the situation room - smart board slate

Situation Room elections aired on November 7, 2006-
21: 00 ETTHIS is a report card in a hurry.
This copy may not be in final form and may be updated.
Host wolf blitzer: We have predicted that New Jersey will still be part of the Democratic Party.
Let's have a look. It's 9:00 p. m.
On the East Coast.
We have some plans to do now.
CNN can predict when we look at these Games. let's take a look.
First, another victory at Penn Democrat Bob Casey. Bob Casey, Jr.
Beat current Republican Rick SantorumThat's two.
This is our second proposal for the Democratic Party.
If they don't lose any Democratic seats now, they still need four more.
Bob Casey, Jr. , won a big win in Pennsylvania.
He's the son of a former governor who won in Pennsylvania.
In Texas, it's not surprising that we expect Kay Bailey Hutchinson to be re-elected.
In New York state, it is not surprising that Hillary Roham Clinton is re-elected.
In Michigan, Debbie spokenno was re-elected, and while all the polls showed she was way ahead, it was not surprising.
Let's go ahead and look at our other predictions.
In Wyoming, Craig Thomas, it's not surprising that we plan to be re-elected.
In Minnesota, where the Democratic Party needs to occupy an important seat, Amy crochall was elected to become the next US senator from Minnesota, which is an important victory for them.
Our winner is Ken Conrad.
We expect him to be the winner in North Dakota.
Jeff bingerman, the expected champion of New Mexico.
Democrat Ben Nelson of NEB is expected to win in Neb.
It's not surprising that Herb Cole was re-elected in Wisconsin.
In Delaware, Harper's project will be re-elected.
None of this is a big surprise, but it's important to note once again the arrival of Democrat Bob CaseyBob Casey, Jr.
Beating Rick Santorum we plan to be in Pennsylvania.
Anderson, this is the second election for the Democratic Party.
They still need four seats, which is not easy, but they have not lost their seats and they have already taken two seats.
Cooper: And Bob Casey Jr.
Son of a former governor, two years old
The governor of that state.
What did Rick Santorum do wrong?
What did Rick Santorum do wrong?
He's part of the Republican leadership.
He may be more conservative and more conservative, having previously lived in a house in the Pittsburgh area, representing a large area of organized labor.
When he entered the Senate, he became (AUDIO GAP)
As James pointed out a few minutes ago, war is a big problem as a country and you also have a Democrat (AUDIO GAP)
Again, so you have a little bit of a trend there.
Cooper: You also had Rick Santorum talk about a lot of national issues, Iran, Iraq, not fleeing President Bush like the other Republicans we 've seen.
Crawley: Well, I mean, who did he come to the ball.
It is difficult for Santorum to leave George Bush.
I will tell you another thing. AUDIO GAP)
In Pennsylvania, Republicans held a meeting.
What they're mad at Rick Santorum is all the money the Republicans spend in Washington, so he's also (AUDIO GAP).
I also think to attend (INAUDIBLE)
In this week's cover story for Newsweek magazine, we actually have a full cover story about progressive Evangelical Social issuesC.
Watts is talking.
This is a problem of poverty.
World Health Organization (AUDIO GAP).
Kim: voters in the suburbs make up the majority of Republicans.
You're around Pennsylvania, and there's a call area around Philadelphia.
You have Tammy Duckworth seats in the suburbs of northern Chicago, Illinois.
You are in the western suburbs.
Louis will decide on the Senate campaign there.
It is the suburbs that make the Republican Party the majority in Congress.
If they turn tonight and Democrats build roads in rural areas, they need math to get a majority.
Cooper: I 'd like to talk to some of our analysts about what you see ---Bill Bennett.
Bennett: before Rick Santorum's body is buried on the ground, you bet it's a very harsh partisan cut.
He was targeted by Democrats who wanted to take him away.
Cooper: made a lot of money.
He raised a lot of money in order to take him out.
As David Brooks wrote in The New York Times a few weeks ago, the sympathy you just said, if you are a victim of AIDS or autism, with autism, if you are in Darfur, the problem is partial abortion, and there is a lot of connection between Senator Rick Santorum and Democratic side.
He is the champion, really the champion of the poor, the champion of nothing, the champion of helplessness, the champion of the unborn, whether in the United States or abroad, they all lost the title in the game of losing Rick Santorum.
Cooper: Rick Santorum is running and he's still banging Bob Casey.
He said he was weak in national security and could not protect it.
Does this message no longer resonate as it did in past Republican elections?
Bennett: Well, Rick has never given up on this message, but I think, Anderson, you have to look again at the type of candidate that the Democratic Party has chosen.
Watts: Senator Casey, he supports
Life, you knowfamily.
I mean, he took on a lot of the issues that Rick took on.
I agree with Bill, and I think those issues I talked to you about before, poverty, black colleges and universities in history, AIDS in Africa, as a person of faith, rick Santorum dealt with these issues.
So, he's not the kind of conservative person I don't think he gets.
So, we lost a real championship in Rick Santorum.
But he's not finished yet. can I say that?
His political career is not over yet.
Cooper: where did he go from here?
Bennett: you'll see a campaign that puts Rick Santorum in the race.
You will see.
Cooper: campaign?
President of the United States, you will see.
Really?
BENNETT: Yes.
Cooper: Because I mean, this has been talked about in the past.
We will have a look.
I mean, you have to look, I mean, you have to look at the front runners John McCain and Rudy Giuliani if you want to get into 08.
These are not social conservatives.
