I am a former member of the Republican Party for too many years to count. I left the party in 2016 to become one of those Independents but then in 2017, I became affiliated with the Democratic Party. I was one of those who could not stomach being associated with any organization that would be supportive of Donald J. Trump becoming the 45th US president.
He probably isn’t as wealthy as he claims and he represents every character flaw that I can possibly imagine. He has been openly courting the racists, the Xenophobes, misogynists, a major portion of his base along with White Evangelical Christians and the investor class, makes him unfit to hold his post in the White House.
I was so disappointed that the Democratic Party star Mayor Andrew Gillum of FL did not win out-rightly in his bid to become its first Black governor. What’s worse, is that he could lose to a Trumpian wannabee, Ron DeSantis. The other star, Beto O’Rourke of Texas lost his bid to become its next US senator to the likes of Ted Cruz. Even the US Rep. Devin Nunes of California ended up being re-elected.
As a Floridian, I know that there were lots of grass roots organizations who gave their all to get folks out to vote for Democratic Party candidates but it’s obvious that there is more work to be done.
But as of 11/9/18, it looks like the Florida candidates for the US Senate and the governorship will be involved in a recount due to a very close vote count.
But I’m so proud of Stacey Abrams who is still vying to become Georgia’s next governor. As of the 8th of November 2018, it looks like her opponent, the republican Brian Kemp who just happens to be Georgia’s Supervisor of Elections. is showing that he has more votes to where he has declared victory. But it is well documented that he has resorted to every trick in the book to unfairly skew the election results in his favor to where Ms. Abrams has been refusing to concede. It turns out that if the votes end up being within .5 points of each other, there would have to be a run-off election.
As per the 11/5/18 Guardian report by Adam Gabatt, “The Republican accused Democrats of attempting to “hack” Georgia’s online voter registration system but offered no evidence for the charge.”
“Reports have since emerged that a private citizen uncovered a flaw in the voting system – which Kemp controls in his state role – which would allow anyone with access to an individual’s personal information to alter that voter’s record.”
“I think, unfortunately, Secretary Kemp has not only abused his power, he has failed to do his job,” Abrams said in an interview with ABC. “And you don’t deserve a promotion when you don’t serve the people you’ve been hired to serve.”
“Abrams told CNN Kemp’s investigation was a “witch-hunt” and said it was a “complete and utter fabrication” to say Democrats were involved.”
“The news site WhoWhatWhy reported that a man claiming to be a Georgia resident had uncovered the flaw and alerted Georgia Democrats. The site reported that Democrats then shared the information with lawyers for Kemp and national intelligence officials.”
“It was only after that, WhoWhatWhy reported, that Kemp announced he was opening an investigation into Democrats for hacking.”
“The Georgia race has been tainted by accusations of voter suppression under Kemp and racially charged remarks directed at Abrams. If elected, Abrams would be the first non-white, non-male governor of Georgia and the first female African American governor in US history.”
“On 11/4/18, it was reported that racist robocalls bankrolled by white supremacists were targeting Abrams and Oprah Winfrey, who has campaigned in the state. Kemp said the calls were “vile” but on 11/5/18 Abrams criticized his response.”
“I think it’s a little late for him to repudiate racist remarks, given that he stood with someone wearing an anti-Islam T-shirt, he refused to denounce the same man earlier,” Abrams said, referring to a photo that showed Kemp standing with a man wearing a T-shirt claiming “Allah is not God”.
So far, the Democratic Party candidates have won the majority of seats in the US House of Representatives with 31 seats that were previously held by republicans. There may be more wins counted as some states are still counting ballots.
The Democratic Party has added 7 more state governors and over 350 state legislators.
But, the Republican Party is still the majority party in the US Senate.
There are 2 US Senate seats (Florida and Arizona) where the votes are close enough to warrant a recount. In Florida there is a .019 point difference between the Democratic Party candidate US Senator Bill Nelson and the former republican Governor Rick Scott.
The current Senator Bill Nelson has refused to concede the race. If the spread is less than .025, an automatic hand count will be triggered, otherwise, there will be a machine recount.
As of the evening of 11/8/18, the Democratic Party candidate Rep. Kyrsten Sinema has more votes than the Republican Party candidate Rep. Martha McSally to become the next US senator from Arizona.
Mayor Gillum has reconsidered conceding the race to his republican opponent, Ron DeSantis to become the next FL. governor. As the votes continue to be tallied, the spread between his vote count and that of Ron DeSantis keeps dwindling. A recount is a real possibility.
On November 7, 2018, President Trump held a 90 minute press conference where he acted out of sorts as he attempted to portray the major election losses as really not a big deal and of course, the losses had nothing to do with him.
But then, later he fired the US Attorney General Jeff Sessions, as the new shiny object for the press to cover.
This post was updated on 11/9/18.
Gronda Morin 
Excellent post, Gronda. The Georgia election … the entire election … was corrupt from the very beginning … a sham. If I lived in Georgia, I would be screaming at the top of my lungs, demanding a new election to be held under the oversight of somebody other than Brian Kemp. How can one honestly oversee their own bloomin’ election??? Kemp is a crook and belongs in prison, not the governor’s mansion. I am hoping that the provisional and absentee ballots still to be counted make the margin so close that a run-off is required.
Like you, I find not a single thing that qualifies Trump for his office and his behaviour in the last few weeks has been thoroughly unconscionable, from telling lies about the migrant caravan simply to instill fear in the under-educated, to pulling the press creds from Jim Acosta yesterday and then doctoring a video to tell yet another lie. And now, Matthew Whitaker replacing Sessions, which almost certainly puts the Mueller investigation in grave danger. ENOUGH!!! I’ve had it with this wanna-be dictator!
