Sorry, Dianne Feinstein! Exit polls are useless and wrong (actually they're not entirely wrong and useless except that no one knows how to read them, except Marc Ambinder). But they're out, now, and soon they'll be everywhere. Let's get to it: "Senate sources" say the Dems will be stuck at 58 seats. Sad! After the jump, the numbers that people like Drudge have. There are no surprises but the slight Obama leads in MO and IN are probably LIES. (Or, uh, misleading.) GA 47-51 FL 52-49 IA 58-42 IN 52-48 MI 60-39 MN 56-39 MO52-48 NC 52-48 NH 57-43 NM 56-43 NV 55-45 OH 54-45 PA 57-42 VA 55-45 WV 45-55 WI 58-42 National 54-44 Senate numbers we don't believe at all (because the Coleman number is absurd): Sununu down 18 Coleman down 12 McConnell up 2 Chambliss up 3 Dole down 52-43 AND:
THE RESULTS CANNOT BE USED UNTIL AFTER THE POLLS CLOSE IN EACH STATE. VIRGINIA- POLL CLOSE: 7:00 PM *22% of the vote is African American and Obama is winning 91% of it. *Among white voters, 58% are backing McCain, while 41% are supporting Obama. In 2004, Kerry won 32% of the vote here while Bush won 68% of it. *72% disapprove of the job Bush is doing; only 27% approve. *More than half of voters think McCain will continue Bush's policies; fewer think he will take the country in a different direction. *Obama is winning the support of both men and women, but white men and white women are backing McCain. *Among whites, one in five said race was a factor in their vote today and they backed McCain. *More blacks (4 in 10) said race was a factor and they voted overwhelmingly for Obama. *Obama looks to be improving on Kerry's margins in Northern Virginia. *Most voters say McCain as the candidate on the attack: nearly 7 in 10 say he attacked Obama unfairly; fewer than half say Obama attacked McCain unfairly. INDIANA - POLL CLOSE: 7:00 PM *The economy is the top issue here (as it is nationally) and Obama appears to be benefitting from that. Among economy voters, Obama 56% to 43%. *White working class (those without a college degree and earn less than $50K) are backing Obama slightly over McCain by 51% to 48%. *Men are divided in their support, while Obama has the advantage with women. *42% of voters are white evangelicals, up from 35% in 2004. McCain is getting 68% of their support. Bush captured 77% of the vote in 2004. *35% of voters in IN were looking for a candidate who could bring about change, while almost as many (33%) were looking for someone who shares their values. The change voters are supporting Obama, while the values voters are supporting McCain. GEORGIA - - POLL CLOSE: 7:00 PM *30% of voters are African American (up from 25% in 2004) and 97% are backing Obama. *Whites are backing McCain by about the same margin they supported Bush in 2004. *The top candidate quality was values, closely followed by change. Those who selected values as the most important quality backed McCain, while the change voters supported Obama. NORTH CAROLINA - POLL CLOSE: 7:30 PM *22% of voters were African American (26% in 2004) and Obama is getting 97% of their vote. As expected, an improvement on Kerry's performance four years ago. *White voters are backing McCain by 62% to 37%. *11% of voters in NC are new voters, voting for the first time this year, they too have the economy on their minds and 3 in 4 of them are backing Obama. *Change and values are nearly tied for the #1 quality. Obama wins the change people, while McCain takes the values people. OHIO - POLL CLOSE: 7:30 PM *86% are worried about the direction of the economy, including more than half who are very worried. (Obama is getting the support of those worried voters.) *Hillary Clinton won the primary here, and Obama is getting the support of 82% of Democrats who backed her in that contest. 16% are backing McCain. *12% of voters in Ohio are black, up from 10% in 2004. 98% of them are backing Obama. *Both white women and white women are going for McCain. *More voters see view Obama has a candidate who is in touch with people like them, while more voters see McCain has having the experience to serve effectively as president. *Still, 4 in 10 Ohio voters think Obama's positions on the issues are too liberal. PENNSYLVANIA - POLL CLOSE: 8:00 PM *A quarter of voters in PA are white Catholics and they are splitting their votes. Kerry lost these voters to Bush by 48% to 52%. *Seniors are one-fifth of the electorate and just over half are backing Obama. These voters narrowly backed Kerry by 51% to 48% in 2004. *Obama is getting about two-thirds of the support of voters age 18-29. Kerry won 60% of them in 2004. *Most voters in the Keystone state made up their minds long ago, but among those who decided in the last week (just over 1 in 10 voters), they are narrowly backing McCain by 51% to 47%. FLORIDA- POLL CLOSE: 8:00 PM *13% of voters here were Hispanics (15% in 2004) and they are breaking for Obama by 55% to 45%. This is a reversal from 2004 when Hispanics backed Bush by 56% to 44%. *Seniors (24% of voters) are backing McCain over Obama by 53% 46%. In 2004 Bush edged out Kerry by 51% to 48%. *13% of voters are African American in Florida and they and 95% are backing Obama. *White men and white women are backing McCain. *McCain wins on experience here, while more voters see Obama as being more in touch with people like them. 8:00 MISSOURI * Young voters (19% of voters) are backing Obama; while seniors (17% of voters) give McCain the edge. * White evangelical are 38% of the vote in Missouri and they are backing McCain by 67% to 32%. Not as strong a showing as Bush in 2004.
Meanwhile:
I doubt this means much of anything, but today's election among third graders in Hudson, Ohio was a landslide for McCain, approximately 250 to 100. Of course, you'd expect as much in Hudson, which is a fairly Red town.