The Conservative Party is strong in this party.
They will want the championship.
He is articulate and experienced, so you haven't seen his last side yet.
Watt: Rick is a conservative person, and Rick Santorum is that kind of person in terms of poverty, underserved communities, small businesses, the economic problems of minority businesses, I can hang my hat on it.
Are social conservatives strong?
BEGALA: And, of course, I will disclose that again.
I worked for Bob Casey during his campaign.
He is not just a friend. He's a client.
I worked for his father 20 years ago.
I was very close to that family.
In this election cycle he is the only candidate for whom I work because that is my trust in him.
I will not speak ill of the political dead or ill of the political dead.
Filed a lawsuit against the Santorum campaign, but he is the third Republican in the US Senate and has just lost in the overwhelming competition, which requires a lot of talent for Bob Casey, jr.
Santorum spent $25 million, overtaking Kathy by an overwhelming margin, but suffered heavy losses in the landslide.
When Kathy came to the voters, he said, "I want to change.
"Cooper: Did Kathy spend $14 million or what?
Yes, but about half, about half.
Cooper: That's a lot of money.
BEGALA: There's a lot of money, of course, but it's not money that decides this.
This is information.
The message is, "I want to talk to President Bush.
"Almost every ad we run has statistics, and Santorum votes for 98% of President Bush's time.
So President Bush, like war, is an anchor for Rick Santorum and an anchor for a range of middle-class economic problems.
Santorum may be good on poverty in Africa, but he is not considered good on poverty in Altoona or Aliquippa, where he voted against the minimum wage.
He voted against the children in the first place.
So Kathy took advantage of these issues, international issues about war and family issues about the economy.
Watts: Kicked people in the first place?
Oh, yes.
Watts: where was that vote?
To improve you: this is the summer.
They cut $39 billion from their budget, including cutting the door.
In fact, he said at the hearing that when he voted to cut child care, Arkansas Senator Lincoln said, "Well, you kick moms out of childcare.
They are really struggling.
"I don't think fighting is the worst thing in the world," he said . "
Watts: what does that mean. . .
BEGALA: We used this in the campaign, but he didn't.
Watt: but $39 billion, which means Anderson, with $70, could propose an increase of $70 billion, and they could have only $31 billion, so he voted against an increase of $39 billion.
This is a little disingenuous.
COOPER: We are looking at several very intense Senate campaigns.
We will talk more about the game later on.
Let's check in with Wolf.
Anderson, guys, thank you very much.
I just want to introduce our audience to some of the key things that are happening on the Senate battlefield.
Let's start with Tennessee.
Take a look at this, and now 11% of the regions are reporting.
Bob Cork, a 53%-year-old Republican, Harold Ford, Jr.
46%, still very, very early.
These numbers may change.
I would like to remind our audience that we do not know which part of the state is covered in this 12% area, but it is very close as expected.
Greenfield: very close, when I joked on the radio this morning that what we were going to talk about this afternoon was the rain in Memphis, little Harold Ford
Call and say, "You know, it's not raining in Memphis," which is his strength.
BLITZER: If you look at the bottom of the screen, you will see them and other results when these results appear all night.
It is a very, very important battle in Missouri and is expected to be very close, and now only 1% of the area is reported, but Jim dart and 49% of Claire mccaskyll Democratic challenger 48%
They said it was nearby.
1% of the regions reported approaching.
This is right.
BLITZER: still, look at Virginia, 68% of the constituencies are now reported in Virginia, there are 50% in George Allen and 49% in Jim Webb.
It's been moving back and forth, but that's about as close as expected.
Greenfield: What do you have on this committee, at least these three games are likely to tell you if the Democrats accept the Senate.
The three games were supposed to be close, all of which were played by Republicans, all of whom were close, with millions and a half so far in Virginia.
They are 4,700 votes apart.
The Democratic Party has already won two Republican seats.
If they are going to be the majority, they need 4 more, 4 more, and they can't lose any of their own.
In Connecticut, only 2% of the region reported that 49% of Joe Lieberman, 40% of Ned Lamont, 10% of Republicans, Alan Schlesinger.
Lieberman says he is an independent person, but he will work with the Democratic caucus.
Greenfield: Two quick things, if that happens, the low total for Alan Schlesinger will be the reason, Joe Lieberman will be re-elected because Democrats will vote for Lamont, but Republicans may choose Lieberman because he is more centrist.
The second thing is the anger of more free bloggers.
The so called "cyber roots" that limberman is targeting are so fierce that even if it's a great night for Democrats, if limberman wins, it will leave a sour taste in some people's mouths.
The bloggers are largely the reason why Ned Lamont defeated Lieberman in the Democratic primary and the wealth of the family.
They want Lieberman to lose as much as they want Democrats to take over the Senate.
BLITZER: But all the polls tonight show that Lieberman is well ahead of Ned Lamont.
Democrats, he got the Republicans to support him.
Apparently Joe Lieberman is a very famous figure in Connecticut.
In fact, let's take a look. We're about --
Let's back it up a little bit here.
Come over here.
Joe Lieberman, we can do it now. -come over here.
Green space: OK.
Policy: Joe Lieberman, we can be re-elected to the United States Senator from Connecticut.
We can now predict that, as an independent, Lieberman still exists in the US Senate that defeated Ned Lamont and Alan Schlesinger.
When we talk about the race in Connecticut, all the votes indicate that Joe Lieberman is now expected to be re-elected as a US senator.
He said he promised to become a Democrat, except in name.