Hugs!
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Dear Jill,
The good news is that the placement of Mr. Whittaker as the acting AG is illegal and it will be successfully challenged in the courts.
As for Georgia, I’m praying that there will be another election.
In AZ, the Democrat Rep. Kyrsten Sinema now has more votes than the Republican Party candidate Rep. Martha McSally for a US Senate seat.
In Florida, the spread between the Democratic Senator Bill Nelson and the republican Governor Rick Scott is about ,022, and if this doesn’t change, there will be an automatic recount by hand.
Not to be outdone, the democratic candidate to be FL. governor Mayor Andrew Gillum has withdrawn his concession to Ron DeSantis.
Have you noticed that there has been no more talk about that caravan of refugees?
Hugs, Gronda
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I’m with you on Georgia! Not so sure that Whitaker’s appointment won’t stand, for if nothing else, Trump will officially nominate him and the Senate will confirm just as they did Kavanaugh and countless others. But I am truly ecstatic about Sinema, for Martha McSally is a disgusting excuse for a woman! Fingers crossed for both Nelson and Gillum!!! And Stacy Abrams, for although Kemp declared himself the winner, his margin seems to be narrowing. I hope they throw it out and start over!
Nope, the migrant caravan served its purpose and no more talk. However, our troops are there at our expense. Good news a bit ago … a federal judge has halted construction on the Keystone pipeline! Watch for a Trumpian rant this morning!!!
Hugs!!!
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Hello Gronda, and Jill. As of the last I just heard, Gillum is looking at a recount as there is a lot of votes now being said to exist that did not get counted. The Senate race is required to have a recount and Scott is losing ground. In Georgia two things are happening, it seems a recount or run off will be required, and a lawsuit has been filed requiring a do over run off without Kemp being in charge.
So things could turn around yet. We could still win Georgia and Florida governorship. Plus the Florida senate seat. Hugs
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Encouraging news all around … thank you, Scottie … for just a minute, I stopped cussing for the first time today 😉 Hugs!
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Dear Scottie,
I’m so thrilled that Andrew Gillum has withdrawn his concession to the Trumpian wannabe, Ron DeSantis. Like you are saying, It ain’t over till (or until) the fat lady sings.
Thank goodness, the FL. Senator Bill Nelson refused to concede by making sure that every vote gets counted.
Frankly we here in Florida were of the belief that Mayor Gillum was lifting up Senator Nelson. The spread between him and Governor Rick Scott is currently about .022.
As for Stacey Abrams, she is right to not concede to the likes of a cheater.
In AZ, the Democratic Party Rep. Kyrsten Sinema now has more votes than the Republican Party candidate Rep. Martha McSally for a US Senate seat.
Miracles still happen.
Hugs, Gronda
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First think I heard on the news this morning was an angry Rick Scott demanding the counting be stopped, that the election was over and he won. He was talking suing the two biggest democratic counties. He knows it is required by state law, so he is trying to bully them to stop counting ballots that put him further behind. Hugs
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Dear Scottie,
Here’s the skinny. Rick Scott has not filed any paperwork to start a lawsuit, so he is just spouting off. The FDLE Florida Department of Law Enforcement spokesperson has stated that its agents have not noted any instances of fraud or cheating in the vote counting.
Hugs, Gronda
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Thank you for the update. Why do some politicians think just because they say something angrily and loudly they are correct? Believe what I tell you because I do it loudly and with intensity. Hugs
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And don’t forget the state legislatures. Numerous legislatures turned blue this election, and that has a major impact on redistricting going forward. Additionally, it’s important to have people at the lower levels if you’re a party that wants to succeed in the long run…after all, many moons ago, a relatively young man in Illinois named Barack became State Senator Obama. And the rest is history.
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Dear Brendan Birth,
You are absolutely right. We needed all those seats to improve our chances to win the presidency in 2020.
President Trump has tried to portray these victories as less than a blue wave when it definitely was a blue wave.
Let’s put it this way. The US Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has stated that his fellow republicans will no longer be trying to end Obamacare. It took this blue wave for him to get the message.
Hugs, Gronda
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Oh…I didn’t hear that. I didn’t hear that they will no longer try to end Obamacare. That’s big news, as well as the seats Dems won everywhere except in the U.S. Senate.
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Gronda, good post. On the positive side, many diverse and new candidates carried the Dems to retake the majority. My hope is they will govern in a collaborative way and solve problems. Adding more women to the House will help in that regard.
I was pleased with the ballot initiatives and two that were defeated in NC aa they were power grabs. The FL initiative to make it easier for former felons to vote is good as our the three states that passed Medicaid expansion.
Although disappointed with FL and GA, several new governors carried the day. And, changes occurred in various state houses. The Senate result was expected, but had disappointment. Ted Cruz and Rick Scott do more harm than good, in my view and am sorry Claire McCaskill and Heidi Heidkamph lost.
But, it is a good start. Keith
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Dear Keith,
It looks like the Florida and the Georgia races are still in play.
In AZ, the democratic candidate is ahead in the vote count for a US Senate seat.
The Democratic Party flips for the US House seats is now up to 35.
Frankly, the picture is looking better.
I’m pleased that the FL initiative to make it easier for former felons to vote passed and that three states passed Medicaid expansion.
This is going to be an amazing Freshman class in the US House of Representatives. I’m counting on them to make a difference.
Hugs, Gronda
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