Election Day 2010 LIVE BLOG (video)

BuxMontNews.com Staff Writers Tom Sofield and Jeff Bohen are covering the local elections that affect you. We are looking for you to submit polling place updates/problems or election related to photos to vote@buxmontnews.com. Keep checking our site for the latest election day information updated through-out the day as updates come in.

November 3, 2010 6:12 a.m.: Thank you following our live blog coverage of the 2010 election. This is the end of our election live blog. Be sure check back with BuxMontNews.com all day for updates, recaps and other local news.


12:30 a.m.:This e-mail about absentee ballot counting was sent out by Bucks County.

http://www.buckscounty.org/news/2010/2010-11-01-AbsenteeBallotCounting.aspx - Jeff Bohen


12:05 a.m. With Close too 99 % of the Preceints reported Pat Toomey is now Senator Elect and Mike Fitzpatrick will be the 8th Congressional Dist Rep in the House. - Jeff Bohen

We will have an Early Morning Wrap-Up Tomorrow with all the big winners! - Jeff Bohen

11:52 Speaker Elect Bohner Cries while challenging Obama "To work with the peoples house." Toomey's Lead Grows, Fitzpatrick is a Winner! Senate Majority Leader Reed Leads by 8 % in Las Vegas. - Jeff Bohen

11:18 p.m.: Out of 67 counites in PA Onorato leads in only four and one of them in Montgomery County.

Via. Twitter @ericrace1: "PA-8 House Race: Mike Fitzpatrick vs. Patrick Murphy...most Irish campaign ever." - Tom Sofield

96 percent of polling locations reporting in for the Fitzpatrick - Murphy race and Fitzpatrick has won. - Tom Sofield

11:09 p.m.: With all of Philadelphia counted, Toomey leads by less than 4400 votes. - Jeff Bohen

11:02 p.m.: Toomey is leading Sestak by 31,000 votes. The GOP seems to leading in the area now. - Tom Sofield

10:50 p.m.: It is safe to say at this point that Sen Greenleaf will be re-elected! He leads by a 2:1 margin at this point in time.

Rep. O'Neill is leading by the same ratio and appears to have been sent back to Harrisburg.

The real question one has to ask about the Rep for the 29th Legislative Dist of Pa is when does he run for a National Seat? - Jeff Bohen

10:46 p.m.: Mike Fitzpatrick is increasing his new found lead by the thousands. He leads Rep Murphy by 16,000 votes! - Jeff Bohen



Toomey voting with his children. (UPI/John Anderson)



10:40 p.m.: Toomey and Sestak are tied right now with 50 percent of the vote in the national watched race.

86 percent of the polling places are reporting in so this is a close race. - Tom Sofield

10:36 p.m.: Sources are telling us that with a 20,000 vote lead Mike Fitzpatrick is about to announce his win over Pat Murphy. - Tom Sofield

10:30 p.m.: The AP is calling Democratic Rep. Allyson Schwartz the winner over Dee Adcock in the Montgomery County race. - Tom Sofield


What did local voters have to say about today election check out our video...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qqs1eb9B7JM. Also e-mail us at vote@buxmontnews.com with your election opinion. - Tom Sofield


10:45 p.m: Toomey Takes lead over Sestak at 10:42 p.m.

10:12 p.m.: In a surprise Toomey is losing to Dem. Sestak by 4 points with 74 percent of polling places reporting in.

Just yesterday a poll was released that showed Toomey with a 5 percentage point lead.

Sestak campaigned all day yesterday and has been bringing in Democratic heavy weights like Bill Clinton. - Tom Sofield

9:25 p.m.: CNN is projecting that the GOP will be taking over the house.

Fitzpatrick at this point is losing to Murphy by 4 percentage points. Again reporting has just began and these numbers can and most likely will change. - Tom Sofield

8:35 p.m.: State Senator Greenleaf leads Damsker by a large margain in early reporting from Bucks County.

State Rep Bernie O' Neill is out distancing Challenger Feinberg in early reporting.

MSNBC is reporting that the Republicans will take the House of Representatives with estimates of having a total of 237 House Seats to Dems 198 Seats.

Reports have the Republicans gaining three seats in the Senate as of 9:05 PM

Democrat Joe Sestak is leading Republican Pat Toomey in early reporting by about 21,000 votes for the Senate Seat in PA.

MSNBC is calling Tom Corbett the winner in the Govenor's race in PA as of 10:03 PM

Were approaching the top of the hour with [polls closing in a number of states. Results soon to follow. - Jeff Bohen

8:36 p.m.: At 7:40 the polling location at the Southampton Youth Center still had a good amount of voters and District West 2 had almost 540 voters, a high turnout which was reported all over the area.

No serious problems were reported at local polling locations.

The Murphy - Fitzpatrick results may not be in until tomorrow when over 8,000 absentee ballots will be counted in Doylestown.

Numbers from local polls are starting to come in to us...stay tuned for numbers they will be coming in soon...

8:09 p.m.: Polls are closed in P.A., no precincts are reporting yet. Stay Tuned... - Tom Sofield

7:56 p.m.: We talked to some local voters this afternoon and evening here is what they had to say.


