CO-6, However due to these projections Republicans have Officially held control of the House of Representatives. The Senate and Governor Races in Nevada along with the Senate Race in Wisconsin remain to close to call.

John King: It’s amazing to think that just six months ago we all thought Democrats would flip the house and senate, However after the continued Economic boom (the Dow Jones hit 30,000 last month), the conclusion of the Mueller probe with no evidence of Collusion, and finally (and perhaps most importantly) the horrifying Terrorist attack in New York City last month and Democrats botched response to it, Republicans have not just held Congress, they have prevented Democrats from making any substantial house gains and currently have flipped eight Democratic Senate seats and are only two seats away from a 60 seat senate supermajority. Due to this shocking development we are closely watching the Nevada and Wisconsin Senate Races, and right now Republican Senator Dean Heller is tied with Democratic challenger Jacky Rosen In Nevada, while Democratic Senator Tammy Baldwin is losing by one point to her Republican opponent, If Democrats can’t win one of these Senate Races, Republicans will get a 60 seat Supermajority and will be able to pass any legislation they want. By the way, here is a map of the current Senate situation.

Wolf Blitzer: Thanks for that shocking analysis King, We’ll be back when polls close on the West Coast.
2018 Montana Senate Race Results (35% in):
Jon Tester: 41%
Matt Rosendale: 58% WINNER
2018 Pennsylvania Senate Race Results (90% in):
Bob Casey: 48%
Lou Barletta: 50% WINNER
2018 Nevada Senate Race Results (30% in):
Dean Heller: 49%
Jacky Rosen: 49%
2018 Arizona Senate Race Results (55% in):
Martha Mcsally: 53% WINNER
Krysten Sinema: 46%
2018 Wisconsin Senate Race Results (65% in):
Tammy Baldwin: 49%
Kevin Nickolson: 50%
2018 Michigan Senate Race Results (80% in):
Debbie Stabenow: 52% WINNER
Bob Carr: 46%
2018 Minnesota Special Senate Race Results (70% in):
Tina Smith: 52% WINNER
Tim Pawlenty: 47%
Current Senate Makeup:
Republicans: 58
Democrats: 37
Current House Makeup:
Republicans: 220
Democrats: 141

[P. Clodius Pulcher did nothing wrong]

Wolf Blitzer: Thanks for that shocking analysis King,

[CookieDamage]

Does anyone want to comment on my TL?

Yeah it sucks like everything else you put out. Stop trolling.

Oh like you’re of any value.

I am, thank you for noticing.

[King Lear]

2018 CNN Election Night Coverage (Part 7):
Wolf Blitzer: it’s now 11 pm and we have some major projections.

-CNN Projections-
Senator
WINNER
DIANNE FEINSTEIN (CA)
MARIA CANTWELL (WA)
MAZIE HIRONO (HI)
Senator
WINNER
KEVIN NICKOLSON (WI)

Governor
WINNER
GAVIN NEWSOM (CA)
KATE BROWN (OR)
DAVID IGE (HI)
Governor
WINNER
BRAD LITTLE (ID)
ADAM LAXALT (NV)

Wolf Blitzer: We can Project Democrats have unsurprisingly held their Senate seats in California, Washington, and Hawaii, and that Wisconsin Democratic Senator Tammy Baldwin has lost reelection to Republican Kevin Nickolson for Republicans ninth senate pickup of the night. On the Governor front, Democrats have held their Governerships in California, Oregon, and Hawaii, while Republicans have held their Governorships in Idaho and Nevada. On the House front, we can Project all House seats in these states have been held by the incumbent party except CA-49, CA-25, CA-10, which have flipped from Republican to Democratic and CA-48, CA-45, CA-39, CA-21, and WA-08 are to close to call, we can also project Republicans have flipped IA-02 and NV-03 and have held their seats in IA-01 and IA-03, while Democrats have held NV-04. Meanwhile, the Nevada Senate Race is still to close to call.