He told the people of Connecticut that he would join the Democrats in the caucus, and that he would do so even if the Republicans were shouting for him.
I forgot to choreographer such a big news.
But you have to wonder if Joe Lieberman reconvened the Democratic caucus in January and looked at whether there was some kind of temptation when the Democratic Party, including his Connecticut Democrat Chris Dodd, he launched a campaign against him, just a sweet feeling of "I'm here.
"Because, as you know, Wolf, revenge is the best dish to eat, I just have a feeling that even if he is not gloating, there may be a sequence of revenge on the tickets.
Maybe it's just my personality.
I think he would want to say a word or two with Democrats who have been working with him for 18 years and then come to this state to try and beat him.
BLITZER: I suspect Joe Lieberman is now pleased that he will be re-elected to the US Senate from Connecticut.
We expect Joe Lieberman to occupy this seat not as a Democrat, but as an independent.
Paula and Bill are considering some polls in Connecticut.
ZAHN: a lot of the doubts Jeff says about how the Republican vote is going to take place are evidenced by some numbers.
Bill and I just had the opportunity to analyze how the Lieberman voters were defeated by the party. Thirty-
5% are Republicans.
Now look at the Democratic line, only 26%, so he actually got more Republican votes than the Democratic Party, and 38% of nonpartisan people voted for him.
This is the result of the Republican election of Joe Lieberman.
He said he will have a caucus discussion with Democrats, but 35% votes are for Republicans.
Despite his best performance among independents, he has won more Republican votes than the Democratic Party.
But, you know, when he comes back to the Senate, as Jeff said, there will be a lot of people saying to him, "Joe, what do you owe to the Democratic Party?
They drove you out.
They fired you.
They're not running for you.
And they didn't vote for you.
Republicans vote for you.
ZAHN: Over the past few days, he has repeatedly said, "I won't see Republicans," even though they handed him his victory tonight.
Schneider: that's true.
ZAHN: Lou.
Thank you so much, Paula, Bill.
We are going to the Lieberman headquarters and danlothian now.
Dan, as we look behind you, CNN's prediction of Senator Lieberman doesn't look excited.
LOTHIAN: there are some bursts of excitement when they have been looking at the projection on the screen.
I just had a chance to talk to the director of communications a while ago.
He told me that they were very encouraged by the forecast, but they were not ready to say victory, so they were still waiting for all their numbers to come in before they were ready to say, "Okay, this is our victory.
"But you know what's interesting is that in the last few minutes they 've actually been very concerned that this game may be much closer than many people think, because they feel that there may be some questions about placement, his name appeared on the ballot.
Obviously, this may not be a problem at all, as the projection shows.
We wait to see what they say.
Dan Lothian thank you very much.
We are grateful, danlothian reports (INAUDIBLE)
Headquarters and CNN have just predicted that Joe Lieberman will return to the United States. S.
This time as an independent Senate.
The 2006 votes in the United States will continue in the near future, with 13 seats that have not yet been decided to control the United States. S. Senate. (
Business break)
Welcome back.
We are watching all these races, what you see on our wall, these are the winners we have predicted for the various Senate seats, House seats, governors seats.
If you take a closer look, you will see the expected winner at this time.
More than 9: 20. m.
On the East Coast. Take a look.
And if you don't know that red is clearly a Republican victory.
Blue is the victory of the Democratic Party.
For example, the green you see in Vermont is independent.
Joe Lieberman is also independent in Connecticut.
So these are the winners of our current forecast.
But now we have a big forecast, a big one in Maryland, Democratic Senator Ben Caton, and our project will be selected as the next US senator in Maryland, to take over Paul Sabans for a long time.
Current Democrat
The campaign for the deputy governor of Maryland, Michael Steele, was very, very intense, but not strong enough.
Michael Steele is down.
According to our forecast, Ben Caton will be the next US senator in Maryland.
Jeff Greenfield, this is one that Democrats desperately need to keep.
This is something that many Republicans can almost taste.
They believe that Michael Steele, an African-American Republican, will be a strong candidate.
He is really strong, but not strong enough.
Greenfield: they thought, Hey, Ben Caton beat an African-American in the primary (INAUDIBLE).
Michael Steele has some support from Prince George Democrats who say Democrats in Maryland take them for granted.
I talked to a few Democrats this weekend, and they're more nervous about Maryland than they are about ---
Certainly more than any other Democratic Party.
This means that the two Democratic seats that Republicans want to win, New Jersey and Maryland, are in the hands of Democrats.
BLITZER: Wait a minute.
House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi is now speaking.
If the Democrats are in the majority, she is the speaker.
Let's simply listen and see what she said. REP. NANCY PELOSI (D), CALIFORNIA: . . .
Plan our strategy and we will achieve results tonight.
At least half of the countries are still open to vote, so while we have--
You have done your job and you are here and I would like to remind people in the Midwest and the Western Rocky Mountains as well as the West Coast and the western Pacific to go out and vote.
It's important.
Go out and vote.
This is important. We can --
We do not know what the outcome of this election will be.
What we know is that we want as many New Democrats as possible in Congress.
For my own state of California, I call on Democrats, independents and fair people there --
Thoughtful Republicans come forward and vote for California governor Phil angeldes, as well as Democratic candidates in Washington state, Darcy Burnham, Charlie Brown, Jerry mcginnani, and Pazi, there are so many candidates in the western and western Pacific.
So, we have to go back to work and use mobile phones in the Midwest, the Rocky mountains west and the West Coast.
