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NATIONAL
Sen. Marco Rubio: Indications Surface Regarding SoS Appointment
News reports were breaking last night that President-Elect Trump has decided to name Florida Sen. Marco Rubio (R) as the country's Secretary of State. Should the reports prove true, the Senator will resign his current position just two years into his third six-year term.
Governor Ron DeSantis (R) will then be charged with replacing Sen. Rubio through appointment. The appointed Senator will then have the opportunity of running in 2026 to fill the balance of the current term, and then again for a full six-year stint in 2028.
SENATE
Pennsylvania: Dems Claim Race Not Over
Controversy arose yesterday with stories surfacing saying that current Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who will be reduced to Minority Leader in January, will not be inviting Pennsylvania Senator-Elect David McCormick (R) to the Senate orientation meetings despite McCormick being projected as the election winner.
Current Sen. Bob Casey, Jr. (D), who appears to have lost his seat, claims there are enough uncounted provisional and overseas ballots still remaining that could change the outcome. Mr. Casey says more than 100,000 ballots have this status.
Currently, Mr. McCormick's lead is 35,063 votes. A provisional vote is a ballot that an individual casts for a reason other than having proper documentation or for other circumstances that prevent the individual from casting a regular precinct vote. Therefore, it is probable that most of the provisional ballots will not be counted.
Even if they are and Casey's estimate of the number of remaining overseas ballots is correct, it would mean that he would have to garner 65% of the outstanding votes even though his current vote percentage is 48.5%. Therefore, regardless of the time it takes, Mr. McCormick will eventually be declared the official winner.
HOUSE
AZ-6: Rep. Ciscomani Declared Winner
Republicans now have been projected as unofficial winners in 219 seats, meaning they have clinched at least a small majority in the House of Representatives.
Yesterday, Arizona Rep. Juan Ciscomani (R-Tucson) was determined to have defeated former state Senator Kirsten Engel (D), who was also his opponent in 2022. His ending margin will likely be between 5,000 and 6,000 votes – virtually identical to his 2022 victory count.
CA-41: Veteran Rep. Calvert Wins Again
Another victory was recorded yesterday, this time for California Congressman Ken Calvert (R-Corona), who is headed for membership in his 17th Congress. With just 14% of the vote outstanding, Rep. Calvert has an insurmountable lead of 7,548 votes. For the second time in two consecutive elections, Mr. Calvert has defeated former federal prosecutor Will Rollins (D), despite the challenger outspending the incumbent in this election by at least $4 million.
CO-8: Rep. Caraveo (D) Unseated
Freshman Colorado US Representative Yadira Caraveo (D-Thurston) became the seventh incumbent to lose his or her seat as her Republican opponent, state Representative Gabe Evans (R-Westminster), yesterday was declared the 2024 election winner.
Mr. Evans, also an Army veteran and former police officer, claims the politically marginal 8th District by just under a percentage point in a northern Centennial State seat that was designed to produce close elections. The 8th District, which was awarded to Colorado in the 2020 census, was placed north and northeast of Denver and includes the cities of Greeley, Thurston and Westminster.
It is a highly marginal political district and, for the second time since the boundaries were adopted, has produced a winner whose victory margin was under one percentage point.
Jim Ellis is a 35-year veteran of politics at the state and national levels. He has served ss executive director for two national political action committees, as well as a consultant to the three national Republican Party organizations in DC, the National Federation of Independent Business, and various national conservative groups.
Born and raised in Sacramento, California, he earned a B. A. in Political Science from the University of California at Davis in 1979. Jim raised his daughter, Jacqueline, alone after his wife died following a tragic car accident. He helped establish the Joan Ellis Victims Assistance Network in Rochester, NH. Jim also is a member of the Northern Virginia Football Officials Association, which officiates high school games throughout the region.
Nice report, Jim. Please, keep us in the loop on this (never-ending) ballot count.