From gay Washington, D.C.-based communications consultant and conservative political commentator Marc Destito:
I noticed an incredibly long line at my polling station in D.C. this morning. Usually, in D.C. the general election is an afterthought. The heavier turnout takes place during the primary since it is a Democratic city and that is when the true suspense happens. By election day it is a forgone conclusion who will win in D.C. But this year it almost seemed as if people were lining up, knowing Obama would carry the district, but just to be able to say that they cast their vote for something historic. The line this morning, even well after 9 a.m., far surpassed any of the lines I had seen on primary day.
I'm being told by some Republican insiders that the mood right now is "expect the worst and hope for the best." They will pretty much spend most of the night focusing on a couple key House and Senate races. Most notably, will Norm Coleman be able to defend against Al Franken and shockingly, will Liddy Dole hold on to her seat. I don’t think they expect the Democrats to get to 60 seats but it is going to be far too close for comfort for many Republicans tonight.
On the House side, they're watching NJ 07 between Leonard Lance and Linda Stender the Democrat. It's an open seat. Stender ran last time against the incumbent and lost by only 4,000 votes. This is far and away a heavily Republican district so for a Democrat to win here shows you just what kind of seismic shift we're seeing all around the country. Same thing in California 04; Republican Tom McClintock is looking to hold on to another vacant seat.
At the start of the campaign it was unthinkable that Democrat Charlie Brown would flip this heavily Republican district but the polls show this race too close to call. In one reverse race, Republicans are hoping to flip Georgia 08 with Republican Rick Goddard. This is one of the few districts that Republicans have a chance at taking back so they will be watching it closely. Finally, Florida 16, where the Democratic incumbent won easily when Mark Foley reigned under a gay sex scandal, but incumbent Tim Mahoney is now under his own sex scandal and Republican Tom Rooney has a shot of winning it back. This is pretty much where the only interest lies tonight if you are a Republican.
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