But over time, our three 30-
There are some things that the voice of our generation will tell you the good news of the future.
During this time, I thank all of you for taking us to the place tonight.
Let's cheer the American people all over the country. . .
Okay, Nancy Pelosi, that one.
If the Democrats get 15 seats, be the speaker of the house. don't lose any of your seats.
We are now ready to make another big prediction.
In Kentucky, Democratic challenger John Yamout will be elected as our project for 3rd constituencies in Kentucky, beating current Republican Ann Northup.
Look at this, there are now 100% votes, 51% for Yarmuth and 48% for Northup.
Although we expect that he will win 100% of his constituency now.
This is the second major rally in the Democratic Party.
They need 13 more if they want to make up the majority in the house.
But, Lou Dobbs, that's what Democrats want very much, and they obviously got this in Kentucky.
Of course, Ann Northup is definitely a staunch supporter of the Republican Party.
Of course, another strong supporter of the Republican leadership is Ken Melman.
He is the chairman of the Republican National Committee who came to us from the Republican headquarters tonight.
First of all, thank you for coming.
Ken mehlman, chairman of the Republican National Committee: Thank you.
Dobbs: we are watching some very tight matches all over the country.
Give us your best sense of direction as to where we are going tonight.
Well, I think, Lou, you have nailed the nail on your head.
There are many very close matches.
Interestingly, the number of Kentucky you just mentioned, another game in Kentucky, everyone wants to be closer to Jeff Davis's match with Ken Lucas than in the end, ken Lucas once represented the seat.
We always thought that Indiana and Kentucky would be two of our more difficult states.
I'm sorry, Ann seems to be where she is.
Let's see what the last number is.
Indiana seems to be very close.
Although there are a lot of very interesting data, but all over the country.
The number of people in Virginia is as tight as possible, and most people in Northern Virginia seem to vote.
There is some early evidence that, in Maryland, Michael Steele may have created some incredible history among African-American voters.
Missouri looks like we thought it would be very close.
All over the country is saying to me that if you haven't voted yet, we will have about 30 games that will be decided by the turnout tonight, so it's vital that everyone gets involved in voting and going out.
Of course, we have just predicted that Ben Caton will win over Michael Steele.
The progress you're talking to African-American voters about this game in Virginia looks like it's going to be tight all the time.
You have suggested that you have information about the source of the vote.
We just heard from Senator Charles Schumer that he was told at Democratic headquarters that North Korea had-
The vote is about to enter.
You hear the opposite.
MEHLMAN: Well, I 've heard that a large part of North Virginia, ferfax County, Arlington County, has entered, quite a few Louden counties, and it's kind of a pre-
City districts and counties haven't come out yet
We will see where the data comes from.
We know it's a very close match in Virginia, as many of us expected.
Dobbs: There are now 11 undecided seats in the United States. S.
Republicans in the Senate have an advantage, 44 to 43 now.
Do you have confidence in the rest of the game?
Let us know if you really believe now that you will be able to control the Senate.
MEHLMAN: I do.
I think we will control the Senate.
Obviously, a lot of these games will be very close and may be timed out, but obviously we think the game in Missouri is still very close.
We haven't seen some data from Montana yet.
Virginia looks very close.
I understand what you think of Maryland.
I haven't seen the data to show this yet, and we're going to see exit polls, and then eventually, and more importantly, the actual numbers will show up there.
But I think we will. -
Both the Senate and the House will be a rather late night because many of these games are very different.
In fact, both the North race and the Davis race have different directions, which does indicate how much information is specific to the game.
Dobbs: Ken Melman, president of the Republican Party, thank him for coming here.
Melman: Thank you very much.
Wolf, give it to you.
Well, thank you very much.
We are now ready to make another big forecast in Rhode Island.
Look at this.
Democrat and Democratic challenger Sheldon Whitehouse "our plan" will defeat Lincoln Chaffey, the current president of the moderate Republican Party, and be elected US senator on Rhode Island.
We have few actual votes, but based on the exit polls and the other information we get, it will be the third, third vote for the Democratic Party of the United States. S. Senate.
They need six if they are going to be the majority and they can't lose any of their seats.
We expect them to retain Democratic seats in New Jersey and Maryland, which are more vulnerable Democratic seats, so they will need three more seats if they are to become a majority.
But we are ready to have Sheldon Whitehouse beat Lincoln Chaffey on Rhode Island.
Let's take a look at Jeff Greenfield, who has brought three pickup trucks to the Democratic Party.
Greenfield: they are half way home because they need six people.
I think this--
They need six networks to control the Senate.
They kept New Jersey and Maryland.
They have found them in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and now Rhode Island.
That means Republicans want Lincoln Chaffey, whose father was a senator before him, and what happened here is that I believe the party label will prove decisive.
As I mentioned, Chaffey did not even vote for George W.
Bush was re-elected.
He did not support the war.
He does not support tax cuts.
He made a very powerful advertisement and said, "you want an independent voice and the president to talk back, I am him.
But Rhode Island gave John Kerry the biggest profit in 04, and if it wasn't the biggest profit, he said, "You know, for us, your party loyalty is a bridge too far away. "
BLITZER: So let's talk about where the Democrats need to win if they're going to reach the magic number of 6.
They are three years old now.
They need three more Republicans.
Won 51 seats in the US Senate.
Greenfield: To be clear, the Blues are Democrats and the Reds are Republicans.
This is 33 seats for tonight's game.
