Election Open Thread

November 8th, 2016 4:14 PM

Here are the key national links: Fox, ABC, CBS (their live feed is already going), NBC, CNN (CNN Live Blog).

Key state links: AZ, CO, FL, IA, Maine (includes CD1 and CD2), MI, MN, NE (for CD2), NV, NH, NM, NC, Ohio, OR, PA, VA, WI.

Quick notes to all: 1) We probably should focus comments on the presidential, US Senate and (if there are any) governors' races. 2) The thread will be moderated tonight, but please make our moderator(s) task easy by being civil, and try to resist feeding the trolls.

I'm going to keep a running timeline of things I find noteworthy (most recent always at the top), and will be checking comments periodically for additional insights.

2:57 a.m.: Signing off. Thanks to all who stopped by, read the updates, and commented. What an unforgettable honor it was.

2:50 a.m.: Trump pledges to be President of all Americans, reaching out to those who opposed him to work together and unify the country.

2:49 a.m.: Politico/AP has called Wisconsin for Trump. Everyone's in sync now at 274 electoral votes. Donald Trump is the 45th President of the United States.

2:47 a.m.: Pence is speaking. Meanwhile, Trump has a 4.5-point, 80oK-vote lead in AZ with 86 percent counted. The networks should be calling Arizona, but they haven't.

2:44 a.m: Fox is reporting that Hillary Clinton has called Donald Trump and congratulated him on his victory.

2:41 a.m.: FOX CALLS PENNSYLVANIA FOR TRUMP, giving him 274 EVs per Fox (but 278 with AK and ME CD2).

2:36 a.m.: Politico says Trump has won Maine CD2. That gives him 268 with the AP (264 plus AK and ME CD2), and 258 with Fox (their 254 plus AK and ME CD2).

2:30 a.m.: Media bias? No one wants to be the first to declare Trump the winner -- so they won't declare AZ, and everyone but AP won't declare PA.

2:27 a.m.: The annoying comment from Fox's researcher was that there are "dumps" of absentee ballots still out there in PA and MI which may swing the race. Shouldn't those been counted earlier already (a day or before Election Day)? 

2:20 a.m.: NBC has called Alaska for Trump. That SHOULD cause AP to go to 267 EVs, and Fox to get to 257. Again, where is Arizona??

2:13 a.m.: In Arizona, Trump has a 4-point, 72,000-vote lead with 81 percent counted. Hillary's chances seem low here. If they get to 95 percent with this size of a lead and the AP doesn't call this race, it will be because they're being stubborn jerks. Keep in mind that AP has given Trump PA and has him at 264 EV. AZ would give Trump 275 and put him over the top. 

2:10 a.m.: The AP has called Pennsylvania for Trump, but has NOT called Wisconsin for Trump, and therefore has Trump at 264 electoral votes. Again, what about Arizona, AP?

2:09 a.m.: NONE of the networks are calling this race.

2:07 a.m.: Fox is saying they probably won't call PA, MN, MI or NH. No comment about Arizona. (!)

2:05 a.m.: Podesta says, "We can wait a little longer, and we're not going to have any more to say tonight. We'll have more to say tomorrow." AND ... "She is not done yet!!" Hmmm ...

2:00 a.m.: Jennifer Griffin says Hilary Clinton is NOT heading to the Javits Center tonight. So it's not clear that the campaign is ready to concede -- and Bret Baier is going off on the hypocrisy vs. Trump's third presidential debate statement.

1:55 a.m.: A commenter has made a point about the "majority vote compact," in which case EVs of a state get handed over to the person who got the majority of the vote. Chris Wallace correctly cited his failure to ask Mrs. Clinton if she would accept the results, and the Fox reporter at the Javits Center said she asked Hillary about it at one point and didn't get an answer. This is potentially very disturbing.

1:52 a.m.: Fox is saying that John Podesta is said to be headed to the Javits Center -- but not Mrs. Clinton.

