From here in the Denver metro area, things turned out … less awful than nationally.
We re-elected our Democratic Senator. The Dems still ended up with a minority in the Senate, but did pick up at least one seat there, leaving them just a scosh down from the center point. I'm not a Michael Bennet fan, but he's worlds better than Darryl Glenn would have been; Glenn still did disturbingly well. Colorado remains purple.
On the other hand, my Republican US Rep, Mike Coffman, won re-election. Dems picked up a handful of House seats, but not enough to make a serious difference there.
On ballot proposition, I had a pretty good record:
Prop 106, allowing physician-assisted suicide for the terminally ill, passed. I think that's a good thing.
Prop 107 (presidential primaries) and 108 (allowing open primaries in all races) both won. I wasn't passionate about them, but I favored them.
Amendment 69, establishing a state single-payer system, failed badly. I voted against it, mostly for implementation details, but also because that thing really, truly, needs to happen at the national level for it to work.
Amendment 70 passed, increasing the Colorado minimum wage.
Amendment 71, which will make it more difficult (too difficult, IMO) to put propositions on the ballot, won. I had voted for it,
Amendment 72, to increase tobacco taxes, failed. I voted against it, not because I support cigarettes or Big Tobacco, but because how it dealt with the money raised wasn't structured well.
Amendment T, to remove some (possibly) obsolete language about involuntary servitude in the state constitution, was narrowly defeated. I voted against it.
Amendment U, doing something dodgy with taxes on small government property usage, was voted down, which is what I wanted to see.
Ballot Measure 4B, continuing the local arts and cultural district sales tax, won handily. That's really good news.
So, for the most part, the ballot propositions went the way I wanted. A small comfort this morning.
Also, it appears the Dems captured both the Stare House and Senate.
Ah. Didn't notice that. Well, another measure of good news, to the extent that the federal government hypothetically will be handing off so much to the states.
I was/am really torn on T, but U looked like a giant handout to the rich so I'm glad to see it nailed.
+John Bump The numbers looked small, and it may have been a net savings for the taxpayer, but it also looked like just the sort of additional complexity the tax code didn't need, and it smelled of someone figuring out a way to get a free ride off the Commons.