Final Midterm House, Gov Races Called

Remember the 2010 midterm elections? It turns out they weren't over: The final two House and governor midterm contests were called Wednesday, with Democrat Mark Dayton being declared the next governor of Minnesota and Long Island incumbent Democrat Tim Bishop (D-NY) narrowly winning his fifth term. A small consolation for the Democrats, Bishop’s victory gives the party another seat in the House, for a total of 193 Democrats. Bishop, from Southampton, had a 263-vote lead over businessman Randy Altschuler, despite the gap narrowing down to as few as 15 votes at one point. Altschuler called off a hand recount of ballots. Meanwhile, Dayton’s victory also was a cheerful turn for Democrats, because Republicans have controlled the state’s governor’s mansion for nearly 20 years. Only one midterm race remains contested: the Alaska Senate race. Lawyers for Republican challenger Joe Miller were in court Wednesday seeking to toss out more than 81,000 write-in votes for incumbent Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), who currently holds the most votes.