John King: Right now we are all closely watching the Nevada Senate Race, because if Dean Heller wins reelection, Republicans will have a 60 seat supermajority. As of right now, Dean Heller has a three point lead with 70% of the vote in, However due to the fact their are still some Clark county precincts left to report we still can’t make a projection, though I will say Chuck Schumer better hope Jacky Rosen starts closely the gap rather quickly or he’s going to find himself in charge of a superminority. Even California hasn’t been much of a bright spot for Democrats tonight, Because we can only project Democrats have flipped all three of the seven Clinton-Republican districts their while the other four are to close to call, this probably has to due with the fact Republicans shockingly made the top-two runoffs for Senate and Governor in California, causing Republican turnout to be higher then expected . Overall, when you analyze these election results around the country, you see that the results of the 2016 presidential election were nowhere near as flukish as Democrats hoped, because tonight Republicans flipped 9 of the 10 Trump-Democratic Senate seats, and 10 of the 12 Trump-Democratic House seats, while Democrats have flipped 8 of the 23 Clinton-Republican House seats, showing the supposedly “flukish” results of the last Presidential election are starting to show themselves in downballot races. By the way here is our updated map of the Senate results.

Wolf Blitzer: Thanks for analyzing these shocking results King, we’ll be back soon after a quick commercial break.
2018 Wisconsin Senate Race Results (85% in):
Tammy Baldwin: 47%
Kevin Nickolson: 51% WINNER
2018 Nevada Senate Race Results (70% in):
Dean Heller: 51%
Jacky Rosen: 48%
Current Senate Makeup:
Republicans: 59
Democrats: 40
Current House Makeup:
Republicans: 237
Democrats: 192

[King Lear]

2018 CNN Election Night Coverage (Part :
Wolf Blitzer: it’s now 11 pm and we have our final major projections of the night.

-CNN Projections-
ALASKA
Governor
WINNER
BILL WALKER
 
NEVADA
Senator
WINNER
DEAN HELLER

Wolf Blitzer: We now can make a major projection, Republican Nevada Senator Dean Heller has won reelection, this means Republicans will have a 60-40 filibuster-proof supermajority in the US senate. We also can project Independent Alaska Governor Bill Walker has won reelection and that Republicans have held Alaska’s at-large House seat along with their house seats in CA-48, CA-45, CA-39, CA-21, and WA-08. With these results Republicans will have a 60-40 majority in the Senate, a 243-192 majority in the House of Representatives, and a 30-19 majority of State Governorships. These results are devastating for the Democratic Party, which at the start of the year imagined they would flip the House and Senate, but on Election Day they have lost 9 Senate seats, 2 House seats and have only gained 3 Governorships.

John King: You can’t put into words how bad this is for the Democratic Party, as you put it they went from thinking they would flip Congress, to losing 9 Senate seats and 2 House seats on Election Day. Historians and Political Scientists will view these unusual Midterm results as being caused by two distinct factors, number one, a set of events happening ie. the booming Economy, the end of the Russia investigation, and the NYC Terrorist attack, at the right time to hurt Democrats chances and provide the necessary enthusiasm for Republicans to turnout in large numbers, and number two, the rise of polarization to the point where Democrats lose 9 of their 10 Democratic Senate seats in Trump states, 10 of their 12 Democratic House seats in Trump districts, and where Republicans lose 8 of their 23 House seats in Clinton districts. Due to these two factors 2018 will go down as only the third midterm in US History (1934, 2002, and 2018) where the presidents party gained seats in the House and Senate. Looking ahead, this devastating midterm for Democrats means they will have difficulty winning control of the House and Senate until 2022 at least, and their loss of Senate seats in Florida, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, shows that Democrats will struggle to beat Trump in those states in 2020, giving him a comfortable path to reelection. By the way, here’s a map of the final Senate Results.

