Top Items:
Peter Baker / New York Times:
President Obama Left Fighting for His Own Relevance — WASHINGTON — Two things were clear long before the votes were counted on Tuesday night: President Obama would face a Congress with more Republicans for his final two years in office, and the results would be seen as a repudiation of his leadership.
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, Taylor Marsh, Washington Post, Betsy's Page, NPR, The Daily Caller and The Mahablog
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Washington Post:
Battle for the Senate: How the GOP woke up while Democrats were feeling the drag — One night in early September, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell called a longtime colleague, Sen. Pat Roberts, from his living room in Louisville, furious about the 78-year-old Republican's fumbling and lethargic reelection campaign.
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online, Mediaite and RedState
Justin Sink / The Hill:
After blowout, Obama to answer questions — President Obama will hold a news conference Wednesday afternoon, facing the White House press corps one day after Democrats were blown out in the midterm elections. — White House aides acknowledge that Tuesday night was tough …
Discussion:
Politico and Political Wire
New York Times:
Republicans' First Step Was to Handle Extremists in Party — WASHINGTON — It was late spring, and Republican leaders knew that if they wanted to win the Senate, they needed to crush the enemy: not Democrats, but the rebels within their own party. — And Chris McDaniel …
Discussion:
Bloomberg Politics and No More Mister Nice Blog
Alexander Burns / Politico:
GOP takes control of Senate in midterm rout
GOP takes control of Senate in midterm rout
Discussion:
ABC News, ABC News, The Hill and Just Security
Jesse Byrnes / The Hill:
Axelrod: White House changes would be ‘wise’
Molly Ball / The Atlantic Online:
A Republican Wave Sweeps the Midterm Elections — In an echo of 2010, the GOP overshot its targets, taking the Senate and winning House and statehouse races across the board. Now what will they do? — LOUISVILLE, Ky.—Republicans took the Senate majority in a commanding sweep on Tuesday …
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Fox News:
Republicans take Senate majority, Fox News projects — Republicans have won a majority in the Senate for the first time in eight years, Fox News projects, giving the party full control of Congress for the remainder of President Obama's term. — A projected victory by Republican Joni Ernst …
Discussion:
CNN, Hot Air, The Hill, Scared Monkeys, The Daily Caller, Weekly Standard and The Other McCain
Sahil Kapur / Talking Points Memo:
Meet The Real Next Senate Majority Leader: Ted Cruz
Meet The Real Next Senate Majority Leader: Ted Cruz
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice
William M. Welch / Associated Press:
Republicans take Senate majority
Republicans take Senate majority
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal and Fox News
Dan Balz / Washington Post:
An unhappy electorate is toughest on Obama and the Democrats
An unhappy electorate is toughest on Obama and the Democrats
Discussion:
New York Times and Guardian
Stephen Collinson / CNN:
Republicans seize Senate, gaining full control of Congress
Republicans seize Senate, gaining full control of Congress
Discussion:
Firedoglake, CBS DC, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, ABC News, The Nation, Scared Monkeys, Foreign Policy and The Last Refuge
Justin Sink / The Hill:
Obama: Worst map since Eisenhower — Democrats are facing the worst midterm Senate map since President Dwight D. Eisenhower, President Obama bemoaned during an Election Day interview with a Connecticut radio station. — “There's no doubt that, when you look at the Senate races …
Discussion:
Guardian and Talking Points Memo
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Tina Nguyen / Mediaite:
MSNBC's Matthews and Sharpton Bash Grimes Concession Speech: ‘You Need to Be Gracious!’
MSNBC's Matthews and Sharpton Bash Grimes Concession Speech: ‘You Need to Be Gracious!’
Discussion:
PoliticusUSA
Carrie Budoff Brown / Politico:
No Obama pivot after midterms
No Obama pivot after midterms
Discussion:
Liberaland and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion
Anja Crowder / ABC News:
Midterm Elections 2014 Exit Polls: 6 Fast Facts on 6 Key States — According to preliminary exit poll data, here are six fast facts about voters in Virginia, Kentucky, Georgia, Colorado, New Hampshire and North Carolina. — Numbers will change as exit polls are updated and only reflect preliminary data.
Discussion:
Politico and The Daily Caller
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Noelle Crombie / Oregonian:
Recreational marijuana passes in Oregon: Oregon election results 2014 — Oregon voters said yes to marijuana Tuesday, making the state the third to allow the possession and sale of cannabis for recreational rather than strictly medical use. — The crowd at the Southeast Portland club Holocene …
Discussion:
Bloomberg Politics, Outside the Beltway and BuzzFeed
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Dan Merica / CNN:
Oregon, Washington, D.C. legalize marijuana
Oregon, Washington, D.C. legalize marijuana
Discussion:
Bloomberg Politics, Wall Street Journal and Jezebel
Helena Bottemiller Evich / Politico:
Berkeley breaks through on soda tax — Berkeley, Calif., a city known for its progressive politics, made history Tuesday night by approving the first real sin tax on soda in the United States. — Voters looked likely to approve Measure D, a penny-per-ounce tax, by a wide margin …
Discussion:
Truth Revolt and Bloomberg Politics
Philip Klein / Washington Examiner:
27 senators who voted for Obamacare won't be part of new Senate — BELTWAY CONFIDENTIAL CONGRESS OBAMACARE SENATE HEALTH CARE 2014 ELECTIONS — On Dec. 24, 2009, the Democratic-controlled Senate passed President Obama's healthcare law with a filibuster-proof 60-vote majority …
Paige St. John / Los Angeles Times:
Prop. 47 passes, reducing some crime penalties — Proposition 47, to reduce sentences for some crimes, passes, AP reports. — Penalties for common drug and theft crimes in California will be reduced from potential felonies to misdemeanors, shortening the time some offenders spend behind bars.
Discussion:
Truth Revolt, News One and Unqualified Offerings
Brendan James / Talking Points Memo:
Jon Stewart Didn't Vote Today (VIDEO) — Jon Stewart may have covered every bizarre moment of this year's midterm election, but he didn't cast a vote in it. — The host of “The Daily Show” told CNN's Christiane Amanpour during an interview on Tuesday that he had abstained this year.
Discussion:
Jezebel
Reuben Fischer-Baum / FiveThirtyEight:
The Minimum Wage In Wisconsin — Wisconsin isn't one of the five states with a statewide ballot initiative on the minimum wage tonight. But you'd be forgiven for thinking it was — Democrats have tried to make the minimum wage one of the dominant issues of Wisconsin's gubernatorial campaign.
Discussion:
Raw Story, The Dish and National Review
Peter Sullivan / The Hill:
Paul: Hillary Clinton ‘soundly rejected’ — Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) on Tuesday portrayed the early Senate results as a repudiation of Hillary Clinton, a possible 2016 presidential rival. — “I think we're going to pick up enough [seats] to take over the Senate, and I think it is a repudiation basically …
Lucy McCalmont / Politico:
4 indicted N.Y. pols win reelection — They may have won their midterms on Tuesday, but for a handful of newly reelected New York lawmakers, their next hurdle is avoiding prison time. — New York voters overwhelmingly reelected four lawmakers — one to Congress and three to the state Legislature …
Amy Walter / The Cook Political Report:
Election Night Takeaways — This wasn't just a bad night for Democrats. This was a downright drubbing. — So, what happened? — All Politics Is National: Democrats believed they could help isolate and insulate their vulnerable Democrats from an unpopular president by making each contest about the individual candidates.