What To Look For On Election Night
The first polls close at 6:00 p.m. Eastern in Indiana and should provide important clues about the night to come. One thing to look for is how quickly Republican Dan Coats is declared the winner over Democratic Congressman Brad Ellsworth in the U.S. Senate race. Coats is up by 18 percentage points in the latest Rasmussen Reports poll, and the numbers should lead to a fairly easy and early call for the networks. If it’s not, then that’s either a sign of a tough night for the GOP or problems with the exit polls.
Also in Indiana, there are a couple of interesting House races to watch. Real Clear Politics (RCP) has a great summary of House races which can serve as a starting point for all armchair analysts. In Indiana, they show Indiana’s 2nd Congressional District as a Toss-Up between incumbent Democrat Joe Donnelly and Republican challenger Jackie Walorski. RCP projects that 224 seats are leaning, likely or safe Republican (that’s a 45-seat gain). So if the Democrats start to lose some of the Toss-Ups like Indiana-2, the GOP can be expected to gain well over 45 seats.
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