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Election Day 2018: Liveblogging the Vote and Results

Posted By Bearing Drift On In Politics | 1 Comment

Bearing Drift will be following election action throughout the day and night. Readers are invited to share election day information in the comments, i.e., how many had already voted at the precinct, candidate signs (are any notably missing?), and other info to pass along.

The polls are open from 6:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. so get out and vote!

Check out the Virginia Department of Elections [1] for info, and then later watch that website for election returns.

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11:26: The Governor tweeted congrats to Spanberger and Luria….

11:25: Meanwhile, Spanberger in VA-07 gives her victory speech….

11:20: But wait! This on VA-07 from Jeff Shapiro….

11:05: VA-07 — MSNBC has called Abigail Spanberger the winner in this race.

11:00: That appears to be all for Virginia’s races tonight. Results are still coming in to news outlets from races across the nation.

10:40: VA-07 — ABC News has called the race for Abigail Spanberger which would mean Dave Brat has lost that seat. However, this out of the Brat camp:

10:20: News outlets are projecting Democrats will take control of the U.S. House.

10:14: Waiting on the Brat-Spanberger race where Brat is down at this point … waiting for a final result.

10:04: VA-02 — Republican incumbent Scott Taylor has lost. Cook Report and news outlets have called it.

10:00: Polls closed in Utah and Mitt Romney for U.S. Senate has been called the winner.

9:50: We are still waiting for the final results to be sorted out as the final precincts are counted.

9:30: The Bearing Drift writers are all crunching the numbers as we wait for Taylor and Brat results. Chesterfield is updating now that its final two polls have closed, and Taylor is down to Virginia Beach precincts.

9:05: We’re waiting on results for VA-02 (Scott Taylor) and VA-07 (Dave Brat), both Republican incumbents.

8:58: Joe Manchin (West Va) is projected to win reelection.

8:50: Results for Augusta County, Staunton, and Waynesboro can be found here [11].

8:40: Wittman (VA-02), Griffith (VA-09), McEachin (VA-04), and Beyer (VA-08) have all won reelection.

8:30: VA-06: Del. Ben Cline easily wins in the red, red 6th Congressional District which opens the gates for the 24th HoD seat.

8:15: Because of voting issues at two Chesterfield precincts, those polls will remain open until 9pm so the Brat-Spanberger race won’t be called for a while.

8:10: Virginia GOP has lost VA-10 and U.S. Senate so far.

8:00: VA-05: Looks like Virginia will be sending Denver Riggleman to D.C. in a district that voted for Trump 53-42% in 2016.

7:39: VA-10: News outlets are calling it for Wexton in Virginia’s 10th Congressional District. This one hurts … apparently Congresswoman Barbara Comstock has lost. That’s a Democratic pick-up in a district that voted 52-42% for Clinton in 2016. The GOP may not have control of that seat again for a long time.

7:30: Polls have closed in North Carolina, West Virginia, and Ohio.

7:18: Georgia appears to take the cake on longest waits to vote (up to 4.5 hours) but Chesterfield has its own issues at Precinct 317, Spring Run Elementary School, in Matoaca where voters reportedly waited 2.5 hours due to lack of voting machines and workers.

7:02: News outlets are calling it already for Democratic incumbent Tim Kaine for U.S. Senate over Republican Corey Stewart.

7:00: Polls have closed in Virginia. Those in line will be allowed to vote. Now the vote count will begin, and it may be a long night.

6:00: From Henrico County (7th District)….

5:30: Nationally, the polls in Kentucky close at 6:00pm. Virginia and five more states closes at 7:00: Vermont, South Carolina, Georgia, Indiana, Missouri. Virginia, of course, has four of the most closely watched races in the nation: U.S. Senate (Stewart, Kaine, Walton), 10th Congressional District (Comstock-Wexton), 7th District (Brat-Spanberger), and 5th (Riggleman-Cockburn).

All eyes will be on Kentucky starting at 6 p.m. and polls around the country will be closing all the way until 1 a.m. EST on Wednesday. Check out our hour-by-hour guide of poll closings [16].

5:27: From Henrico (7th District)….

5:25: Final report from a Fluvanna precinct (5th District): “357 at 5pm. If we have 1300 total on voting day we consider that good turnout.”

5:20: Roanoke Times reports [19] power is out in parts of Blacksburg that include several precincts.

5:15: From Alexandria….

5:10: From Arlington…

5:05:  Rick Sincere passes along that Jake Washburne, general registrar in Albemarle County, didn’t have 4 pm turnout numbers but 1 pm was just over 40 percent. Recent peak was 58 percent total in 2010 (Hurt v Perriello). Total registration is about 3000 more than last year (78,000 vs 75,000).

5:00: From Wason’s Rachel Bitecofer….

4:55: From Arlington….

4:50:  From Chesterfield County (7th District) … long lines all day at Spring Run Elementary School that are reported to go through the school and around the cafeteria.

4:45: From Loudoun County….

4:40: From a North Chesterfield County precinct … voter #1,546 at 4:15 which is 10% over last year’s turnout.

4:35: From the Roanoke Valley as heavy turnout continues…..

4:30: “At Tucker precinct in Henrico County at Tucker High School they have passed there 2017 Gov. total. This year 1546, last year 1375. This Precinct votes approximately 75% Democrat and is a bad sign for the GOP… ” –from Matt Walton.

4:24: From Fairfax….

