chromodynamics

On the Democratic side:
Obama has a huge win in South Carolina, 55-27-18. This win will have a big affect on the race. Obama not only one won 4 out of every 5 African-Americans in the state, he won every age group.

The other big story was the turnout. In a very Red state, 530k voted in the Democratic primary and 446k in the Republican primary.

Caroline Kennedy has endorsed Obama, calling him “A President Like My Father”.

Again I wonder how will Florida affect Obama’s momentum? Hillary clearly thinks that she will win there, and hopefully by a significant margin, which would indeed counter in some ways Obama’s SC win.

On the Republican side:
Not much new here, the rhetoric between McCain and Romney in Florida continues.

Crist, the governor of Florida, has endorsed McCain (a severe disappointment for Giuliani).

On the Democratic side:
The largest issue continues to be how much ill will seems to now exist between Obama and both Clintons after the last South Carolina debate. Of course, I think the increased nastiness is still tame as compared to many past campaigns (for instance, there has been an exchange of negative television ads yet), and I hope it stays that way.

Obama continues to lead Hillary in the recent polls in South Carolina, and in some by double digits.

I haven’t seen a lot of press dedicated to it yet, but how will Florida affect the Democratic race? Their primary is next Tuesday just like the Republican’s. However, since Florida moved it to before Super Tuesday, they have been stripped of their delegates to the convention, and all the candidates have pledged to not campaign in the state. Still, Florida is such an important state, especially after the 2000 election, I don’t see how it can be ignored completely, and I'm sure we will here more about it after SC on Saturday.  Recent polls have Hillary up, ranging from 8-38%.

On the Republican side:
Thompson dropped out of the race on Tuesday. It seems his only lasting effect on the race was taking support away from Huck in South Carolina, ensuring a McCain win.

Huck is looking for ways to save money in the run-up to Super Tuesday. He has all but given up on Florida, and has been campaigning in Georgia and other Southern states instead. The CW is that this helps Romney in the Florida contest on Tuesday, and indeed it looks like Florida is going to be between McCain and Romney, with Giuliani fading fast. The debate tonight should be acrimonious, as Romney needs to stop McCain now, and Giuliani needs a win to even stay in the race.

On the Democratic side:
Hillary wins Nevada, with 51% to Obama's 45% and Edwards's 4%.

More pundits are discussing Edwards roles as a possible kingmaker. However, after the showing in Nevada, where he had hoped to do well because of union support, and his low numbers in South Carolina (he is in the mid-teens), I'm starting to wonder if Edwards will be able to find enough funding to continue through to the end.

On the Republican side:
McCain wins South Carolina, with 33% to Huck's 30%, Thompson's 16% and Romney's 15%.

Romney wins Nevada, with 51% to Paul's 14% (!), McCain's 13%, Huck's 8%.

And the chaos continues.

On the Democratic side:
Everyone is focused on Nevada, where the race continues to be tight between Obama and Hillary. Watch for the outcome of the teacher's union court case against at-large caucus sites as it could have a significant affect on the contest.

This Politico article highlights the strain between Obama supporters and non-supporters within the Congressional Black Caucus.

On the Republican side:
Here is the first of I think many articles about something I have mentioned before, the idea that the Republican contest may not be settled to the convention. It points out that many Republican representatives had hoped to have a candidate early in the primary season. A deadlocked convention combined with reduced turnout and a funding disadvantage means a very difficult year ahead for the party.

In South Carolina, the mud-slinging I've mentioned before continues, though now some other campaigns are suggesting that McCain is exaggerating the amount for political benefit. Meanwhile, Romney is skipping the state and instead focusing on the Nevada caucuses, which until now have been relatively ignored on the Republican side.

The GOP Primary Field in Buffy Villains

It is a truly funny and strangely accurate comparison.

Cheney defiant on classified material

Cheney's office argued that it is exempt from the rules in this case because it is not strictly an executive agency.

Srsly?  *dumbfounded*

The green signs up in our neighborhood have been changed from "Impeach Him".  A red  sticker has been placed on the signs so they now say "Impeach Them Both".  Indeed!

Just a synopsis of where everything stands so far this morning:

The Democrats have taken the House. So far the count stands at 227 to 193, with 27 seats changing hands from Republican to Democrat. There are still a few races that have not been called.

The Senate is on the brink with the current count at 49 Republican and 49 Democrat (this includes Lieberman from CT). Four Republican incumbents have been defeated: McCaskill defeated Talent in MO, Brown defeated DeWine in OH, Casey defeated Santorum in PA, and Whitehouse defeated Chafee in RI. Two races are undecided: Montana, where Tester (D) is ahead of Burns (R) by a little over 1% (16,000 votes) after 88% of precincts reporting, and Virginia, where Webb (D) is ahead of Allen (R) by only 8,000 votes of approximately 2.3 million cast after 99% of precincts reporting. The Montana race has seen some electronic vote counting glitches, which is why it has yet to be called; also, supposedly because of the problems, a recount is being done in the largest county. In Virginia, it is not clear when the race will be called. There will definitely be a recount, and the race may also have to wait for the final absentee and provisional ballot counts.

UPDATE:  MSNBC just called the Montana race for Tester.
UPDATE:  So it's over, with Tester and Webb winning in their races, making the Senate 51 Dems, 49 Reps.  Sweet!

The SD abortion ban was defeated, and the stem cell research amendment in MO passed. Most of the same-sex marriage amendments have passed, though possibly not in AZ (where the amendment to make English the official language did pass).

There are now 26 Democratic governors to 20 Republican, a switch of 6 so far (AR, CO, MA, MD, NY, and OH). Two races have yet to be called, MN and RI, though the Republican incumbents are currently ahead in both. Deval Patrick in MA became only the second African-American elected governor since Reconstruction.

I'll update these as they become available.