So the next round of reports indicates that Cardin (D) has won in Maryland -- which is HUGE as Maryland's race had tightened to neck and neck over the final days.
Also, the bellweather race in Kentucky -- which was being measured as an indicator for how the rest of the country would move this evening, had Yarmuth (D) taking the race over Northrup (R) 51 to 48 - a good indicator for those hoping for a Democratic house.
Also, and this is bittwersweet -- Lincoln Chaffee of Rhode Island has apparently lost his Senate seat. Chaffee is a moderate and fair-minded Republican who (until this evening) was one of only three members of the Senate to openly support marriage rights for same-sex couples. Chaffee once said at an HRC event that he was sorry for some of his Senate Rpublican colleagues who "loved gay people the way that hurricanes love trailor parks" (I'm paraphrasing there - but not by much). Chaffee was a good friend to HRC and our community.
Sheldon Whithouse, who won tonight's Senate race in Rhode Island, will also be a strong advocate for GLBT Americans, and joins a growing number of Democrats in the Senate...more to come...
