That’s it, it’s over. After months and months of endless campaigning, President Barack Obama has won a second term over challenger Mitt Romney, and Democrats maintained control of the Senate.
Now, here’s a round-up of what happened locally in the DMV:
IN THE DISTRICT:
In D.C, the results went largely as expected (Obama received a whopping 91.1 percent of the vote), but in one of the only toss-up races, challenger David Grosso won an at-large seat, unseating incumbent Michael A. Brown.
There were two at-large seats open, with voters each choosing two candidates out of the seven on the ballot. Incumbent Vincent Orange kept his seat with 37.35 percent of the vote and David Grosso took the second seat with 20.8 percent. Brown came in third with 15.31 percent of the vote. The Washington Post reports that Grosso’s win marks the first time in D.C. since 2004 a challenger unseated a sitting councilmember.
Eleanor Holmes Norton continued her winning streak and was re-elected to be the District’s non-voting delegate in the U.S. House with 88.7 percent of the vote. She has held the seat since 1991 and has not received less than 88 percent of the vote in any election over the past 18 years.
In the race for D.C. shadow senator, Michael D. Brown won re-election with nearly 80 percent of the vote.
The council races went as expected with all incumbentswith the exception of Michael A. Brown, of course -- winning re-election. Marion Barry, Muriel Bowser Yvette Alexander and Jack Evans will all remain on the dais. Barry won with 87.4 percent of the vote. Alexander handily beat challenger Ron Moten with 86.8 percent of the vote. Bowser and Evans ran unopposed.
In a special election, Phil Mendelson -- who was appointed chairman by his fellow councilmembers after Kwame Brown resigned -- was officially elected chairman, beating out Calvin Gurley with 71.5 percent of the vote. Mendelson will finish out the remaining two years of Brown’s term.
D.C. voters also decisively approved three ethics-related charter amendments that would allow councilmembers to vote to expel a council member for “gross misconduct” and would require both the mayor and council to resign if convicted of a felony.
Click here to see the full results in D.C.
IN MARYLAND:
Obama and incumbent Senator Bill Cardin easily won re-election (Obama with 61.2 percent of the vote and Cardin with 55.2 percent). But all eyes were on three high-profile ballot measures this election, and it seems the Dems fared pretty well
Voters upheld Gov. O’Malley’s same-sex marriage law with 52 percent of the vote, making Maryland the first state to vote for the legalization of same-sex marriages. (Voters also approved same-sex marriages in Maine and Washington state last night.)
Fifty-eight percent of voters also voted in favor of the Dream Act -- a law that allows undocumented Marylanders to pay in-state tuition to attend state schools providing they attended a Maryland high school and their parents pay state taxes.
And in what was perhaps the most debated and uncertain ballot measure, Marylanders voted in favor of gambling expansion, 52 to 48 percent. A sixth casino site will now be added in Prince George’s County and all existing Casinos will allow table games.
In one of the more interesting House matchups, Republican Rep. Roscoe Bartlett, a 10-term Maryland incumbent, lost his seat to financier John Delaney, 30.8 percent to 65.5 percent. Bartlett’s longtime Republican district was redrawn to be majority Democrat.
IN VIRGINIA:
Virginians can now go back to watching TV and plugging in their landlines; the race is over and the ads will stop. Obama clinched the commonwealth late in the night with a 2.2 percent victory. His victory in Virginia in 2008 marked the first time a Democrat won the state since 1964.
Former Democratic Virginia Governor Tim Kaine won his heated Senate race against another former governor, Republican George Allen, with a fairly large margin of 4.8 percent.
Voters in the state overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment that would limit eminent domain, making it harder for Virginia localities to seize private property for redevelopment.
There were a lot of House seats up for grab in the area, and it was a night of celebration for incumbents. Democrat Jim Moran was elected to his 12th term. Gerald Connolly also won. Republican incumbents Frank Wolf and Rob Wittman similarly coasted to victory.
IN OTHER NEWS:
* D.C. celebrates their man’s victory.
* George Allen’s concession speech.
* First reactions to Kaine’s Senate win.
* Apparently the Green Party can't show up on time to its own D.C. party.
* Tom Sherwood: The winner? Big government.
* Blogging the Dems' party.
* And blogging the GOP party.
