After two long and tumultuous years, the American people finally get to speak their minds today — about a lot of things. Record deficit spending. Government bailouts. ObamaCare. And certainly not least of all, government policies that have undermined life, marriage and other values issues.
While the presidency isn’t at stake this election, nearly everything else is. Because of three special elections, a whopping 37 Senate seats are up for election this year. Likewise, 37 gubernatorial races are on the ballot, and with only 13 incumbents running for governor, the elections are guaranteed to produce major turnover in state capitols. And, as always, all 435 U.S. House seats and thousands of state legislative seats will be up for grabs.
To help make sense of it all, come back to CitizenLink.com throughout the night, and tune in to our live webcast.
WHAT’S AT STAKE
The Senate: In 2006 and 2008, Democrats gained six and nine U.S. Senate seats, respectively. That gave Democrats the first super-majority in the Senate – 60 votes, enough to overcome a filibuster by the minority party – since the 1970s.
But political fortunes have so dramatically reversed over the past few months that the debate in political circles has not been about whether Republicans will gain seats, but whether they will gain enough to take control of the Senate.
Some gains are a near certainty, and those gains will be extraordinarily helpful in slowing down President Obama’s anti-family agenda.
The House: Two straight elections in which Democrats made huge gains in the U.S. House are about to be reversed. The question is, by how much? In 2006 (31 seats) and 2008 (23 seats), Democrats gained a total of 54 House seats. Ironically, that’s the same number of seats that they lost in 1994, the year to which this election is most often compared.
Will Nancy Pelosi still have a Democrat majority to elect her speaker?That is becoming increasingly doubtful as polling shows more and more seats within Republican reach.
The respected Cook Political Report gives a slight edge to Republicans on seats that are deemed “solid” for one party or the other. But of the remaining 122 races that are considered potentially competitive, 108 are currently held by Democrats. That means that Republicans have an extraordinary opportunity, as 91 percent of current GOP seats are considered safe, compared to only 59 percent of Democrat seats.
The states: Twenty-four states are guaranteed to have new governors in 2011. But several incumbents are in danger of losing their seats as well, including Democratic governors in Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Ohio. And Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who is running for an unprecedented third full term, is facing a surprisingly strong challenge from former Houston Mayor Bill White.
Traditional marriage advocates are especially watching the New Hampshire race. Democrat John Lynch broke a promise to New Hampshire voters and signed a same-sex marriage bill in 2009. Since then, he spoke to a major gathering of homosexual donors in Chicago, and a recent campaign finance report showed a significant percentage of his funding coming from out-of-state homosexual-identified donors. Lynch’s pro-marriage opponent, John Stephen, has surged in the polls and could pull off the upset.
The control of several state legislative chambers could also change hands. Republicans are considered to have a shot at winning both the house and senate in Alabama, Alaska, Colorado, New Hampshire, North Carolina and Wisconsin. Other chambers that could switch to GOP control include state senates in Maine, Nevada and New York and state houses in Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Montana, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Protection of traditional marriage could be especially aided by Republican takeovers in Indiana, Iowa, New Hampshire, North Carolina and Pennsylvania.
When the last polls close in key Senate races:
7:00 IN, KY
7:30: OH, WV
8:00 CT, DE, FL, IL, MO, NH, PA
8:30 AR
9:00 CO, WI
10:00 NV
11:00 CA, ND, WA
1:00 AK
All times Eastern Daylight Time (EDT)
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