Green space: Yes.
I painted both Vermont and Connecticut blue because Bernie Sanders and Joe Lieberman both said they were going to vote for the Democrats, which made my number 45.
All we have left to see is Virginia, Missouri, Montana, Tennessee, four Republicans. held seats.
We 've seen how close Virginia is.
We 've seen how close Tennessee is.
Missouri is also very close.
Voting in Montana is not over yet.
But this is the game.
Three of the six are in the hands of the Democratic Party.
New Jersey and Maryland have been in the hands of Democrats.
Three of these four seats are controversial, and Democrats still need three of these four to make up for the six seats they need for most of their seats.
BLITZER: As you know, some prominent Democrats, including former US president Bill Clinton, have hopes for Arizona, current Republican Jon Kyle, and the seat could be fragile.
Greenfield: Speaking of President Clinton, James Carwell mentioned that I think he ran for Shelton Whitehouse on Rhode Island at 9: 30 last night.
Democrats are so nervous.
You have to say the state they worry about most. -
Rhode Island, Maryland, New Jersey--
Democrats are in.
We wait to see these four. -
Montana, Missouri, Tennessee, Virginia-
Republicans or Democrats will decide whether to control the Senate.
BLITZER: the game in Virginia, especially between George Allen and Jim Webb, has been going back and forth with the statistics of the actual vote, and the constituency is entering.
We will try to update our audience to find out where it is currently.
We can't make predictions in the Greenfield Commonwealth of Virginia: I have to admit to you that I really like watching the game, there, all the computers, all the projections, and all the modeling were thrown out of the window where people sat and counted the votes.
Okay, old.
Old fashioned way of actually counting tickets.
Encouraging.
This campaign in Virginia looks like it's going to be like this, and if you believe what Chuck Schumer said earlier, he's a senator in New York and is responsible for getting the Democrats elected in the Senate, he said, many votes in Northern Virginia have not yet been counted.
Presumably, this is a good thing for Weber, as it is more of a Democratic stronghold than in the south of the state.
If we don't-
If we don't ban smoking in this room, I will have an old one
Old-fashioned politicians with cigars, a pencil and some crumpled paper in their mouths threw numbers for us.
BLITZER: I 'd like to see the board over there because there's another option --
We are ready to work on the project in the house.
Look at this.
Indiana --
This is Indiana.
Indiana Zone 2, Indiana Zone 2, Joe Donnelly, the Democratic challenger for Chris Chocola, we expect him to now be the next U. S. congressman from Indiana.
This is one of the weak Republican seats in Indiana.
Chris Chocola, who is considered fragile, and now his Democratic challenger, Joe Donnelly, we plan to be the next U. S. congressman from Indiana in the region.
I believe this is the third Democratic candidate.
In the House.
They need £ 15 to be a majority in the house, so it's a struggle for Democrats in the house, but slowly, slowly, they may be heading in that direction ---Anderson.
CNN anchor Anderson Cooper: We talked about Indiana this evening, and we talked about Kentucky being two very important states where Democrats can be seen in these congressional elections.
Let's talk to Amy Walter with the Cook Political Report.
"What do you think of this new democratic candidate? up?
Amy Walter, the Cook Political Report: As Wolfe now points out, the Democrats get a total of three seats, and they need 15.
The three games in Kentucky are the most surprising.
I think it might be a sign that Republicans are Republicans sitting in the Democratic Party.
Reclined seats like Anne Northrop, they broke at the end of the Democratic Party in a very tight match.
So I was looking at other places, like Clay Shaw in Florida, and the results were already coming out.
Look at some of the other congressional constituencies in the Northeast, especially those where Democrats win presidential seats but Republicans occupy them.
Anderson: You're talking about three games in Kentucky, and John Yamout beat Representative Anne nosipp, who is as far away as possible from President Bush, finally, he called in the last week to ask Minister Donald Ramsey to resign.
Do you know?
She is one of the most powerful activists in the country, and she can beat very strong Democrats even in years that are not particularly great. What she was --
But what she can't do is avoid being dragged down by this political environment.
Yarmuth is not necessarily her strongest opponent, but he runs in the best environment ever.
Anderson: some of your sources are calling you.
Walter: that's probably the case.
Anderson: I will let you get it.
We will talk a little more about it.
Bill Bennett, what do you think of these latest developments?
Bill Bennett, CNN contributor: We hope we can win Northup.
Amy said the other two. we thought we 'd lose.
So it shows that, as Wolf says, they are making some slow progress.
In other races I was sad if Michael Steele was true.
I saw your reaction.
You look like you got punched.
He, you know. . . J. C. WATTS (R)
Former congressman: We're counting the tickets again.
We have to count the tickets again.
Well, it's here.
He was born in Washington. C.
His mother is a housewife. In D. C.
You know, people can move to Virginia and Maryland.
I would suggest that he move to Virginia for a run next time as he is a very good person.
Lieberman, I will continue my paper.
This is one of the goals of hard school.
They really want Joe out.
Soros, they invested a lot of resources. . .
Anderson: A lot of bloggers like this.
BENNETT: . . .
No matter what he is, the crowd, the Daily Kos, they don't get it.
In fact, Lieberman got a fair number. -yes --
He won quite a few Democratic votes in the Republican vote.
You know what he does, right?
He was a supporter of the Iraq war.
ANDERSON: J. C.
What do you think?
Watts: You know, Annie Northup, in the last six or eight years, Anne and I have run several campaigns in her area.
Tough activist, great voter service.
