Election day results

There were only 3 races on the Democratic ballot when I went to vote. I voted for my friend Donna's recommendation for sheriff (Toby Shelley), but he lost to his better-known opponent, Joe Price (he will face the incumbent, Kevin Walsh, in the general). I voted for Eric Schneiderman for Attorney General, because he has positioned himself as a liberal and I wanted to reward that, plus Kathleen Rice was expected to win. Surprise - Schneiderman won! He faces Dan Donovan in the general; the Democrat usually wins. And I voted for Gail Goode against Kristen Gillibrand, though I have no problem with her at all, I just wanted to support the upstart even if she was not expected to win (and didn't). So only one of my choices succeeded (and that was kind of unexpected). I don't mind "throwing away" my vote to support insurgent candidates in the primary, especially since one Democrat is usually as good as another.

Living in NY is nice because, like Philadelphia, it's heavily Democratic. Of course, Onondaga county is very Republican, and Pennsylvania was pretty purple - very much a swing state. So I'm always living and voting in a grey zone of one kind or another.

The big news of the night is that "tea party" candidates did well, especially in Delaware, where Mike Castle was tromped by the long shot, Christine O'Donnell, for the Senate seat vacated by Joe Biden. She is not considered viable in the general election against Democrat Chirs Coons. In the Republican primary for governor in NY, party candidate Rick Lazio was soundly beaten by right-winger Carl Paladino, who doesn't have a chance against Andrew Cuomo in November.