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Barack Obama spoke to the nation tonight from Chicago. In his speech he touched on the cornerstones of his campaign: change, healing, working together. Thousands of supporters had been waiting for hours to hear him speak.

House results for Cheshire County: Jack Laurent won the race against Marjorie Merena in District 1; Democrats Delmar Burridge, Suzanne Butcher, Kris Roberts, Steve Lindsey, David Meader, Timothy Robertson and Chuck Weed swept the races in District 3; In District 5, Barbara Hull Richardson was unopposed, and won. In District 7, Bonnie Mitchell, Susan Emerson, John B. Hunt and Franklin W. Sterling Jr. won seats. Democrats Peter H. Allen, Nancy L. Carlson and Alfred “Gus” Lerandeau and Republican Jane B. Johnson won the four seats in District 6. The incumbent Democrats in District 2 kept their seats, with Daniel A. Eaton, Tara Sad and Lucy McVitty Weber beating out Republican Fred Ward for the three-seat district. We await results from district 4.

John McCain just spoke to an audience of supporters in Arizona, urging support for Barack Obama and thanking the crowd for their hard work. Obama is expected to address a crowd in Chicago shortly.

Major networks are calling Barack Obama the president elect. The polls closed on the West Coast and it was clear that Obama won California, along with other key states.

The N.H. State Senate appears to stay under Democratic control, with State Sen. Molly Kelly running ahead ofchallenger Tom Eaton in District 10.
A Democratic House Sweep In Keene
In unofficial reporting, Democrats Steve Lindsey, David Meader, Kris E. Roberts, Tim Robertson, Chuck Weed, Delmar Burridge and Suzanne Butcher appear to have won all 7 state representative races.

When my niece was born, I was 13. I babysat for her, played with her and took her to see New Kids on the Block (the first time around). I went to her wedding and was on the other end of the phone with her moments after her son was born.
And she’s voted in past elections, I know. But this election has her energized in a way I haven’t seen before. She’s in her 30s now, but we’ve never talked politics a whole lot. When her brother was in Iraq, I don’t believe she voted for President Bush, but I don’t really know.
During this election, she did many things. She talked to me about politics. She went on a march for her candidate in Pennyslvania. She became excited about this process. She is informed. And she voted for Obama.
I have many ideas about why she came to life in this political season. Her son turns 13 soon. I think she is seeing the way her vote and the political process in general will affect him. And because her son is old enough to know a lot about politics now, it’s important for her to participate and set an example. But also, as the mother of a biracial child, she saw a presidential candidate who looks like her son. It wasn’t a deciding factor, any more than voting for John McCain because he is a white man would be.
But it’s safe to say that there’s an entire generation of people who are tired of being represented by politicians who don’t look, act, think or feel the way they do. It’s safe to say that Barack Obama has excited a faction of voters who truly see him as a man who stands for change. Obama was ridiculed by the McCain campaign, by Sarah Palin in particular, for being a community organizer. But it was his skill as a community organizer that attracted support that later propelled him into political office. He had a great education, he’s very smart and he certainly had that rock star quality. But to be able to work on both sides of the aisle to bring about solutions … well, not everyone can do that. Few can, actually.
So, I’ve been getting texts all night from my niece in New Jersey. Every time a state is called one way or another, I get a text.
And regardless of who she voted for, and I truly mean this, I’m excited because she is.
— Sherry Hughes

Networks project:
McCain wins North Dakota and Wyoming; Obama wins New York, Michigan and Minnesota.

Obama takes Ohio.
Jeb Bradley conceeds to Carol Shea Porter in NH race for Congress.
Obama takes all of New England.