Wolf Blitzer: thanks for the analysis King, we are now completing our coverage of the 2018 midterm elections, goodnight and thank you for watching.
2018 Nevada Senate Race Results (90% in):
Dean Heller: 52% WINNER
Jacky Rosen: 47%
Current Senate Makeup:
Republicans: 60
Democrats: 40
Current House Makeup:
Republicans: 243
Democrats: 192

[King Lear]

Even if other posters don’t believe the results in my TL are realistic (remember, this TL is not my official prediction of what will happen this year, it’s just a scenario of what would happen if everything went wrong for my party), you have to admit my format and presentation is significantly better then in my previous “Red Wave” TL. For example, I split up the continuous blocks of text to make the dialogue more readable, I changed how I presented the “CNN projections” in order to make them stand out more, I bolded and put “WINNER” next to the Results of the senate races that were projected, and I also added maps of the Senate Results. So what do you think of the presentation and format in this TL compared to my previous one?

[Lord Admirale]

Evan

Who the  is Evan

[King Lear]

Evan

Who the  is Evan

I meant “even”, I will admit spelling is not my strong suit, However what do you think of this TLs format and presentation compared to the previous one?

[King Lear]

The rest of 2018
The morning after the 2018 midterms, Democrats across the country awoke in horror, realizing that Republicans will have 60 senate seats in the 116th congress and would be able to pass any legislation they wanted without fear of a Democratic filibuster. Due to these devastating results, Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi held a joint press conference on November 7th 2018, and announced their resignation from Senate and House Democratic leadership in the 116th congress. They cited as reasons, the fact that they failed miserably in the 2018 midterms, and the fact that their party desperately needs fresh leadership in order to avoid becoming totally irrelevant outside the West Coast and Northeast, however most political analysts from both parties believed they already were. Meanwhile, that same day Republican Senate majority leader Mitch Mcconell and House Speaker Paul Ryan announced at their own joint press conference that their party would seek to pass legislation to repeal Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid in 2019. They also stated that if they succeeded in repealing those three safety net programs they would then seek to pass a federal Abortion ban and an immigration reform bill to cut legal immigration in half. President Trump also gave his own press conference to reporters on the White House lawn where he proclaimed the "Death of the Democratic Party" and made fun of Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi's resignation from Democratic leadership by calling Chuck Schumer "Cuck Schumer", and referring to Nancy Pelosi as a "Old San Francisco Hippie". The media critized Trumps speech as "Senile and Demented", however many political analysts opined that American voters were so used to Trumps delusional behavior that their was no reason for the media and Congressional Democrats to criticize it anymore, especially considering that American voters didn't care about it when they voted in the 2018 Midterms, because they rewarded Trump with a 60-seat supermajority in the senate. The Dow Jones responded to the 2018 Midterm results by going up 1027 points, reaching an all time high of 30,257 points and recovering the 1000 points it had lost in the wake of the NYC Terrorist attack. Overall the rest of 2018 was relatively quiet politically with the exception of the fact Democrats chose Ohio representative Tim Ryan as House Minority Leader and Virginia Senator Mark Warner as Senate Minority Leader. By the end of the year, Trumps approval was 55% in the RealClearPolitics average and the Dow Jones closed its last trading day at 33,000 points.

[Lord Admirale]

Why and how are you so bad this?

[Boss_Rahm]

Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are all popular programs. There's no way Trump's approval rating would be 55% if his party was planning to eliminate them. At the very least, Susan Collins and other moderates in the Senate would vehemently oppose that agenda.

[King Lear]

Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are all popular programs. There's no way Trump's approval rating would be 55% if his party was planning to eliminate them. At the very least, Susan Collins and other moderates in the Senate would vehemently oppose that agenda.

The reason his approval is that high is because of the booming stock market and the Terrorist attack in NYC. Once the Republicans start trying to pass their agenda in 2019 and the 2020 Democratic primaries start, his approval will probably drop a little bit.

[King Lear]

By the way, what do you guys think about this TL compared to my first one, you have to admit it's format and presentation is much better even if you think the election results are unrealistic.