1:48 a.m.: Trump's lead is 80K in Michigan (1.9 points) with 90 percent counted. That's a lot for Hillary to make up.

1:44 a.m.: Politico has called Pennsylvania for Trump (which I believe is based on the Associated Press's call). If Fox confirms, that's 274 electoral votes, and Donald Trump is the 45th President.

1:42 a.m.: Juan Williams is in full sore-loser mode.

1:37 a.m.: The NY Times analysis of PA, if correct, means a Trump win. He's ahead, and he's estimated to win a small majority of the votes not yet counted. That justifies Drudge linking to it with a headline "Trump Wins Pennsylvania." Haven't seen any other confirmation, though.

1:32 a.m.: Minnesota may not be over. 85 percent counted, Clinton up by 2.5 points, a huge shrink in what was a 6-7 point lead not long ago. Obviously, where the remaining votes are coming from really matter. If the rural areas in the northeast remain, Trump could pull it out.

1:28 a.m.: Incumbent Missouri Senator Blunt has been reelected, and he was considered in jeopardy.

1:21 a.m.: Went to NBC's web site, which says that 97 percent of the votes in PA have been counted. Hillary has to win about 70 percent of the remaining votes. That doesn't seem possible, because, as noted, Philly has almost been entirely counted. Politico has called the Senate race for Toomey. To me that virtually guarantees that PA will go for Trump, because his lead isn't that much greater than Trump's. Fox has also reported that Republicans will retain control of the Senate, losing one seat as of now.

1:13 a.m.: Trump's Michigan lead is 79,000 (2.0 percentage points) with 85 percent counted. It's not over, but that's a lot for Clinton to make up in heavily Dem areas.

1:08 a.m.: Fox has given 3 of Maine's 4 EVs to Clinton. ME CD2 is still open. Trump is up 254-218.

12:56 a.m.: It appears that Trump will win Arizona, Nebraska CD2, PA, and Alaska; if so, that would put him well over 270 EVs. He's on track to lose Nevada (Politico says it's lost) and Minnesota. New Hampshire and Michigan are totally up in the air (but MI is leaning Trump), but appear not to be needed.

12:52 a.m.: Trump is up by 42K (1.1 point) in Michigan with 80 percent counted.

12:45 a.m.: NH is a dead heat. 18 votes separate them. 82 percent counted. Trump is up 60,000 votes in PA and the counting has to be nearly done. Toomey is up for the Senate seat by a little more.

12:44 a.m.: Karl Rove is getting in more shots at Trump for lack of experience, he's a minority president, etc.

12:41 a.m.: The New York Times has NOT given Wisconsin to Trump, as Fox has.

12:38 a.m.: The Democrat won the U.S. Senate race in Nevada by a big enough margin that I doubt Trump will take Nevada. Anyone who thinks Trump has this in the bag needs to get a grip.

12:35 a.m.: Trump may win PA. He's up by 50,000 votes (about 1 percentage point), and 97% of heavy-Dem Philadelphia County has been counted.

12:32 a.m.: Fox crew is saying that New York Magazine apparently has already put an issue out with Trump on the cover labeled a "loser." Wow, I've got to see that.

12:27 a.m.: Glad to be back to Fox. CNN hasn't even called Iowa yet ... That said, still don't get the idea that Trump can take MN. With 70 percent counted, he's down 4.8 points.

12:21 a.m.: Sorry couldn't get through for a while. I'm switching to CNN because the volume disappeared on my Fox stream. CNN hasn't called Wisconsin for Trump yet. (smh)

12:09 a.m.: Karl Rove wants us to believe that Paul Ryan deserves a lot of credit for Trump taking Wisconsin (sigh).

12:07 a.m.: The Fox people have to be seeing something in Minnesota I can't see. Trump is down 6 points with 2/3 counted. It's not over, but that seems like a tall mountain to climb in that state.

12:03 a.m.: In PA, Trump is up by 35K with maybe 90 percent counted. Toomey is up in the Senate by a little bit more. Too early to call. But wow -- no one thought this was really possible.

