2008: The Election of Willard "Mitt" Romney

[tmthforu94]

Good Evening, America. It's Election Night, 2008. We've had a long and grueling election. After Mitt Romney and Hillary Clinton won their respective primaries, we went into this election with a slight Clinton edge, only for the momentum to turn to Romney after the VP selection's and conventions. However, with the financial crisis occuring in September, many suspected Clinton had the race in the bag, but poor debate performances as well as several missteps in the campaign has cost her, and because of that, we head into night with a toss-up election.

This will be a historic election, regardless of the winner. We will either have our first Mormon President or our first Female President.

At 6:00 P.M., polls have now closed in the states of Indiana, Kentucky, and Vermont. Based off our exit polling, we can project that Senator Clinton will carry the state of Vermont.

Many thought Romney would have a tough time winning the South this election, especially against Clinton, but a smart Vice Presidential pick and running a strong conservative campaign helped boost his numbers in the South, while simultaneously hurting him in the Northeast. Nevertheless, we don't feel comfortable making a projection just yet in Indiana or Kentucky.

Clinton: 3
Romney: 0

At 6:36, we're ready to project that Governor Mitt Romney will carry the state of Kentucky. Romney has well unperformed Bush's 2004 numbers in the Southern parts of the state, but was able to make up some lost ground in Jefferson County, which he currently narrowly leads Clinton in.

At 7:00, polls have closed in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and Virginia. Of these states, they only state we can call is South Carolina, the home state of Vice Presidential candidate Jim Demint. South Carolina has been won by Mitt Romney.

Romney: 16
Clinton: 3

At 7:30, polls are now closed in Ohio and West Virginia. We cannot make a call in either state. Governor Romney has led in West Virginia the entire way, but despite losing ground nationally in the closing weeks, Clinton has been able to tighten the race in West Virginia, with both her and Rendell making stops there. Exit polling shows Clinton winning 79% of Democrats, 6% of Republicans, and 40% of Independents.

We can also now project that Governor Romney will carry the state of Georgia. Like we're seeing in other Southern states, despite somewhat poor showings in rural areas, Governor Romney is making up for it by performing very well in Fulton County.

Romney: 31
Clinton: 3

[tmthforu94]

At 8:00, polls have closed in numerous states.

We can now project the Senator Clinton will carry Delaware, D.C., Illinois, Maryland, and Massachusetts.

We can also project Governor Romney will carry the states of Alabama, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Texas.

It's 8:14, and we have a number of important projections to make.

Governor Romney will carry the state of Virginia. Virginia was a state the Clinton camp hoped to put into play, but Clinton was forced to play on the defensive in the final weeks, and the Clinton camp had all but pulled out of Virginia by election day. Romney has won the state's 13 electoral votes.

We can also project that Governor Romney will carry the state of Indiana, but by a margin closer than we originally expected. Clinton has overperformed in the Southern part of the state.

The Clinton camp can breathe a sigh of relief, however - Clinton will hold on in Connecticut. In the closing days, Romney had hoped to tighten things in Connecticut, but wasn't able to come close to an upset here.

Romney: 125
Clinton: 59

[tmthforu94]

At 8:30, polling has closed in both Arkansas and North Carolina. Like many other Southern states, we do not feel like we can immediately make a call in either state. Romney currently has a moderate lead over Clinton in North Carolina, while Clinton clings to a narrow lead in Arkansas.

At 8:47, we can now project that New Jersey will go to Senator Clinton. We also have another important projection to make in the Northeast - Governor Mitt Romney will carry the state of New Hampshire. Romney has led New Hampshire the entire way, leading by as many as 10 points in the closing days. Tonight, it looks like the former Massachusetts Governor will take The Granite State by about 6-7 points.

It's 9:00, and polls are now closed in much of the Midwest.

We can now project that Governor Romney will carry the states of Kansas, Nebraska, and Wyoming. We can also project that Senator Clinton will win New York and Rhode Island.

We now feel we've seen enough results pour in to project that Governor Romney will win the states of Arizona and Louisiana.

Romney: 162
Clinton: 109

Romney has had an electoral college lead over Clinton ever since Kentucky was called for him after 6. However, we expect Clinton to make up some ground once polling has closed on the West Coast.

[tmthforu94]

At 9:21, we're ready to make a pretty big projection: Senator Clinton will carry the state of Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania looked to be a solid state for Clinton after the selection of Rendell, but Romney had been slowly chipping away at her lead here for weeks. Nevertheless, it looks like Clinton will hang onto the state, 51-47%.

