So It Begins

The campaign cycle stopped for one night's sleep, then began anew before the votes were finished getting counted:

"Speculation about the 2016 presidential race has begun in Iowa. Marco Rubio, a Florida Senator who is a rising star in the Republican Party, will speak at a campaign fundraiser for Governor Branstad on November 17th. He’s the first potential 2016 candidate to schedule a post-Election Day visit to Iowa...."

"Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would start out as a dominant favorite in the 2016 Iowa caucuses if she chooses to run for president, a new survey from Public Policy Polling finds."

"Vice President Joe Biden made a surprise visit to the 200-year-old Return Day in Georgetown (Delaware) today, chatting with politicians and staffers who attended a reception at Delaware Tech before a parade through town.

The event known best for its parades, where winning and losing candidates will parade together in covered carriages and participate in a ceremonial burial of a hatchet.
Many political candidates also use the day to announce their next moves. Biden would not say whether he was seriously considering his own presidential run in 2016..." 

(Aside: Return Day sounds like fun.)

Before that, we have to finish with this cycle, and Republicans convened last night to nominate a replacement candidate for the late Senator Pat Ward. West Des Moines City Councilman Charles Schneider beat five other contenders, including Ward's husband, to face Democrat Desmund Adams on December 11. TheIowaRepublican liveblogged.

Locally, our absentee/provisional ballot board meets today to consider some late arrivals and the more than 500 provisional ballots cast on Tuesday. Nothing is recount-close here, but they get counted. It's a common misperception: "I heard they only count absentees if it's close." That's probably because you only HEAR about the absentees if it's close. I'm sure Utah is counting late votes, just like Florida, it's just that no one is very interested.

Not to mention, a record 58% of our county's vote is absentee this year.

As for the "late" vote on Election Day, Team Mitt had some serious technology problems on the ground. This article is a must-read for anyone of any party who does the grunt work of GOTV. This Republican consultant thinks weak GOTV cost Romney "four states — and the presidency." And a tip of the beret to Team Dvorsky; the Iowa Democratic field staffer did outstanding work.