She lost because she was a friend. I was disappointed.
But it's tough--
It's a tough political climate, as Amy said, and is considered a Democratic constituency.
So I think we might lose it at the end of the night.
Anderson: In Maryland, do you think Michael Steele, the deputy governor, will withdraw?
WATTS: I did.
I would be curious to break down the numbers and see what he did in different demographics.
It's also disappointing that Michael is my personal friend and I think he gave the Republicans a chance to do a lot of things that I don't think we 've done in the last 10 or 12 years, extend a helping hand and expand the foundation of the party.
He did it, you know, but, you know, they were in Washington, right next to the area, trying to take all the goop he had to deal.
This is obviously overwhelming in the end.
Anderson: many government workers work and live in Maryland.
Paul begala, a Democratic strategist: Yes, a lot of them or a lot of them are in Africa-
S. constituency got this sample ballot from the Michael Steele campaign and you can see it says "Democratic sample ballot" which lists Democratic sample ballot Bob Elich, Republican governor
It lists Michael Steele, the Republican candidate in the Senate.
This is a deceptive advertisement. Mr.
Steele launched a dynamic campaign.
He's a very talented activist.
I think there are some of the most creative ads and shows in his ads that are excellent, but some of his ads are a bit false.
Steele Democrats say he has bumper stickers.
So, if the only way you can stay competitive is to pretend you're not even a Republican, that's not a good sign for the Republican Party.
Anderson: he did try to portray Cardan as an insider, a Washington insider, and would like to have an-
Current drive as an-Bush drive.
Yes, that's what we're going to learn tonight. Bush and anti-
Republicans
Again, I heard the nightmare election night of 1994.
None of the current Republican presidents lost their seats that year.
Well, we don't see a lot of Democrats falling.
Ben Cardan is an insider in Washington.
He has been in Congress for more than ten years.
He has been the leader of Congress and has not hurt him in this election because people are looking for a way to get rid of their anger at President Bush and this terrible war in Iraq.
Anderson: Iraq is back in the game.
James Cavill, a Democratic strategist: Yes, that's why it's pushing games across the country.
But to be honest, it's not a surprise for Democrats to win in Maryland.
I think the Republicans are a little too excited.
You know, we still have a long night in the Senate.
We still have a lot of games to watch--
Virginia, very, very tight.
We also have Tennessee and Missouri to see, and Montana.
Anderson: OK, Democrats need three more seats in the Senate.
Watt: Well, you know, Anderson, Republicans and Democrats, we're all sitting together, taking out pencils and paper and seeing where we can go.
Maryland is a Democrat. -
This is a blue state. we are hopeful.
We know the odds are going to be big and difficult, but we think we have the right candidate, the right message, and we think it should be Michael Steele if someone can do that
This is the wrong year.
In a different year, the same candidate and the same message, he may win.
Anderson: Let's take a break.
Our election report continues. Stay tuned. (
Business break)
Welcome back.
Tonight, we have been talking about how critical the war in Iraq is in this election.
Bill Schneider and I just found out how important it is to let the current president, Lincoln Chaffey, fail tonight.
Now, in order for all of you to see this, here is one who voted against the president in 2004 as a Republican, voted against the war, voted against his tax cuts, however, he received an approval rating for the job in his state.
When we asked the respondents who came out of the polls today how he handled the work, 62% said they approved it, and 36 said they did not.
Now, of those voters who strongly oppose the war in Iraq, only 27% voted for the Republican Party, and about 72% voted for the newly elected Rhode Island Senator Sheldon Whitehouse.
Schneider: an amazing result.
62% of people agree with Lincoln Chaffey. They like him.
They liked him very much, but did not vote for him.
When I interviewed Shelton Whitehouse, who won the Senate seat, he said that I would not personally attack Lincoln Chaffey.
He voted yes to the war, and I agree with him on many issues, but he was on the wrong side, and when he voted for the majority leader in the Senate, he empowered the wrong man. Fifty-
2% of voters in Rhode Island state told us that they are not only against the war in Iraq, but also strongly against the war in Iraq.
Despite Lincoln Chaffey's vote against the war in Iraq, they voted three-to-one for the White House.
It must have been a very frustrating night for Lincoln Chaffey.
So it's all about change?
Schneider: Rhode Island's demand for reform in Iraq and very strong information.
People like Lincoln Chaffey, but he is in the wrong party among Rhode Island voters.
So don't take this as a private thing tonight, Lincoln, they really, really like you. . .
Schneider: wrong location--
Party about war
Tain: Okay.
Let's go back to the wolf now.
B: Thank you, Paula.
CNN is now predicting-
This hour in Rhode Island, CNN reported that the Democratic challenger, Sheldon Whitehouse, beat the Republican incumbent senator, Lincoln Chaffey.
In Pennsylvania, CNN predicted Bob Casey, the Democratic challenger.
Beat Rick Santorum, the current Republican senator.
CNN also predicted that Democratic Senator Joe Lieberman, who is no longer a Democrat, is now running as an independent candidate in Connecticut, defeated his opponent and re-elected.
Elected US Senator from Connecticut
Joe Lieberman will now be an independent, though he has promised everyone in Connecticut that he will work with the Democratic caucus, even though he will be an independent
Major matches are still going on.
A lot of uncertainty.
Anderson, we just started reporting.
We still have a lot of work to do.
Of course we do.
There are, of course, three seats, which they need in the Senate so that the Democrats take over the Senate.