We can also now project Governor Romney will win the state of North Carolina.

The news now get's better for Senator Clinton..we're now getting word that AP has called the state of New Mexico for Senator Clinton, as well as Minnesota, the site of the 2008 Republican National Convention. Both state's were toss-ups that tilted towards Clinton, so I'm sure its reassuring for Clinton to carry these two states.

Romney: 177
Clinton: 145

At 9:46, we feel ready to make a projection in arguably the most important state of every election...Ohio. With 78% of precincts reporting, we're ready to project that former Governor Mitt Romney will carry Ohio and it's 20 delegates.

It's 10:00 now, and polls have closed in Idaho, Iowa, Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, Oregon, and Utah.

We can now project that Governor Romney will comfortably win in Utah. Polling throughout this race showed him leading Clinton by over 40 points. Tonight, it looks like Governor Romney will exceed Bush's percentages there, perhaps capturing over 75% of the vote. We can also project that Governor Romney will win Idaho, Montana, and North Dakota.

Romney: 212
Clinton: 145

Left-Leaning Analyst: One who may not follow election's too much could think that right now, Romney's going to take this in a landslide. That's simply not the case, and Clinton has no reason to worry right now. Romney has carried every state he was expected to win. The only true toss-up state tonight was won by, you guessed it, Senator Clinton - Minnesota. Once the polls close at 11:00 out west, Clinton will make up huge ground over Romney in the electoral county.

Right-Leaning Analyst: I disagree that Minnesota was a true toss-up - just about every political expert had Minnesota going for Clinton tonight. Many Romney states where Clinton expected to be competitive in have been called early. Look at Ohio, we were easily able to call it before all precincts came in. I expect a complete Romney sweep in the South, which should end this whole thing.

[tmthforu94]

At 10:13, we can now project that Governor Romney will win Missouri, with 85% of precincts reporting. We can also project that Romney will win Colorado. Democrats hoped to compete in Colorado, choosing it as their convention state, but were unable to peel it's 9 electoral votes away from the GOP.

The Clinton campaign can breathe a short sigh of relief - Clinton will carry the state of Wisconsin, as well as Maine's at-large electoral votes and ME-01. We're also coming very close to making several huge projections for Senator Clinton.

Florida Results:
Clinton - 49.56%
Romney - 48.34%
80% Reporting

West Virginia Results:
Romney - 50.43%
Clinton - 48.96%
91% Reporting

Oregon Results:
Romney - 53.5%
Clinton - 45.69%
18% Reporting

At 11:00, polls have closed now everywhere but Alaska.

At 11:13, we can now project Senator Clinton will carry the state's of California, Washington, and Hawaii. Exit polling in all three states indicated the results much closer than expected, which is why we held off on making projections.

Romney: 232
Clinton: 228

And with that, Clinton has caught up to Romney in the EV count.

[tmthforu94]

At 11:19, we can finally project that Governor Romney will carry the state of West Virginia. This state was certainly much closer than originally expected. We can also project that Senator Clinton will win her homestate of Arkansas. This state has been a tossup all year, but many gave Clinton the final edge here. She'll take the state by around 3%.

Romney has certainly proved the doubters wrong that he could perform well in the South. Romney has managed to carry every single Southern state that has been called except Arkansas, the homestate of Senator Clinton. The percentages in many of these states aren't great, but still, a win's a win.

We can also project that Governor Romney will carry the state of Nevada. Romney's Mormon faith has certainly played a role in his win here tonight, as Mormon's are coming out in huge numbers across the Mountain West.

At 11:46, we're ready to make a huge projection from the state of Michigan - despite Governor Romney going into this election with a slight edge here, we can finally project that Senator Clinton will very narrowly keep Michigan Democratic. With that, Clinton has offically passed Romney in the Electoral Vote Count.

Clinton: 251
Romney: 242

And now, friends, we have a pretty unique scenario. If Clinton wins Florida, it's over, and she's the President-elect, regardless of how she does in the other states. Assuming Romney wins Alaska, if he win's Florida, it's over. Essentially, the results right now in Oregon, Iowa and Maine...don't matter. It all comes down to Florida, a repeat of 2000.

