Obama Sweeps to Historic Victory

California delivers White House while Capps coasts as part of a wave of Democrat pickups in Congress.

By William M. Macfadyen, Noozhawk Publisher | Updated 5 a.m. | Published on 11.04.2008

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Moments after the polls closed in California on Tuesday night, Democrat Barack Obama was declared the victor in a historic, two-year battle for the White House. The first-term Illinois senator’s win will make him the nation’s first black president when he takes the oath of office Jan. 20.

Obama’s Republican opponent, Sen. John McCain of Arizona, called him to concede defeat a little after 8 p.m.

A series of hard-fought wins in the battleground states of Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia gave Obama an almost insurmountable lead in the race to the 270 Electoral College votes needed for triumph. Arguably, California’s 55 electoral votes put him over the top. On the night, he won 349 electoral votes to McCain’s 161. Obama also was winning the popular vote, but by a narrower margin, 52.06 percent to 46.67 percent.

Santa Barbara County’s tally was in line with California and the nation. With 100 percent of the vote counted in the county, Obama won 59.72 percent to 37.91 percent. In actual votes, Obama collected 80,438 to McCain’s 51,056. Statewide, Obama garnered 61.4 percent of the vote to McCain’s 36.9 percent.

While Democrats celebrated the results at the top of the ticket, they were no less euphoric over what appear to be significant gains in Congress. With two dozen House races undecided early Wednesday, Democrats had won 246 and led in another 10. They currently control the House of Representatives, 235-199 with one vacancy. On the Senate side, Democrats increased their majority to 56-44, with three races too close to call.

Rep. Lois Capps, D-Santa Barbara, beat Republican challenger Matt Kokkonen, 67.6 percent to 32.4 percent, in the 23rd Congressional District, which snakes through San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. In Santa Barbara County, Capps’ margin was 69.04 percent to 30.81 percent.

Meanwhile, Rep. Elton Gallegly, R-Thousand Oaks, beat Democratic challenger Marta Ann Jorgensen, 58 percent to 42 percent, in the 24th District, which includes the Santa Ynez Valley. In Santa Barbara County, Gallegly won 62 percent to 37.83 percent.

Noozhawk publisher Bill Macfadyen can be reached at wmacfadyen@noozhawk.com.

Comments

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» Praise Be Obama on 11.04.08 @ 05:50 PM

Waitin’ on my tax cut. While I still have a job.

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» sbp on 11.04.08 @ 07:42 PM

Yay, no more jack booted thugs raiding medicinal marijuana shops.

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» Greetings from London on 11.05.08 @ 01:34 AM

Hi Noozhawk. Just wanted to tell you what a fantastic job you did with the election, and with the gunman the other day. I’m in London on business this month and am in awe of what you do day in and day out. Good show!!!!!

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» Common Sense on 11.05.08 @ 05:37 AM

Well, way to go green granola heads, in a time of the worst economic crisis in a century (words straight out of Barack Hussein (Saddam) Obama’s (Osama’s) mouth, we approve EVERY measure involving spending money! Priceless. Hey, I know, with the first opportunity to elect someone new, let’s go with a guy who can’t put his hand on a bible, who can’t put his hand over his heart for the Pledge, and who never had to account for his millions of dollars earned over the internet! Why didn’t you idiots just insist that Rev. Jeremiah Wright be on the ticket instead of Biden? Democrats, are you gonna bitch again for another 4 years why your paychecks are smaller, and you can’t figure out why, just like you did for 8 years under Clinton? Funny that you vote for Dems, but can’t understand why you don’t have any money to spend.

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» dj on 11.05.08 @ 10:11 AM

you know, it sounds like ‘common sense’ lacks exactly that. How dare you add Osama and Saddam together with Barack Obama’s name? What kind of a fool are you? You’re clearly the idiot. The whole world is rejoicing right now, not just the majority of the American people, because the choice of Barack Obama is clearly the right one. You don’t have to be very smart to know what a mess Bush has left our country in. The facts have been in for a while: there were no wmd’s and our economy has never been worse. What more proof do you need? He lied to the American people and got away with it. He should have been impeached! Pull your head out of the sand and be part of the solution not the problem.