11:58 p.m.: To refresh, EVs are 254-209 Trump. If he takes AZ (11) and NH (4) and Nebraska CD2 (barely leading there), he has 270. Alaska (3) would be a bonus.

11:55 p.m.: Nevada still doesn't look good. Clinton is up by 6 with about 55% counted.

11:47 p.m.: It looks like the Detroit Free Press called Michigan for Clinton at about 11 p.m. Trump is up by 35K with 65 percent counted, but I'd have to admit that, barring a surprise, they're probably that right.

11:44 p.m.: Juan Williams says this isn't good for America. Unexpectedly (/sarcasm)

11:42 p.m.: Clinton will almost definitely win Minnesota. Half the votes are counted, and she has a 9-point lead.

11:39 p.m.: Finally, they called Georgia. It really wasn't that close. EVs are 254-202 Trump. He's oh-so-close to sealing the deal now, esp they haven't called Arizona yet.

11:32 p.m.: Fox is calling Iowa for Trump. (Boy, did he turn that around quickly.) EV score is 238-209 Trump.

11:31 p.m.: Don't understand why no one has called Georgia for Trump (unless I missed it). He is up by 11 points with 79 percent reporting. 

11:30 p.m.: Fox has called Wisconsin for Trump ... WOW.

11:25 p.m.: Michigan is 60 percent counted and Trump is up by 15,000 votes and about 1 point. Way too early to get confident about this.

11:24 p.m.: So much for my first entry six hours ago -- Clinton takes Oregon. EV score is 222-209 Trump. 

11:22 p.m.: Trump up by 2 points in NH with 63 percent counted. But that's only a 9,300-vote lead.

11:19 p.m.: Trump is 10 points down in Nevada with about half the votes counted. Indeed, as a commenter wrote, don't get cocky.

11:15 p.m.: They're making bit of a deal of Trump's popular vote lead. Cool your jets, guys, until California is fully counted, which it isn't. 

11:14 p.m.: 85 percent of PA is counted, and it's a dead heat. Way too close to call, and they're not done counting Philly.

11:09 p.m.: Fox has called Utah for Trump. NeverTrumpers hardest hit. EVs are 222-202 Trump.

11:07 p.m.: Trump is still trailing by 5 points in Iowa with about 35 percent counted. I don't have a good feeling about Iowa at all. 

11:02 p.m.: Crapo, Murray, Schatz win U.S. Senate reelection. Kamala Harris won the Senate race in CA.

11:01 p.m.: Five states coming in now. Clinton wins CA, WA, HI. Trump win ID, but hasn't declared OR. The EV count is now 216-202 Trump.

11:00 p.m.: Fox has called Florida for Trump. The EV score is 212-131 Trump.

10:57 p.m.: Trump has a legitimate chance of winning Wisconsin. He has a 3-point lead with 58 percent counted. The half of Dane County and the 20 percent of Milwaukee County will probably erase his current 55,000 vote margin and then some, but almost all of the rest of the state seems likely to push him back into a lead when the dust settles.

10:54 p.m.: Trump's lead in AZ is about 3 points with maybe 55% counted. It looks like he'll win it (and he has to), but it's a lot tighter than anyone would have expected.

10:52 p.m.: Huge Senate call. Johnson beat Feingold in Wisconsin. That's a critical hold. James O'Keefe's embarrassing video on Feingold and guns gets partial credit here.

10:51 p.m.: Trump is leading in Michigan by 2 points with almost half the votes counted. As usual, where the other half not counted comes from is what matters.

10:48 p.m.: Iowa is not starting off well. Trump is down 10 points in the first 25 percent of votes, but I think that's because Des Moines votes came in first.

10:46 p.m.: Finally Fox calls NC for Trump.

10:42 p.m.: Brit Hume says the NY Times is now saying that the chance of Trump winning the presidency is 91 percent. (!!)

10:41 p.m.: Florida is still a 132K lead for Trump. 

