Thursday, November 06, 2008

Heartbreaks II

Commissioner of Agriculture
Ronnie Ansley (D) 1,941,167 (47.95%)
Steve Troxler (R), incumbent 2,107,270 (52.05%)

Commissioner of Labor
Mary Fant Donnan (D) 1,993,251 (49.40%)
Cherie Berry (R), incumbent 2,042,059 (50.60%)

Supreme Court Associate Justice
Robert H. (Bob) Edmunds Jr. (R), incumbent 1,562,453 (51.02%)
Suzanne Reynolds (D) 1,499,978 (48.98%)

NC Court of Appeals
John S. Arrowood (D), incumbent 1,319,800 (46.32%)
Robert N. (Bob) Hunter Jr. (R) 1,529,583 (53.68%)

It's a shame about these two judge races. Bob Edmunds is a partisan Republican, famous in 2008 for uttering the words (and in Watauga County, too!) that he was all there was standing between good God-fearing North Carolinians and (eek!) godless Democrats. Words to that effect. Anyway, everyone who heard him knew what he meant.

If it's a shame about the judges, it's a disgrace about the Agriculture and Labor commissioners. Putting the Elevator Lady back in office, following the manifold scandals of her failures as a workplace regulator, defies expectations as well as logic. Troxler is the best friend Monsanto has ever had in NC and seems to think it's just fine to gas farm workers, as long as they're poor and migratory.

There are almost 50,000 provisional ballots in NC that won't be certified and counted until next week (which is why the state has not been called for Obama yet, though he's leading). The estimate is that as many as 65% of those provisionals will end up being counted, and about the same percentage of the ones ruled eligible will be Democratic ballots ... not enough, probably, to change any of the close races above.

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