6:26 p.m.: Ivyland borough the smallest in Bucks County with about 800 residents and one polling location reported very good turn out today. - Tom Sofield


At Crooked Billet Elementary School in Hatboro a poll worker who did not want to be named said turn out seem to be large. The same poll worker also said, "How good turn out really was will not be seen until the end." - Tom Sofield

Crooked Billet Elementary School in Hatboro. (Tom Sofield)



5:32 p.m.: Mary Avino of the Churchville section of Northampton who voted at the fire station on Hatboro Road said, "This is election isn't who I am for, It's who I am against." - Tom Sofield



4:30 p.m.: In Upper Moreland ward 5 - 1 turn out is much higher than most mid-term elections. Officials tell BuxMontNews.com that 371 out of 900 people in the ward have voted as of 4 p.m. Election workers say an average number for past mid-term elections has been near 100 voters over the course of the entire day.

Good weather and a desire for change are what officials are thinking is leading to a high voter turn out. - Tom Sofield

1:52 p.m.: If you have any questions about voting go to the states website at http://www.votespa.com/.

Site is great you can even look up your polling location.

We are going to be heading out soon to check out some local polls.- Tom Sofield




Turn out seemed heavy this morning shortly after polls opened at Klinger
Middle School in Upper Southampton. (Tom Sofield)



1:08 p.m.: Joe Sestak's campaign just put out a tweet saying, @Sestak2010 "Polls close in 7 hours. We have not yet begun to fight."

A poll released yesterday showed Toomey in lead by five points. - Tom Sofield



12:02 p.m.: Twitter user @jtrex0830 " Actually stood in line to vote. Good sign in battleground 8th District of Pennsylvania race between Murphy and Fitzpatrick."



Republicans Kathleen Williams and Thomas McLaughlin hand out s
ample ballots to voters at the Upper Moreland School District Adminstration
building. (Tom Sofield)



The 8th District Race is getting even more ugly, The Trentonian newspaper reports a van carrying Murphy suporters was caught in Bristol, PA after residents called police saying the van with NY plates was taknig Fitzpatrick signs and replacing them with Murphy signs.



Police arrived and found no crime being commited.



Police tell the paper that the people in the white van were putting Murphy signs directly blocking Fitzpatrick signs. - Tom Sofield

And in This Corner, Democratic Challenger, Ruth Damsker

Jeff Bohen-Staff Writer.

(Pictures taken by Ronald Mills for BuxMontNews.com)

On an early Thursday morning a little over two weeks ago, Democratic challenger for the State Senate seat of District 12, Ruth Damsker greeted Philadelphia bound passengers on the platform of the Warminster SEPTA station.

It was approximately 6:45 a.m. Damsker accompanied by one her many campaign workers were meeting and greeting potential voters in the area at the well-traveled train station.

Smiling, welcoming she encouraged would-be riders to join her in a brief, clear and concise conversation as to why the locals need to vote for her, and not the incumbent of 32 years, (R) Senator Stewart Greenleaf.

Surprising a number of passengers greeted her with the eager curiosity that many have come over them when meeting someone from the political arena. Often we see our federal representatives but that us usually with a phalanx of protectors around them warding off questions from the public.

This wasn't one of those times.

As a result of the chance meeting, on the platform, b the Damsker Campaign for State Senate Dist 12, obliged our still young and growing blog with an interview.

When we sat down with former Montgomery County Commissioner for an interview, my sense of that meeting is, the Damsker Campaign smells victory in the air and are now going for that proverbial knockout punch of the "RE-Elect Greenleaf ,"Campaign.

Talking with Damsker outside of her "War Room" where the direction's for victory on Election day are mapped out, Damsker immediately pointed out that, "Sen. Greenleaf refuses to debate me," saying the need for such a debate is "unfounded."

Damsker now goes on the offensive.

The former Montgomery County Commissioner points out that if Greenleaf was "a leader, he should have attended the caucus meeting called by Governor Rendell, so a vote could be had on the the Shale Tax Bill, instead the Republican Majority in the Senate decided to go home and" kill the bill ." Senate democrats attended the caucas meeting, But no Republicans, not even Greenleaf attended," the candidate said.

Damsker points out "an opportunity was missed ..." to help Pennsylvanians with tax dollars that the state could have made, "...from that bill." Going on further Damsker said, a number of other states "...tax gas and oil companies, why not us?" The gas that's underneath us, isn't taxable because?

"The Republican Senate and my opponent say so? That's just wrong," she said, responding to her own question.

"Everyone should pay there fair share in taxes, and that includes those gas companies," she responded, when asked what she would do about the issue if she were the sitting Senator.

When asked why she is getting back in to the local political scene, she tells the story that "in a one-year period my three daughter in laws gave birth to three beautiful grand daughters and because of those exciting events I tossed my hat back in to the race."

"The future is about them too," she continued.

When asked if she had any last words for the voters of the 12th Senatorial District, Damsker said, "I believe I am the voice of the people., and I won't let bi-partisan politics get in the way of that, with my Republican friends we can work together on issues that effect us all."


Seems to me, Senator Greenleaf your going the 15 rounds cause it doesn't appear Democratic Candiate for State Senate Ruth Damsker is finished fighting by a long shot.

Election day starts in about 72 hours with polls opening at 7 a.m. Tuesday morning.

Don't forget to vote!On Election night we will be bringing you live coverage of the state and federal election numbers as they roll in. Put http://www.buxmontnews.com/ on your favorites list so you can keep track of election night winners and losers.


Please note that Sen. Greenleaf, was contacted to be a part of this article, however he choose not to take part.

For more information about the Damsker Campaign go to http://www.voteruth.com/

For information on the Sen. Greenleaf re-election campaign you can go to http://www.senatorgreenleaf.com/

Updated at 6:50 AM

For the 2010 Cycle 3 Campaign Finance Reporting Period

"Citizens for Greenleaf" received approximately $183,000 in Campaign Contributions.

"Damsker for Senate" received approximately $17,000 in Campaign Contributions.