10:38 p.m.: I can't believe that Fox hasn't declared Trump the winner of NC. It's 90 percent counted with a 5-point lead. I called it a half-hour ago. Where are you guys?

10:37 p.m.: Trump is up by 2.5 points in NH with almost half the votes counted. 

10:36 p.m.: Trump's double-digit win in Ohio has to be the largest margin since the days of Bill Clinton, if not earlier. (Note: It ended up coming in below double digits when all the votes were counted.)

10:35 p.m.: George Will is noting that Obama's mid-50s popularity is not working for Hillary Clinton. I would argue that Obama's mid-50s popularity is due to him looking not as obnoxious as Clinton or Trump (not saying that's right, but that's what I think is happening).

10:31 p.m.: Dow futures down 700. Bartiromo says it's because Trump is the unknown, but that it's creating a HUGE buying opportunity because of Trump's deregulation plans, etc.

10:30 p.m.: Fox says Dems will gain 10-20 House seats, but that GOP will continue to hold the majority.

10:28 p.m.: PA is about 40 percent counted and near a deadlock, but it all depends on what's not counted.

10:27 p.m.: Fox is saying that Nate Silver is giving Trump a better than 50 percent chance of winning.

10:26 p.m.: Clinton projected to win Colorado. (That's what happens when a state goes to mail-in balloting.) Fox calls Ohio for Trump (about time, guys). Trump is at 168-131 in electoral votes.

10:22 p.m.: Trump is up by 1.8 points in Wisconsin with 40 percent counted, but it all depends on what hasn't been counted (about 2/3 of Dane is not counted, BUT 82 percent of Milwaukee County is). I think Trump, if he doesn't win, will come very close here.

10:19 p.m.: They haven't called it, but I will: Trump wins OHIO (up by 11 points, 460,000 votes, about 75 percent counted).

10:15 p.m.: Ooh -- Arizona is about half counted, and Trump is only up by 2 points.

10:13 p.m.: Trump is up by 2 points with 40 percent counted in NH. Way too early to get excited.

10:09 p.m.: They haven't said it yet, but I will: Trump will win North Carolina (200K+ vote, 5-point lead with 80 percent counted). Fox has declared Burr the Senate winner. 

10:05 p.m.: Trump is up by 132K in FL with 9.3 million votes counted. That's about 11 perent more than voted in FL in 2012. There can't be that many votes left to count. This is very close to a Trump call.

10:03 p.m.: Mike Lee reelected. Chuck Grassley reelected. Nevada Senate race is too close to call.

10:00 p.m.: The next wave coming up is IA, MT, NV, UT. Trump wins MT. UT too early to call. IA and NV are too early to call. So the EV count is 150-122 Trump.

9:58 p.m.: Virginia goes to Clinton. If the ultimate margin is about 40,000 or less, Terry McAuliffe's felon-vote feeding was the reason. The EV count is 147-122 Trump.

9:55 p.m.: Hey, remember Nebraska CD-2? Trump is trailing, not by much, but the majority of votes have been counted. For fun, if Trump takes all states he has to plus NH but loses NE CD2, the EVs are TIED.

9:52 p.m.: Trump is up by 375,000 votes in OH (by over 10 points). That should be pretty close to a Trump call, but only 25% of Cuyahoga is in, so it's not nailed down yet.

9:50 p.m.: As expected, Clinton has caught up in Virginia. I don't see Trump winning Va.

9:44 p.m.: Florida's vote count is near 9.3 milllion and Trump's lead is still 135K. I'd rather be Trump right now in FL.

9:41 p.m.: Clinton wins NM. Trump wins LA. EV count is now 147-109 Trump.

9:40 p.m.: I think they should consider calling NC for Trump. His lead is almost 5 points with 75 percent of the precincts counted. Clinton has to take 60 percent of the rest. 

9:37 p.m.: Big News -- WV Senator Joe Manchin, according to Fox, has said he's not interested in remaining a Dem if the Senate goes 50-50.