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» John Q on 11.05.08 @ 12:00 PM

So when are all of you Obama supporters expecting your jobs that Obama is promising you? Are you going to stop paying your mortgage because Obama is going to pick up the tab?

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» John Q on 11.05.08 @ 12:16 PM

Obama…The end of the American Dream and the dawn of American socialism.

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» Common Sense on 11.06.08 @ 05:05 AM

Look DJ, people voted for change, but change for the worse is what you’ll get. You obviously don’t get it that the president doesn’t control the economy, the Federal Reserve Chairman does. Hmmmm, lets see…..market skyrockets under Clinton, and after Clinton leaves office, Greenspan tells everyone that he had a deal with Clinton, telling Clinton he would make the market skyrocket? And now, Greenspan tells everyone again that he was the fool who let people buy houses from greedy, commission-based mortgage lenders, the same people who don’t have enough money to buy something at a garage sale! And now, the market bottoms out just before the election with the Repub. Bush in office? What a coincidence. Watch the market go back up now after the election, and you might finally get it. Bottom line, it doesn’t matter who is the President, because the problem with this country is that the machine (government) is too big. As long as Congress and the Senate continue to think they are rock stars, with their inflated egos, then we’ll always have a logjam getting things done. Change? Hey DJ, you can keep your bleeping change, I like dollar bills, thank you.
And remember, the biggest lies are easiest to carry out right in front of peoples’ faces. Why don’t you go read your textbooks, and learn about Hitler knucklehead. He duped an entire country, and continent for that matter.

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» Common Sense on 11.06.08 @ 05:13 AM

Oh, and DJ, about you calling me an idiot? First of all, I have more common sense in my pinky that you do in your entire being. And as far as being an idiot? Well, I guess I’ll think about how big an idiot I am when I drive home tonight in my new BMW, pull up into the driveway of my million dollar plus home, kiss my HOT wife hello, and look at my investment statements which are STILL over a half million dollars, even with a market decline. Yeah, I’m an idiot all right! I’m laughing my butt off at you right now, you’re so ignorant. I’ll think of you tonight DJ as you’re buying your 6-pack of Milwaukee’s Best Light and your bag of Funyons down at the 7-11! I pity you.

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» CommonSense on 11.06.08 @ 05:57 AM

Dear bloggers,
I CommonSense, have nothing to do with this person Common Sense. Please be aware that there are two of us with a almost the same name. I do distance myself from Common Sense’s remarks.

[Editor’s note: It’s OK to use your real names, you know. We actually assume all of you have common sense since you’re already using Noozhawk.]

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» CommonSense on 11.06.08 @ 11:08 AM

To Common Sense and DJ: I wish you both could make your points without spewing insults and using Hitler and Osama comparisons. Just stay with the facts and agree to disagree respectfully.

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» AShaw on 11.06.08 @ 12:25 PM

I wonder why all the new optimism about our president has caused the stock market to take a dive? Could it be people trying to hide their life savings from Obama?

While everyone is so giddy about our first black president and blind to everything he stands for, those of you who have been wise enough to be saving for retirement will be interested in this “change” that is heading your way (bankrupting social security wasn’t enough for our greedy government, in addition to raising taxes now they want your 401K’s so we can go back to a welfare state):

Dems Target Private Retirement Accounts
Democratic leaders in the U.S. House discuss confiscating 401(k)s, IRAs

http://www.carolinajournal.com/articles/...

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB12191030..

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» AShaw on 11.06.08 @ 12:33 PM

Sorry - links got truncated - here they are in full:

http://www.carolinajournal.com/articles/display_story.html?id=5081

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121910303529751345.html?mod=most_emailed_day

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