Republicans got in the primary. Dump won by 37%. It’s a repuke state.

I also wish he had won but he did himself proud and don't you dare put him down for that. The two will duke it out again in November and it is my fervent prayer that O'Connor will win then.

About 8000 votes still to be counted.

Right-to-work lost overwhelmingly. Shows that even in a red state, there is popular support for unions. There are untapped liberals out there, who need to be woken up.

Has held for 78 of the last 80 years and on which they spent twice as much money. And there are still votes to count. This was a good outcome. Not the best outcome, but a good one nonetheless.

I was in an email exchange on Monday with several of us who have bet politics over the years. Nobody expected O'Connor to win and everyone thought it would be at least 2 points for Balderson. I pegged 3 points. One guy was 5 points.

This doesn't feel too bad, given that backdrop. The district is overwhelmingly white. Keeping it this tight means the independents and soft Republicans are still trying to send a message to Trump.

I think that last poll with O'Connor +1 led to some misplaced optimism. Big picture variables are more significant than one late poll. Any political bettor who doesn't learn that in a hurry doesn't last long.