early and often

So What Happened After You Went to Bed?

Don’t worry, Al. You’re good enough, you’re smart enough, and doggone it, people like you.

Let’s be honest, a lot of you checked out after McCain and Obama’s speeches. Maybe you went to bed, maybe you went on a bender, maybe you had some really fantastic angry sex. Regardless, the night was not over yet — in fact, a lot of things are still undecided. The Democrats control the U.S. Senate now with 56 seats, for example, but three races remain undecided. Here’s what else happened that you might want to know about:

• The late-breaking states are almost entirely decided. Montana went red in the early morning, with 50.1 percent voting for McCain. Indiana is nearly a percentage point in Obama’s favor, and North Carolina is still incredibly close, with 100 percent of precincts reporting; 49.8 percent are for Obama, and 49.6 percent for McCain. Likewise, Missouri is hovering at 49.5 percent for McCain and 49.3 percent for Obama. [NYT]

• Here in New York, the Democrats seized control of the State Senate for the first time in decades. With 32 seats, they now hold a slim majority in the 62-person body. There remain two outstanding races that have not been conceded. [NYDN]

• Proposition 8 in California, which hopes to overturn the State Supreme Court ruling legalizing marriage equality there and take marriage away from thousands of happily wedded gay couples, continued to gain in the returns. To which we say, forgive us, but fuck you, Mormon Church. [LAT]

• In Minnesota, the contentious Senate race between Norm Coleman and Al Franken was called this morning in favor of Coleman, the Republican incumbent. [Politico] Update: The AP has reversed their report, saying that a recount will be necessary to determine the victor.

• In Oregon, GOP incumbent Gordon Smith is holding onto a slim 14,000-vote lead in the Senate race over challenger Jeff Merkley. Around eleven last night, though, Smith conceded that it would take much more time to get the final result. Only 75 percent of precincts have reported so far. [Oregonian]

• In Georgia, GOP incumbent Saxby Chambliss has a 4 percent lead in the Senate race over challenger Jim Martin. With 99 percent of precincts reporting, it is still unclear whether Chambliss will break the 50 percent barrier. If he doesn’t (it looks like he will), there will be a run-off in December. [Atlanta Journal-Constitution]

• In Alaska, Republican incumbent (and recently convicted felon) Ted Stevens has still clung to a narrow 4,000-vote lead over Mark Begich. Ninety-nine percent of precincts have reported, but there are still 50,000 absentee ballots to count, so this could be up in the air for days. [Time]

So What Happened After You Went to Bed?