Election Wrap-Up

First, on this Veterans Day, thank you to all of the veterans who served our country and active military members who continue to serve today. 

Remember the election prediction blog post from last week? Well, I thought it would be fun to see how everyone did. (Please note that I'll address the allegations of election fraud or that the results were rigged later in this post.) 

1. Who will win the Presidential election and by how much based on Electoral College numbers?

5 of 7 of us picked Biden. Assuming that Georgia goes to Biden, he'll get 306 electoral votes. Deb said over 300 votes, and I predicted 307, so we each get a bonus point.

2. By day and time, when will the American public first learn who won the Presidential election?

Even though Professor Sean Foreman gave several scenarios, one of them was Saturday, November 7th at noon. Since most major networks called it at 11:30, Dr. Sean gets a point.

3. Who wins the South Carolina Senate race?

Jon, Barry, and Sean all correctly chose Lindsey Graham

4. Who wins the Kentucky Senate race?

Everyone picked McConnell.

5. Will the Democrats flip the Senate?

All seven of us said yes. Even though it's still possible that the Democrats win the two Georgia seats in January, for now, we are all incorrect.

6. Will CA approve Prop 18 to allow 17 year-olds who will be 18 at the time of the next general election to vote in primaries and special elections?

Jon and Rich were right in predicting no.

7. Will CO approve Proposition 114 to reintroduce gray wolves on public land?

In a super close 50%-49% vote, this measure passed. I assume this means we'll see gray wolves in center field at Rockies games in a few years. Or maybe former baseball pitcher Randy Wolf will come out of retirement. Josh, Jon, Barry, and Rich got this right.

8. Will South Dakota approve Constitutional Amendment B to legalize sports betting in Deadwood?

Jon said no and Sean didn't really answer this, but the rest of us were correct that sports gambling is coming to Deadwood. Fun fact. In the summer of 1999, my dad and I drove from San Diego to Pittsburgh, and we stopped in Deadwood. I really liked it there. We did a walking tour which included visiting the cemetery where Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane are buried, and there was a bar/restaurant/casino owned by Kevin Costner which featured memorabilia from his time filming Dancing With Wolves. Soon, I can visit again and put money on the Steelers-Cowboys game.

9. Will the Steelers defeat the Cowboys by more than 10 points?

And I was permitted to put money on the Cowboys, I would have won since they were 13.5-point underdogs. The Steelers won in an uninspiring 24-19 game. I was the only one to get this right. 

Barry, Rich, and I all finished with 5 correct. Jon, Josh, and Deb got 4 right. Dr. Sean only got 3 right, but he didn't really answer everything. 

Overall, this was a lot of fun. I may have to do this again in 2022 or 2024!

Let's get to the presidential election. So you're telling me that the Democrats successfully rigged the election in favor of Joe Biden? They did this in such a brilliant way that the party lost seats in the House and failed to take the Senate (pending the Georgia run-offs). If they rigged the election, why did Lindsey Graham, Steve Daines, and Thom Tillis keep their seats against strong opponents in South Carolina, Montana, and North Carolina respectively? In addition, wouldn't the Democrats have rigged the election so that Mitch McConnell lost in Kentucky? 

So all of a sudden, the party that couldn't get a Senate vote for Merrick Garland after President Obama nominated him for a Supreme Court seat and couldn't stop Amy Coney Barrett from becoming a Supreme Court justice are amazing strategists? Weren't some Republicans calling Joe Biden senile and saying that he's declining mentally? Last week, there were heated arguments between centrists and more liberal Democrats in the House. Was this just part of Nancy Pelosi's plan to distract the country from thinking about voter fraud?  Or maybe Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is behind this, but I thought she was just a bartender.

I guess there is some incredible 4D chess happening here by the Democratic party leadership