Big game now: Missouri, Tennessee, Virginia, too close at this point.
Kim: add Montana, too. it's the Republican firewall, especially Virginia, Tennessee and Missouri.
They call it a firewall because they want to keep a majority of their seats.
If they stick to it, they will obviously be a minority.
I think Lincoln Chaffey's failure-
Tomorrow is probably a big dynamic.
Assuming Republicans do have a majority in one or two seats, what have you lost ---
This is an issue later in the campaign. -
It's another moderate Republican on the Environmental Council. He's pro-
He's pro.
He is a supporter of gay rights.
The environment, as the Sierra Club wants him to be, the Defense Research Council wants him to be.
If Republicans maintain a majority and senators like Lincoln Chaffey are not there, there will be a more conservative Republican on these committees to replace him.
This will change the balance of power within the Republican caucus.
So it might be quite important if Republicans stick to it.
They are still the majority, but their own balance will be a little out of control.
Cooper: Interesting. Candy?
Crawley: Well, you know, it will--
I mean, look at these Games.
It will be a long night, I think, because you have seen all this coming and going.
One thing about the firewall is that early on, Republicans looked at Montana, Conrad Burns and Jon terrace, and Conrad Burns was a Republican sitting senator for 18 years.
They looked at it and thought the polls were very bad and they thought, well, the firewall was Tennessee, Virginia, and Missouri.
In the past week, Burns has been in the error range.
Cooper: can he come back?
I mean, because when he was painted-
You know, the relationship with Jack Abramoff-
Abramoff and his supporters gave him $150,000.
What changed?
Crawley: I'll tell you what the Democrats say when they watch the Test match.
They will tell you that the tester is not mean enough and he really needs to go after Conrad Burns.
He has commercial ads and so on, but they have to get Governor Montana to say something mean because testers have a hard time doing that during the campaign.
They don't think he is strong enough.
Now you see, he may still win the game and will prove you don't have to be mean.
But Conrad Burns has been there for a long time.
I mean, there's not that much population in Montana.
He knows many of these people there.
If you have been there for a long time, you can pull some chips.
Cooper: There are also some language mistakes, especially those made by Conrad Burns in this game.
Kim: I think he mentioned a Guatemala gentleman who did some work at home that was considered defamatory.
He is not the best communicator in the world.
But I think we might see this and we start seeing some of the games in it.
New Jersey is a democratic state and Maryland is a democratic state.
Montana is a Republican state.
In a country deeply rooted in party traditions, it is difficult to overthrow a incumbent.
That's what Michael Steele is, you know.
I don't think we have seen his ending yet.
I think he will come back.
I remember a game a long time ago, a man named Mitt Romney took part in the game against Teddy Kennedy as a Republican.
Everyone wants him to cut and burn. He refused.
He lost to Ted Kennedy.
He lost to Ted Kennedy.
He now happens to be the governor of Massachusetts, the outgoing governor, one of whom is considered to be on the front line --
Run for president.
I think Michael Steele will be back.
In a state like Montana, however, it is a Republican state.
Even in a year like the western mountains, it's hard to beat a Republican.
Cooper: Another game--
Of course, a lot of people are watching TV commercials in Tennessee, Harold Ford, Jr.
Against Bob Cork.
It seems very close at this point.
Crawley: It looks very close.
Although that ad caught a lot of attention below, the "Call Me, Harold" ad and his reference to go to the Playboy Mansion to watch the football game and so on.
A lot of people feel that the day Harold Ford went to Corker to open the parking lot for the press conference, he challenged him on a few things and looked a little older because Harold Ford won-
Ran a bad game.
I mean, it's a very, very good game.
Now, this advertisement is believed to be playing a game card.
We have to look at those exit polls.
Unfortunately, people lie to opinion polls on race issues, so it's hard to say why they vote against or support someone.
Kim: this is another Republican state, though.
Tennessee is a Republican state.
You 've been a Republican since Gore left the Senate.
So, when you make a profit in a very close match ---
Unless we see a huge wave, we see the momentum of democracy, but we haven't seen the wave yet ---
Your intuition tells you that, in the end, this is where America is going home.
But we will.
Cooper: Harold Ford Jr.
Of course representative Western-
From Memphis in the west of the state to Memphis in the east of the state, it is much more conservative.
When we came back, our report continued.
We'll take you to a bar in Washington DC called Trist for a blog event. C.
Many bloggers of liberals and conservatives have joined forces.
We will take you to the scene as we continue reporting. (
Business break)
Dobbs: CNN will host some of the most important bloggers in the blog field tonight at a meeting in Washington, D. C. C.
We went to Jacki Schechner, our Internet reporter, to keep us up to date. Jacki?
Hi Lou.
I'm sitting here with Kristie Harding Smith now, who is blogging at Lake felidogle. com.
This is one of the top liberal blogs that support Ned Lamont.
After hearing that Lieberman was eliminated in Lamont, what do you think now?
Christie Harding Smith, blogger: It's obviously disappointing.
But at the same time, you know, I think all the Democratic candidates who won tonight should thank Ned Lamont.
He changed his conversation with him in the primary election to talk about Iraq's failure and lack of accountability.
He changed the conversation to the fact that he needed less rubber.
Stamp in the United StatesS.
Congress and more oversight and more checks and balances, and I think that's what the grid voted on tonight.
SCHECHNER: we want to go to Abbi Tatton, who is with Mike Krempasky from redstate.
Com has a little bit of a conservative reaction to Ned Lamont/Joe Lieberman's game-Abbi?
