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The 7 p.m. Poll Closings: Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia
Hit & Run — ATLANTA - I'm en route to Bob Barr's election party, which won't kick off officially until after the polls close, which gave me time to grab a burger at the Varsity restaurant. A family next to me is talking about... Bob Barr. They didn't vote for him, they were just trying to remember who the LP candidate was. The first wave of exit polls, which are being broadcast on the cable channels (Fox News in the Varsity), look ridiculously good for Obama. Not the state-by-states, which are bunk, but the fact that more voters would be "scared" of a McCain win than an Obama win, that only 10 percent more of the electorate thinks McCain ...

Georgia bellweather
Ben Smith's Blog — A striking number from the exits, and a very good sign for Obama: African-Americans made up 30% of the voters in Georgia. In 2004, they were 25%. UPDATE: On the other hand, black voters make up 21% of the turnout in Virginia, unchanged from four years ago. UPDATE: Hotline tallies the states, and notes that black turnout is actually down in South Carolina, as a share of the total vote.

Some Ruminations on the Exit Polls:
The Volokh Conspiracy — Looking at the exit polls for a random assortment of swing states that went for Obama-- Indiana , Virginia , Florida , Ohio , and Pennsylvania , and Nevada --is interesting and has implications, I think, for how Obama should govern. First, it seems pretty clear that whatever this election was, it does not look like a mandate for an aggressive liberal agenda. In Indiana, for instance, voters identified themselves as follows: 44% Moderate, 36% Conservative, 20% Liberal. Virginia was 46% Moderate, 33% Conservative, and 21% Liberal. Florida was 47%M, 35%C, and 19%L. Ohio was 45M-35C-20L. Pennsylvania was ...

Independents slip in Virginia
Ben Smith's Blog — Whit Ayres really does seem to have had a point, as the largest and best-respected Virginia poll to date -- the Washington Post's -- shows what Republicans have long predicted (and hoped for): Independents shifting back toward the right. From Cillizza's summary: [J]ust 23 percent of Independents said the support of Obama increased their likelihood of voting for Deeds while 37 percent said it made them less likely to support the Democratic nominee. Nearly four in ten (38 percent) said Obama's endorsement made no difference in their vote. A slim plurality of those Virginia independents supported Obama ...

Creigh Deeds Radio Ad Stars Obama
TPM Election Central — Creigh Deeds, the Democratic nominee for Governor of Virginia, has a new radio ad using audio of President Obama at a campaign rally for him a few weeks ago, targeted at black radio media markets. To listen to the ad, click here. Recent polling has shown that Deeds is having a big problem from Democratic-leaning voters being less motivated and less likely to vote, which is contributing to his deficit against Republican nominee Bob McDonnell. For example, the recent survey from Public Policy Polling (D) had African-Americans making up only 16% of respondents, compared to 20% in the 2008 exit poll, when ...

Could George Allen Make A Comeback?
TPM Election Central — Could George Allen -- the one-term Republican Senator from Virginia who in 2006 threw away a seemingly certain re-election and future presidential run when he called a Jim Webb staffer by the obscure racial epithet, "macaca" -- actually be able to make a comeback? The new survey of Virginia from Public Policy Polling (D) finds that Allen has a 50% favorable rating, with 38% unfavorable. When asked whether they would vote for Allen if he ran for office again, 31% said they would definitely vote for him, 36% said definitely not, and 31% said they would consider it. One caveat: Due to a higher motivation among GOP voters at ...