Really Quick and Dirty Updates on the States: Part 1

• Alabama
  • Freshman Rep. Bobby Bright (D AL 2) lost despite his pro-business voting record and his refusal to commit to Nancy Pelosi as speaker of the house.
  • Both the Alabama State House and Senate flipped control to the GOP.
• Alaska
  • Alaska breeds tough candidates that don’t go away.  Lisa Murkowski has made history with her write-in and Bristol has survived on Dancing With The Stars yet again.
• Arizona
  • Tea Party was strong enough to oust Freshman Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick (D AZ 1) and sophomore Rep. Harry Mitchell (D AZ 5).
• Arkansas
  • Republicans makes gains in the 1st and 2nd districts with Rick Crawford and Tim Griffin.
  • Rep. Mike Ross (D AR 4) one of the few who was rewarded for his health care and climate votes in opposition to the Obama Administration rather than because of his party label.
• California
  • California voters had selective amnesia and returned Jerry Brown to the office he held more than three decades ago.
  • Because the GOP will control the House, Darrell Issa (R CA 49) set to chair Oversight and Government Reform – empowered to call administration and agency personnel before House hearings.
• Colorado
  • John Hickenlooper (D) wins the Governorship with about 50%, but third-party Tom Tancredo beats the GOP nominee.
  • The 3rd and 4th districts flipping to Republican may be a sign that the Democratic ground game is running out of steam after the past 3 cycles.
• Connecticut
  • Polls a month out were wrong about the surge for Linda McMahon (R) with Richard Blumenthal (D) winning the Senate seat.
  • While the rest of the nation faced a tsunami, Connecticut still has a completely Blue delegation.
• Delaware
  • Christine O’Donnell proved that not all press is good press and will go down in the annals of election history mistakes alongside the “Macaca” moment.
  • Chris Coons (D) will be sworn in for the lame-duck session.
• Florida
  • Senator to be Marco Rubio gets nearly 50% of the vote in a three-way Senate contest showing that Republicans and Independents abandoned Charlie Crist.
• Georgia
  • Jim Marshall (D GA-8) loses in the Republican wave because of his party label while John Barrow (D GA 12) survives.
• Hawaii
  • Democratic turnout replaces special election winner Rep. Charles Djou (R HI 1) with Colleen Hanabusa (D).
• Idaho
  • Voters have judged freshman Rep. Walt Minnick (D) on his party label, not on his voting record, making him another victim to the GOP wave.
• Illinois
  • House Delegation turns out to be 10R/8D with 1 seat pending.
  • Mark Kirk (R) will bring a much needed rehabilitating force into the Senate.
• Indiana
  • Just under half of the House delegation will be freshmen in the 112th Congress.
  • Indiana State House flipped control to the GOP.
• Iowa
  • Iowa bucked the trend of the GOP wave with no change in their Congressional Delegation.
  • Iowa State House flipped control to the GOP.
• Kansas
  • State legislator Kevin Yoder (R) wins suburban Johnson County and picked up a seat vacated by Rep. Dennis Moore (D).
  • State legislator Raj Goyle (D) was a great candidate who happened to run in the wrong year in the 4th district.
• Kentucky
  • The 6th district is shaping up to be the closest race of the cycle.
  • Tea Party candidate Rand Paul won his race early in the evening signaling the beginning of the GOP wave.
• Louisiana
  • Sen. David Vitter (R) survived despite his sex scandal.
  • Rep. Joe Cao (R LA 2) lost despite his record simply because of the demographics of the district.
• Maine
  • Independent candidate Eliot Cutler outperforms the Democrat and the race for Governor is still too close to call.
  • Both Maine State House and Senate flipped control to the GOP.
• Maryland
  • Maryland’s 1st district voters experienced buyer’s remorse with Rep. Frank Kratovil (D MD 1).
• Massachusetts
  • Gov. Deval Patrick (D) – whose 2006 win foreshadowed the Obama strategy for the White House – got reelected in a three-way race.
  • The entire Massachusetts delegation still remains Democrat.
  • Barney Frank will no longer chair the Banking Committee.
• Michigan
  • Rep. Tim Walberg (R) wins in the rematch between freshmen Rep. Mark Schauer (D MI 7).
  • At least one-third of the 15 member delegation will be freshmen.
  • Michigan State House flipped control to the GOP.
• Minnesota
  • Despite the GOP wave, Republicans unable to reclaim the seat held by second-term Rep. Tim Walz (D MN 1).
  • Both Minnesota State House and Senate flipped control to the GOP.
• Mississippi
  • The 1st and 4th districts indicate that voters picked along party lines instead of ideological lines.
  • Rep. Bennie Thompson (D MS 2) loses the chair of Homeland Security.
• Missouri
  • Rep. Ike Skelton (D MO 4) lost his seat due to a combination of party label, coattails, and age despite his voting record and Armed Services chairmanship.

In a moment we will post the second part containing the remainder of the States.