HALF HOUR TO GO - AT 7:30 P.M. ET:  Polls close in half an hour.  Even most of the deceased have now voted. 

One of our great founding readers, Beth Harrison, comments:  "This may morph into a major and unforgivable gloat, depending on the news over the next few hours.  <grin>"

We hope so.  We sure hope so.

From The New York Times:

In North Andover, Katie Zezima interviewed a mother-daughter team, both of whom have long histories of voting for Democratic candidates but who switched allegiances in this hotly contested race. The views below are telling, in a way, because they perhaps underscore the shifts to State Senator Scott Brown that pollsters and the campaigns have picked up on in recent days among independent voters and some Democrats in a race that a month ago looked like a shoo-in for Martha Coakley, the Democratic candidate.

From Ms. Zezima: Marlene Connolly, 73, of North Andover, says she cast her first vote for a Republican today, forced to return to her polling place after waiting 45 minutes initially when the lines were long. She left to pick up her grandson from school, and then waited another 20 minutes before finally getting her opportunity to be heard in the voting booth.

“I voiced my opinion and voted for a Republican, and the roof did not cave in,” Ms. Connolly said. “I can’t believe I’m saying this and if my husband were alive you’d hear a roar, but I think I am now a Republican. I’m just devastated by what Obama’s doing. I don’t think he cares enough about anything other than his own personal agenda or this foolish health care bill.”

Of course, we don't know how many other Democrats feel this way.  As we reported earlier, there are no exit polls.  We should start getting early trends in, oh, 45 minutes to an hour.

January 19, 2010