4:20: Churchville Elementary School precinct in Augusta County….

4:15: A Fluvanna precinct hit 1,546 voters at 4:15.

4:10: From Henrico….

3:55: From Henrico….

3:40: In the 5th District earlier today….

3:30: Heavy turnout continues across the Commonwealth:

3:20: From Henrico County….

3:00:  From Albemarle County: “I just voted at Georgetown Precinct (Albemarle high school) and the chief told me about 1300 out of 2500 registered voters had checked in.”

2:56: From Culpeper County (7th District)….

2:34: Rockingham County (6th District)….

2:00: From the Roanoke Valley and New River Valley….

1:52: Political reporter Tom Costello with MSNBC reported from Henrico County on the 7th District race. Poll workers reported that a usual turnout is 1,000 voters. Today, as of 1:00, they had already seen 1,500 voters in the Dave Brat – Abigail Spanberger race that remains in a statistical tie on a very rainy day.

1:40: From Rockingham in the 6th District….

1:35: From Loudoun….

1:35: Factoid: Virginia Mercury [49] recently reported that Virginia is the second most difficult state to vote. Residents cannot vote early just because they want to get it out of the way or just in case something happens. They must check one of the boxes of reasons presented by the State Board of Elections. Today I heard that someone tried to vote early because her commute to work would not leave her time to get to the polls and she didn’t want to miss voting. She was turned down. Virginia, we can do better.

1:30: Factoid: Over 38 million early voting ballots were cast.

1:25: From the 10th District….

1:20: From the 7th District….

1:10: There have been 883 voters in one Fluvanna precinct.

1:00: From Richmond:

12:50: From @vpapupdates:

–Arlington: In-person voting at noon was 40%, up from 31% last year. Does not include absentees, which were up as well.
–Loudoun County: In heart of @BarbaraComstock and @JenniferWexton race, Loudoun County reports in-person turnout at 10AM was about 20%, up from 14% at same point last year.

12:45: Meanwhile in Northern Virginia:

12:35: Augusta County Churchville School precinct had 32 percent turnout before noon.

12:30: From reporter Melissa Hipolit (CBS-TV6) in Chesterfield:

12:15: From Henrico:

12:10: From a Waynesboro voter: “Number 1051 which is very heavy voting for our precinct in the city of Waynesboro Virginia.”

12:05: Sent by a voter in Montgomery County. It would be great if all polling places did this:

12:00: The Washington Post highlights five “Hail Mary’s” [75] that have seen a drastic increase in spending in the closing weeks of the campaign, including Virginia’s 5th District:

A similar dynamic occurred in Virginia’s 5th Congressional District in the race to replace outgoing Rep. Thomas Garrett (R). Outside groups have spent $2.3 million, with $2.1 million of it coming at the tail end. A GOP leadership super PAC hurriedly went up on television for political newcomer Denver Riggleman when it became clear that the district — which Trump won by double digits — could not be taken for granted.

His opponent, Leslie Cockburn, was an investigative reporter and documentary filmmaker and is the mother of actress Olivia Wilde, which probably explains why Cockburn received $36,988 from the entertainment industry during the campaign.

10:20: From a voter in Fluvanna … “#480 at 9:54 am.”

10:15: Heavy, steady turnout in Powhatan County.

10:14: From Staunton News Leader reporter who voted at Gypsy Hill precinct:

10:10: From Roanoke Times reporter Amy Friedenberger:

10:00: Sage words from Larry Sabato….

9:50: Voter reports no GOP signs at a precinct in Bedford County.

9:35: New post from Bearing Drift [82] with explanation of Constitutional amendments on today’s Virginia ballot, and a POLL.

9:30: Staunton News Leader reporter Laura Peters tweets:

9:00: Rain won’t slow down Congresswoman Barbara Comstock on Election Day 2018.

9:00: Reports of strong Democratic presence at polls with signs and tents set up to greet voters. Full parking lots, lines, and umbrellas are familiar themes this morning. Keep it coming … we love hearing updates from everyone.

8:30: Rainy in Richmond and area, rainy in Carolina, rainy in Roanoke Valley, rainy in Shenandoah Valley. It obviously is not stopping many people from getting to the polls.

8:00: In one of Augusta County’s precincts voters #308 and 309 in the rain in a red district but mostly Democratic signs at the poll.

7:50: Voter in Bedford County reported being #150 in line.

7:45: Brian and KayAnn Schoeneman were voters #90 and 91 at Bull Run Precinct.

7:40: Chesterfield County resident reports being voter #141 a little past 7:00 a.m.

7:20: Early morning prediction from a poll worker in the 5th District: Riggleman wins, Brat loses.

7:10: It is pouring rain in Augusta County and hearing of bad weather throughout the Commonwealth. People are still standing in line, in the rain, waiting to vote.

7:00: Voting issues cleared up at a precinct in Chesterfield; line that extended out the door into the rainy morning is now moving.

6:50: We’re heading there was a line outside at least one precinct in Chesterfield. This from Graham Moomaw:

6:40: From Justin Higgins on Facebook [89]: “Last year we had 3 people in front of us at 6:30. This morning we have 60, with 30 behind. I live in a 62-30 Clinton precinct.”

6:35: We’re hearing voters are lined up out the doors in precincts located in Northern Virginia, Central Virginia, and Richmond.

6:20: From Matt Talhelm at NBC-29 in Charlottesville:

6:00: Polls open.