TATTON: Yes, Jacki, not just liberals, but the net source of the response.
Mike Krempasky is from redstate, a conservative blog, where we saw it last week
A post "I told you" about this game.
How did you react to the news?
Blogger mike krempasky: Well, I mean it's pleasant to see the voters of Connecticut show extraordinary common sense.
But I think what's even more disappointing about the left is that, even though they put all the resources and energy into this game, in a way that proves their immaturity, they put all their hopes on picking 18-
A year in his party failed.
So what does this mean for their efficacy?
I think this is a difficult road.
Tarton: The free blog also supports other candidates across the country, with Ned Lamont at the top.
But many other candidates are supported.
Can't you see their luck there too?
No, I mean, you see, anyone can support the candidate.
It is clear that of all the candidates in this country, they put the most effort into it and actually did make a difference in the primary.
Ned Lamont is clearly at the top of the list.
They of course put all the chips in the camp of Lamont, and have had a lot more impact there, and thanks in large part to his victory in the primary, which of course
Too unsuccessful.
KREMPASKY: take millions of dollars out of Lamont's pocket.
Tarton: when we hear the results, there is a strong feeling on the left and right.
Lou, we watched all of this together with some of the country's top blogs at the Tryst in Washington, D. C. C.
I will give it back to you.
Thank you very much, Abbi.
Of course, we will also pay attention to their views on the developments that night.
We can tell you one of these developments now.
We can now predict that Arizona State University has adopted an initiative that requires English to become the official language of Arizona State University.
All of this, we have a very important Senate campaign to resolve.
But we will do it soon.
Wolf, give it to you.
Okay, Lou. thank you very much.
I would like to introduce to our audience what is going on in the US Senate at the moment.
Jeff Greenfield got what we call a smart board.
According to our prediction, there are now three Republicans in the Democratic Party.
Seats in the Senate
They need three more.
Where are their chances?
Greenfield: Well, now that nonpartisan people in Vermont and Connecticut have a party group meeting with Democrats, we now have four Republicans --
The Democratic Party needs three seats.
Let's take a look.
In Virginia, we were watching this all night.
The competition between Senator Allen and former Navy Secretary James Webb is fierce.
In Tennessee, Bob Corker, a former mayor of Chattanooga and Republican, led Congressman Harold Ford Jr . ).
The game is very close in Missouri.
Senator Jim Taine, I believe he is a bit ahead of the vote compared to the state auditor Claire MacAskill.
The vote is still in progress.
That's Missouri again. I'm sorry.
Polls are still underway in Montana, where Senator Conrad Burns is challenged by state Senate President John Tester.
Very simple Wolf.
There are four Republicans.
Senate seats were held there.
We assume that other seats that are not called or expected will go as everyone assumes.
There are three Democrats in the bag.
They need three of the four to control the Senate.
This is what we will focus on for the rest of the night.
BLITZER: in three minutes, they will end their vote in Montana.
So maybe we'll get better instructions on what's going on.
Let's take a look at the house now.
All 435 seats in the House will be added to this election, once every two years.
Green space: Yes.
Among the seats already decided, the Democratic Party accounted for 107, the Republican Party accounted for 88, accounting for 218, accounting for 15-
What they need is for Democrats to get seats.
So far, we have-
By contrast, what is shown to you now is that this is an old house, 232-202-1 independent.
If we flip it, we're here.
We have hundreds of seats, you know.
One thing that we should mention so far is that none of the current members of the Democratic Party have been defeated.
Republicans really want no more than four or five.
This is the story of the night.
BLITZER: We are closing down to 10: 00. m.
On the East Coast.
Several states will close the vote.
We will study several of them carefully.
It's only two minutes from now.
So far, the Democratic Party has made modest progress in the house.
More than 10: 00. m.
On the East Coast.
Are you surprised that we have not been able to propose more Democratic acquisitions in the House so far?
Greenfield: there is no polling station in the House election.
We haven't heard about what's going on in Ohio, nor about Pennsylvania, nor about New York state and a large number of endangered Republicans.
BLITZER: So is Connecticut.
Greenfield: three or four people are in Connecticut.
So I think it might be a matter of counting votes.
As you said, the vote ends in about a minute and a half.
We may or may not ask some questions. Here they are.
Is the West blue or purple?
In the once-safe seats, many Republicans are on the verge of extinction.
Does the ROV machine hiss or hiss? The 72-
One-Hour turnout, we should get this picture from all over the country.
The shape of the Senate.
We just talked about this.
How blue is the house?
If we think the Democrats are going to take over the house, we haven't predicted yet whether the moderate and conservative will be in power, or will the profits be bigger?
We hope that, if not a few hours in advance, these questions will be answered within one hour. Wolf?
Does the ROV machine hiss or hiss?
Who wrote this question?
You know, what can I tell you?
I will go.
BLITZER: Well, let me introduce our audience to what is happening at the moment, and from now on we wait about 45 seconds, the end of some polls in the West, including in Montana
Now, the Democratic Party has three seats and three seats in the Senate.
They need six to be the majority.
If they pick up five, there's 50.
50 people split in the Senate.
Vice President Dick Cheney is the chairman of the Senate.
He broke the deadlock, so Republicans in name will make up the majority of the U. S. Senate.
As we know, Democrats have won at least three Republican seats in the house. They need 15.
We are observing all this very, very carefully.
In short, the night is still young.
A lot of close matches.
The four Senate campaigns we're looking at right now.
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