Election Day: Intercepts Will Be Tracking Key Races

Voters wait in line at the Memorial High School polling station in Manchester, N.H., on Tuesday (Nov. 6, 2012). (Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Election day is here. The race for the White House appears a dead heat. Control of the Senate is in play, and the Republican majority in the House likely will grow.

On MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” program, veteran newsman Tom Brokaw declared America is squarely in the “crosshairs of history.”

And for the national security/defense sector, many experts say it is a landmark day for America’s involvement in global affairs and for Pentagon spending.

Some political and analysts and pundits in recent days have said President Barack Obama has grabbed the momentum from GOP challenger Mitt Romney. Others say the president merely stopped Romney’s momentum.

Will it be enough for Obama to secure a second term?

Polls averaged by RealClearPolitics.com show Americans are divided. The independent political tracking organization is projection Obama has 201 Electoral College votes locked up, while Romney has 191 in the bag.

That leaves 141 up for grabs in the race to the 270 needed to win the presidency.

RealClearPolitics lists these states as toss-ups (with number of Electoral College votes noted): Colorado (9), Florida (29), Iowa (6), Michigan (16), Nevada (6), New Hampshire (4), North Carolina (15), Ohio (18), Pennsylvania (20), Virginia (13), and Wisconsin (10).

It could be a very long night — or week, or month — in the presidential race. The congressional picture should be clear late tonight. We’ll have coverage throughout the night right here at Intercepts.

We’ll also be tracking key congressional defense committee races, updating races as winners are called. Check back all day and into the evening for our coverage. We’ll try to make sense of it all.

John T. Bennett

John T. Bennett

Bennett is the Editor of Defense News' CongressWatch channel. He has a Masters degree in Global Security Studies from Johns Hopkins University.
John T. Bennett
[starbox]