SIGN-OFF – I will be signing off for the night.  I must get my beauty sleep and be sufficiently rested to think brilliant thoughts in the morning.  The Senate races in Arizona, Nevada, and Montana are still too close to call.  In Wisconsin, only a few hundred votes separate Republican Governor Scott Walker and challenger Tony Evers. 

More in the morning.

12:10 A.M. ET:  The Nevada Senate race between incumbent Republic Senator Dean Heller and challenging Democrat Jacky Rosen is too close to call.  Heller is considered vulnerable, and it's here that the GOP could possibly suffer the loss of a Senate seat.  

The Montana Senate race between incumbent Democratic Senator Jon Tester and Republican challenger Matt Rosendale is also too close to call.

11:59 P.M. ET:  It now appears, although Fox has not called it, that Republican Governor Rick Scott of Florida has been elected to the Senate, defeating incumbent Bill Nelson.  If the count holds, this will be the fourth GOP Senate pickup, with no Republican losses so far.  We are still watching the razor-close race in Arizona.

11:25 P.M. ET: IMPORTANT – Some are calling it, some are not, but it appears Ron De Santis has been elected governor of Florida, defeating Democratic rising rocket Andrew Gillum.

It also appears that Brian Kemp has defeated Stacey Abrams for the governorship of Georgia.  Abrams had hoped to become the first black woman governor. 

So, it appears, unless there's a shocking reversal, that Ohio, Georgia, and Florida, will have GOP governors as we head into the 2020 presidential election. 

11:12 P.M. ET: FOX PREDICTS HAWLEY WILL DEFEAT McCASKILL IN MISSOURI, THIRD GOP PICKUP OF THE NIGHT.

11:06 P.M. ET:  IMPORTANT – Republican Mike DeWine, a former US senator, has been elected governor of Ohio.  Governors play an important role in the election machinery of a state, and having Ohio in Republican hands could be critical in 2020.

10:59 P.M. ET:  The Arizona race between our Martha McSally and the queen of weird, Krysten Sinema, for a US Senate seat, is still close to call, but press reports say that the majority of votes still to be counted come from Republican areas.  Keep fingers crossed.

10:35 P.M. ET:  Mitt Romney has been elected to the Senate from Utah.  Of course you remember him as the Republican candidate for president in 2012.  His relationship with President Trump has been testy, and one must wonder if Mitt entertains dreams of challenging the president in 2020 should Trump falter in the polls.  Just thinkin'.

It appears that GOP Congressman Dave Brat of Virginia, who rose to fame by defeating Republican House Majority Leader Eric Cantor in a primary, may well go down to defeat himself tonight.  His Democratic opponent, Abigail Spanberger, a former CIA operative, holds a narrow lead, but the race has not been called.

10:21 P.M. ET:  FOX DECLARES TED CRUZ THE WINNER IN TEXAS, KEEPING A GOP SEAT. 

This will diminish the rising star of Beto O'Rourke who, properly, fell short.  But he'll be back.

10:14 P.M. ET:  Both the gubernatorial and Senate races in Florida are still too close to call.  We may not know the outcomes tonight.  (Remember the Florida recount in 2000?) 

No decision yet in Missouri, where the GOP is hoping to knock out incumbent Dem Senator Claire McCaskill, a notable survivor. 

9:58 P.M. ET:  Senator Ted Cruz, battling to keep his Senate seat against a vastly financed challenge from nothingburger Beto O'Rourke, has pulled slightly ahead of O'Rourke in the vote count, but the race is still too close to call.

Looks like incumbent Dem Heidi Heitkamp will lose her seat, as predicted, in North Dakota.  That will give the GOP two Senate pickups, assuming it doesn't lose any seats. 

9:32 P.M. ET:  FOX PREDICTS DEMOCRATS WILL CONTROL THE NEW HOUSE.  Clearly, a major setback for our side, although widely predicted.

9:17 P.M. ET:  FOX PREDICTS MIKE BRAUN WILL DEFEAT INCUMBENT DEM SENATOR JOE DONNELLY IN INDIANA, THE FIRST GOP SENATE PICKUP OF THE NIGHT.

But watch Texas, where Ted Cruz may be in some trouble. 

9:10 P.M. :  Fox predicts Joe Manchin, a conservative Democrat, will hold on to his seat in West Virginia.  There had been some hope that he could be upset, but he is very popular in his state, and his vote in favor of confirming Justice Kavanaugh was a masterstroke in politics.

Fox also predicts that ethically overwhelmed Dem Senator Bob Menendez of New Jersey will also keep his seat.  For our side, it's the same old story.  In every election cycle we think we see something encouraging in New Jersey, and it never happens.  The Democrats in the state come home on election day. 

9:05 P.M. ET:  FOX PREDICTS MARSHA BLACKBURN WILL WIN HER SENATE RACE IN TENNESSEE.  SHE WILL REPLACE BOB CORKER, A RETIRING REPUBLICAN, SO THIS PROTECTS A GOP SEAT.

8:51 P.M. ET:  Fox reports that Indiana Republicans are confident that Mike Braun will defeat Joe Donnelly, for a GOP Senate pickup.  I gently note that confidence is not votes, but it's better than despair.

8:45 P.M. ET:  Florida still razor-close in both the gubernatorial and senatorial races.  Right down to the wire.  No predictions.  Braun continues his lead in Indiana.  No real surprises anywhere, but, at this hour, it's hard to see the blue wave the Democrats were predicting.  Maybe a light drizzle.

8:16 P.M. ET:  Watch Florida!  Watch Florida! The gubernatorial race between Republican Ron De Santis and Democrat looney tuneser Andrew Gillum is deadlocked.  And the Senate race between Republican Governor Rick Scott and Dem incumbent Bill Nelson is almost even.  Ya never know. 

8:05 P.M. ET:  No important new calls, but watch Indiana.  There is a possibility, but no certainty, that Republican Mike Braun will defeat incumbent Democratic Senator Joe Donnelly.  Braun is leading by a good chunk, but Marion County, containing Indianapolis, a Dem stronghold, has not yet reported.

WE HAVE RETURNED – AT 7:44 P.M.

Returns are starting to come in, but remember that areas within states do not report at the same time.  Early numbers can be very deceptive.  There are no surprises thus far.  Some "exit polling" suggests a Democratic wave, but we don't know how some of that polling was done.  I think we'll know much more in an hour or so.  But be entertained up to then.

November 6, 2018