9:35 p.m.: Trump continues to extend his NC lead with 70 percent counted. We're to the point where Clinton has to get about 55% of the rest to catch up. That's not looking likely. Trump is in darned good shape here, unless the academic areas in the Triangle haven't been counted yet.

9:29 p.m.: In Ohio, Trump has a 235K vote lead with 3 million votes counted. That's about 55 percent counted, and I don't see Dem strongholds saving her. But it needs a closer look ... oh, it's way too early to call. Trump is building huge margins in rural counties, but Franklin, Cuyahoga and Hamilton Counties could offset all of that. I'd say it's good thing he's up by as much as he is, because he may need it.

9:26 p.m.: Trump is up by 166K in NC (4.3 points) with 60 percent counted. I think Trump is on the verge of winning here, and Burr has won.

9:23 p.m.: Fox called Connectict for Trump. Getting really annoyed at the praise being heaped on Portman for getting reelected in OH over the "popular" Ted Strickland. "Popular" with who?

9:20 p.m.: Geez, only 18 percent of NH is counted, and it's a dead heat.

9:18 p.m.: Isaakson has won reelection to the U.S. Senate in GA.

9:17 p.m.: Trump's lead is down to 50K in Virginia. I doubt that he'll hold on after No. Virginia gets counted.

9:15 p.m.: They keep on saying that Dem votes are still out there in FL, but there up to 9.157 million total votes, about 8 percent more than in 2012, and Trump is still up by more than 140K.

9:10 p.m.: In NC, Trump has a 124K lead (2.3 percentage points) with a bit over 50 percent counted. NC is looking pretty good for Trump. Also, Burr's lead is even bigger, and I think it's almost sale to say he'll hold his Senate seat.

9:07 p.m.: Fox has confirmed what I noted about FL, namely that a lot of the heavy-Dem areas are in. Trump's FL SOS lead is 149,000, and the vote count in FL is over 9 million.

9:05 p.m.: Trump has a 90K vote lead in OH with about half counted. Earlier the Fox people were saying Cuyahoga County heavy-Dem turnout was disappointing.

9:00 p.m.: Here's the next wave -- AZ, CO, KS, LA, MI, MN, NE, NM, NY, ND, SD, TX, WI, WY. Here we go: Clinton wins NY, Trump wins KS, ND, SD, TX, and WY. Trump wins 4 of 5 NE EVs. NM too early to call. Too early for AZ and CO. Schumer reelected to US Senate. McCain, Jerry Moran, Hoeven, Thune reelected to US Senate. Feingold-Johnson in WI too close to call. Trump projected to win Arkansas. EV score is now Trump 139, Clinton 97.

8:50 p.m.: More than FL. 8.9 million votes in now vs. 8.48 million in 2012. Trump is up by 140K. Trump is looking really strong in FL. Is the turnout really that much higher than 2012? Dem Bill Burton is saying "Broward isn't counted" -- Oh really? The SOS site say that 700,000 people in Broward have been counted. I think that's almost all of Broward, good buddy. Where are the rest of the Dem votes going to come from?

8:49 p.m.: Re NC, from SOS site, one-third is counted, and Trump is up 71K. Of course, it depends on which one-third.

8:45 p.m.: Re Florida, the SOS site shows that more votes have been counted now than were cast for Obama and Romney in 2012. The total with ALL candidates is 8.8 million. In 2012, the total was 8.48 million. Trump currently has a 124K vote lead. I think Hillary is running out of votes to capture in FL and that Trump is in a pretty decent position, but we'll see. 

8:41 p.m.: Ohio is one-third counted, and Hillary is up, but it depends on which third has come in.

8:36 p.m.: The FL SOS site has Trump 4.291 mil to Clinton 4.187 mil., a lead of just over 100K.

8:30 p.m.: Arkansas, the only state with polls closing at 8:30, is at the moment too close to call. Fox projects Trump wins Alabama. And wow, Trump has a 68K LEAD in FL (Megyn Kelly was reading older numbers -- LOL). It appears that the Central Time Zone counties are coming in and going heavily Trump. But Rove thinks other FL areas are not going for Trump as much as they did for Romney. Nail-biter.

