Tuesday night was a big night for Democrats , and most of the public polling - disputed by far too many Republicans - was absolutely spot on (and for great television, nothing could beat Karl Rove on Fox browbeating hosts Megyn Kelly and Bret Baier for giving Ohio to Obama).
Congratulations to Barack Obama. Sure he ran a negative campaign. So did George W. Bush in 2004. There will be lots of criticisms of Mitt Romney as a candidate, but in this corner it will always be that Romney waited far too long to move to the center.
Instead of doing that in Tampa at the Republican Convention, Romney waited until the first debate, on October 3. That was when Romney outclassed Obama, and changed the narrative of the election. But Obama rallied in the next two debates. He just wasn't a natural.
The title of this post is a reference to how the electorate voted in terms of political affiliation. According to exit polls, it was 38 percent Democrat, 32 percent Republican, and 30 percent independent. In other words, similar to 2008, which is why the exit polls that surveyed six percent more Democrats than Republicans were not skewed at all.
In the most boring Senate race ever in Florida, Bill Nelson is going to be around for another six years in Washington. Why do Florida Republicans have such a hard time nominating quality candidates (excluding Marco Rubio).
Lots of stories to tell you about from last night locally. In Pinellas County, Democrats Janet Long and Charlie Justice defeated the two GOP incumbents, Neil Brickfield and Nancy Bostock, who among their miscues was supporting eliminating fluoride from the water supply.
In Hillsborough, Ronda Storms lost to Bob Henriquez for property appraiser.
In Hillsborough County House races, Democrat Mark Danish narrowly won, and Democrat Gail Gottlieb narrowly lost.
In Pinellas, Democrat Dwight Dudley defeated Republican Frank Farkas in HD-68 in a bitter race.
The three Florida Supreme Court justices are retaining their jobs.
Kevin Beckner thrashed Tea Party favorite Margaret Iuculano in Hillsborough last night. This was a very tough campaign, and Beckner isn't about to invite his challenger over for tea anytime soon.
And Bill Young will be around for at least two more years representing Pinellas County in Congress.