Popular Vote Percentages:
Romney/Demint - 50.56%
Clinton/Rendell - 49.11%

[tmthforu94]

It's midnight, which means polls are now closed in the state of Alaska. We can immediately call the state of Alaska for Governor Mitt Romney, who received help here from popular Governor Sarah Palin.

We also now feel ready to make a projection in Iowa - the state of Iowa and it's 7 electoral votes will narrowly go to Governor Romney.

Oregon Results:
Romney/Demint - 51.54%
Clinton/Rendell - 48.58%
47% Reporting

Florida Results:
Clinton/Rendell - 49.67%
Romney/Demint - 49.24%
91% Reporting

At 12:54, we finally feel we can call Maine's 2nd Congressional District for Mitt Romney!

Maine's 1st Congressional District:
Romney/Demint - 49.54%
Clinton/Rendell - 49.10%

It's 1:34, and here's an update on our final two states - Oregon and Florida.

Oregon Results:
Romney/Demint - 50.19%
Clinton/Rendell - 49.01%
83% Reporting

Florida Results:
Romney/Demint - 49.57%
Clinton/Rendell - 49.40%

Romney/Demint - 253 Electoral Votes
Clinton/Rendell - 251 Electoral Votes

[Miles]

Glad to see Hillary won Arkansas!!

WV was sooo close!

[tmthforu94]

At 2:13, we're ready to make a projection in Oregon: Senator Clinton will very narrowly carry the state. Hillary had been trailing in Oregon all night, but as the last precincts from Multnomah County come in, Clinton takes the lead, and the state.

This win puts Clinton ahead of Romney in the Electoral Count, though none of that matters, since it all comes down to Florida anyways.

Florida Results:
Romney/Demint - 49.69%
Clinton/Rendell - 49.20%
98% Reporting

Clinton's chances are starting to slowly go downhill in Florida, but we still have 2% of precincts out, so we're going to wait for a little more to come in before making a call.

Clinton: 258
Romney: 253

[Niemeyerite]

Good TL, Tmth. Romney will win (the title of the TL doesn't leave doubts alive).

[tmthforu94]

(Enough delaying what we all know will happen )

It's 3:20 in the morning. Polls have been closed in Florida for over 6 hours now. 8 years ago, Florida was the final state to fall in the Bush column, weeks after the election occurred, in arguably the most controversial election in United State's history. Tonight, the nation's future once again rests in Florida's hands.....and once again, Florida will send it's electoral votes to the GOP candidate. Yes, Mitt Romney has won the state of Florida, and thus, Mitt Romney is now the President-elect of the United States!

Romney: 280
Clinton: 258

[Miles]

Bravo!

[tmthforu94]

Final Results:

2008 goes down as one of the biggest dogfights in US History. In Oregon, Arkansas, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Florida, West Virginia, and Maine's 2nd Congressional District, the winner won with less than 50% of the vote.

Congressional Results:

As opposed to RL, a stronger GOP ticket certainly helped Republicans downballot, though they still came up with a net loss in the Senate. Republicans were able to hold on to close races in Minnesota, Oregon, New Hampshire, and Alaska. The one seats Republicans really hoped to win was North Carolina - not even Mitt Romney help could save Libby Dole.

Republicans played mostly on the defense this cycle, but did aim high in both New Jersey and Louisiana. Lautenburg had dismal approvals mid-2008, but a rather weak opponent keeps him in the Senate, winning with just over 51% of the vote. Republicans also hoped to challenge Landrieu in Louisiana, but Landrieu managed to beat Kennedy by 8 points (Clinton did about 6 points better than Obama did RL in Louisiana).

Overall, the Democrats picked up 4 seats, 3 of them being open. Including Lieberman and Sanders, Democrats have a 55-45 edge in the Senate. In the House, the Democrats also maintained their edge, picking up 9 seats, pushing their majority to 245-190.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

Cabinet? 2012 map/election? Achievments? Legislation?

[tmthforu94]

Cabinet? 2012 map/election? Achievments? Legislation?

Honestly, I'm not a big fan of doing the stuff between elections.

I'll post a cabinet, simply because I keep getting asked too. I may go through some achievements, outline 2010 results, and perhaps show the 2012 election. It'll all be very brief and summarized, though. Of course, Romney will be successful, for he is successful in all he seeks to do.

[Niemeyerite]

I suppose it'll be a bipartisan cabinet. Let's see

[tmthforu94]

The only change in the Gubernatorial races was McCrory won in North Carolina, and Rossi didn't lose by quite as much in Washington.