8:27 p.m. Bayh loses in Indiana. Todd Young the Republican made up a double-digit deficit. That's a big hold for the R's.

8:25 p.m.: Trump trails Clinton by 1 point and 85,000 votes in FL. It's hard to tell how much has been counted. It's 8.5 million votes, so they can't have that much left to count.

8:17 p.m.: It's probably a false-hope buildup, but Trump has a 100,000 vote lead in VA with 40 percent counted. But what normally happens is that Fairfax County around DC ruins it for everybody, so we'll see.

8:15 p.m.: Rubio wins his reelection run in the U.S. Florida Senate race.

8:11 p.m.: They're still holding on to the idea that Trump has to crack the blue wall with either MI, MN, PA, or WI, but if he takes FL, he only needs NM, or CO, or NH to get to 270. Barely there, but it would be enough.

8:09 p.m.: Hemmer on Fox showed Clinton doing better in several key NC counties than Obama did in 2012.

8:07 p.m.: Fox projects Rhode Island for Clinton. No surprise.

8:05 p.m.: Hume is also noting that Clinton is consistently winning by bigger margins among women than Trump is among men. If true, that bodes well for Clinton.

8:01 p.m.: Duckworth wins the IL Senate race, unseating Mark Kirk. All other Senate races went as expected. Brit Hume bemoans the loss of a moderate. 

8:00 p.m.: Trump wins, MS, IK, TN, MO, Clinton wins IL, NJ, MA, MD, DE and DC. ME too early to call, as is PA (Clinton said to be leading). FL and NH also too early to call. Fox has the EV score is 68-67.

7:58 p.m.: The first huge wave is coming. FL, NH, and PA are the three battlegrounds coming up. All three have big Senate contests.

7:50 p.m.: Trump is now projected to win South Carolina. EVs are now 33-3 for Trump.

7:49 p.m.: In PA, Pat Toomey said he voted for Trump today after not saying whether he would for months.

7:44 p.m.: 16 states plus DC have polls closing at 8 p.m.: AL, CT, DE, DC, FL, IL, ME, MD, MA, MS, MO, NH, NJ, OK, PA, RI, TN.

7:41 p.m.: Tucker Carlson is noting that Trump appears to be doubling his black vote % compared to Romney 2012 and matching Romney at 27% with Hispanics.

7:38 p.m.: A well-known columnist has emailed informing me that law enforcement has apparently gotten involved in the Philly voter fraud matters.

7:35 p.m.: The tone of voice of Hillary rep on Fox is really annoying. Good on Chris Wallace for criticizing this stuff about Hillary running an "impeccable campaign."

7:32 p.m.: Hope no one was planning to go to bed early. NC and OH probably won't get decided for several hours.

7:30 p.m.: Trump wins West Virginia; Clinton has a lead in North Carolina, too early to call Ohio. No winner in NC Senate race yet. Portman wins in OH. Trump is at 24-3 with electoral votes.

7:29 p.m.: Fox is saying two NC counties' polls are staying open til 8:30 p.m.

7:25 p.m.: I'm surprised that Fox's projections are showing a Portman victory in OH. The polls don't close for another 5 minutes. That's not wise, though Portman was an odds-on favorite.

7:15 p.m.: Good on Fox for not letting Brian Fallon get away with the bogus claim that Trump has to have PA. Real Clear Politics had EVs at 272-266 Clinton with Trump losing PA. If Trump gets NH, he's got the magic 270. But Fallon also went on and on about how great Hillary was in courting Hispanics. Zheesh, Fallon won't get off this "Trump must have PA" nonsense.

7:10 p.m.: Fox just said that 2 counties in NC have extended their hours -- didn't say how long, but I think that will delay news on that state's results.

7:07 p.m.: NC and OH polls close at 7:30 -- but as noted earlier, the polls' closing in NC may be extended.

