Calling It

This blogger is calling it for the night. It's been three hours since the networks called it for Obama (10:00pm CST) and since then I swear the only thing I've done is flitter from one site to the next trying to get U.S. House totals, Texas race totals, and local Dallas and Tarrant County election totals. But you dear reader know what I know, as it's all here on the blog somewhere (see the links on the upper right.)

Clearly, it has been a historic night. It's simply incredible that Americans have elected their first African-American President, but it bears reminding that Obama wasn't elected because he's black; he was elected because a majority of Americans trust him with the future of this nation. They will not be proven wrong in their trust.

Democrats have picked up at least five seats in the Senate, and are likely to take out Stevens as well (though it's too early to say for sure.) They probably won't get Chambliss though. Too bad.

Democrats will pick up a few more seats in the House. Nothing stunning, but adding to the comfortable margin they already enjoy.

In Texas...well, Texas is a different story. The purpling of the state will have to wait, as results were decidedly mixed. Gains in the U.S. House were nil, gains in the Texas House were less than hoped for, but Wendy Davis did score an upset against Kim Brimer in the Texas Senate. Things look good for Dallas County Democrats, and less so for Tarrant County Democrats.

And that's where we are at about 1:30 CST. We'll know more in the morning, and expect that my co-bloggers and I will have much more to say about this incredible night tomorrow and in the coming days. Good night folks.

Texas House/Senate Races, Tarrant/Dallas County Races

This thread will serve to provide updates on the outcomes of contested Texas State House and Senate Races, as well as Tarrant and Dallas County races of note. A handy link to this post is on the upper right-hand corner of the blog, but I will probably keep promoting this post along with our other election threads to the top of the blog. For the sake of ease of reading, I'll skip the "Update" addendum that usually accompanies a change to the post, and just add information as we get it.

Dallas County
Lupe Valdez appears to be cruising to victory for Sheriff. With about 40-50% of precincts reporting, Dallas Democrats appear to be running the tables. Ken Molberg (D) defeats his Republican challenger, three days after being mauled by a dog while campaigning to boot.

Tarrant County
Randy Turner looks to be trailing in the race for the 17th Civil District, by about 45,000 votes. And...yep, Turner will lose. Damn. Tarrant County Sheriff Dee Anderson (R) will win re-election. No turning Tarrant County blue, at least not this year.

Texas House

Diane Maldonado (D) wins. Joe Moody (D) wins. Incumbent Dan Barrett (D) loses. Donnie Dippell (D) loses. To this point, it looks like Democrats may very well manage a tie in the Texas House, 72-72, though doing so will hinge on the extremely close race between Bob Romano and Linda Harper-Brown. Romano leads by TWENTY-FIVE votes.

Texas Senate

Wendy Davis (D) defeats incumbent Kim Brimer. Chris Bell fails to reach a majority, and will face a runoff election against Republican Joan Huffman in December.

Texas Judiciary

Texas Supreme Court, Chief Justice: Wallace Jefferson (R) will defeat challenger Jim Jeffords. Texas Supreme Court, Place 7: Dale Wainwright (R) will defeat challenger Sam Houston. Texas Supreme Court, Place 8: Phil Johnson (R) will defeat Linda Yanez. Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 3: Tom Price (R) defeats Susan Strawn. Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 4: Paul Womack (R) defeats J.R. Molina.