7:03 p.m.: Incumbent Senators Leahy (D), Scott (R), and Rand Paul (R) have been declared U.S. Senate winners. Early votes have the Republican ahead of Evan Bayh in IN, and the Fox people seem to think Bayh will lose.

7:01 p.m.: VT goes to Hillary. KY and IN go to Trump. VA is not being called, nor is GA or SC. Score is Trump 19, Clinton 3. The Fox people are surprised SC wasn't automatically called for Trump.

7:00 p.m.: Counting down to the first results, which are obviously going to be initially thin, unless the nets start projecting based on almost nothing, which they have been know to do.

6:57 p.m.: Gateway Pundit has a couple of posts on Philly voter fraud. Soooo predictable. What a hot mess.

6:53 p.m.: OK, this is annoying. Karl Rove felt that he just had to tell everyone what Trump was saying about GW Bush a decade ago (Iraq, etc.) -- as if he's not smart enough to know that what he said has the potential to suppress the vote in Western States. I'll keep how I really feel about that to myself.

6:50 p.m.: It's apparently official that GW Bush and Laura Bush didn't vote for Trump -- and didn't vote for Hillary.

6:47 p.m.: Possibly tough news for Trump in FL. 700K new voters, 40 percent Hispanic. That would seem to not be helpful. OTOH, 52 percent (nationwide, I think) say the economy is the most important issue. How that can possbly help Hillary is a mystery.

6:43 p.m.: Took some time out to order a pizza, but I'm back for the long haul now. Catching people up on polling, the last LA Times/USC poll had Trump up 3.2 points. The last IBD/TIPP poll had him up by 2. Rasmussen had Clinton by 2. The Real Clear Politics average was Clinton by about 3.

6:25 p.m.: I love it. Nancy Pelosi is said to be blaming the fact that the Dems won't take the House on James Comey.

6:16 p.m.: Six states' polls close at 7: GA, IN, KY, SC, VT, VA.

6:12 p.m.: There's a lot of discussion on Fox about how voters want "change," and that Trump has supposedly taken that mantle. Rush was talking today about how predictive the right-direction/wrong-direction polling is in deciding who wins. About 70 percent of the country thinks we're heading in the wrong direction, which would theoretically help Trump.

6:08 p.m.: Fox is saying those questioned in exit polls who dislike both candidates held their noses and voted Trump-Clinton 45-27.

6:00 p.m.: Fox's coverage has gone live. First polls close at 7 p.m.

5:57 p.m.: I have an email from Americans for Limited Government demanding that Durham County, NC, extend their voting hours because a precinct ran out of ballots. They're saying, "If you show up and you're still in line at 7:30 p.m. when the polls close, just stay in line, they'll let you vote."

5:52 p.m.: Oh, I love this in my email box. Politico and Morning Consult are saying "early exit poll respondents" (from Oct. 18-Nov. 8) are "more anxious" about Trump on a wide variety of character traits. I say they're looking for something to induce anxiety in those who haven't vote.

5:50 p.m.: Drudge is carrying a projection of 140 million voters nationwide. That would be a huge increase from the 129 millioin seen in 2012. It's hard to see how that helps Hillary.

5:35 p.m.: New York Times yesterday"TV Networks Face a Skeptical Public on Election Night." Gosh, I wonder why? I'm hopefully going to figure out how to stream Fox to my computer. Anything else will be bad for my nerves.

5:30 p.m.: Astute readers may be surprised that Oregon is one of the links provided. That's because a ballot measure there may (big emphasis on may) spring a surprise in Trump's direction. A 2-1/2 percent gross receipts tax is on the ballot. About a month ago it was polling dead-even. I haven't found recent polling, which tells me that the press doesn't want to tell people it's losing. Also, the GOP has a gubernatorial candidate who has a chance of pulling an upset over a weak incumbent who took over following a scandal which drove the previous Democratic governor from office. Polling has Clinton up about 7 points.