Update: New thread here.

I finally got my ballot to the Denver Election office today. I hope it helps Sen. Udall and Gov. Hickenlooper. The New York Times has a special page for following today's elections results.

Here's an open thread for all matters pertaining to today's elections.

Hillary Clinton told Jimmy Kimmel Saturday at a Global Initiative event in Arizona that she is still undecided about running for President.

" I’m obviously thinking about all kinds of decisions."

The "selfie" with Bill, Hillary, Chelsea and Jimmy is very cute.

Joe Biden says there is no reason he shouldn't run for President in 2016. He hasn't yet decided.

I can think of a dozen reasons, almost all related to his crime-warrior legacy.

If he runs, it will be the first time I sit out a presidential election.

I've got court today. Here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

New York Magazine has a 7 page interview with Hillary Clinton. The magazine attempts to decode her ambiguous answers on whether she will run for President.

I’m both pragmatic and realistic. I think I have a pretty good idea of the political and governmental challenges that are facing our leaders, and I’ll do whatever I can from whatever position I find myself in to advocate for the values and the policies I think are right for the country,” she said. “I will just continue to weigh what the factors are that would influence me making a decision one way or the other,” she added.

But many Clinton friends and confidants interviewed for the article agreed that the former first lady would ultimately run.

In the interview, she describes what she and husband Bill do for fun: [More...]

Is America ready for the next generation of Bush family politicians? Here comes George P. Bush, son of Jeb and Columba Bush, and brother of Noelle and John W. Bush. He has one thing in common with his uncle GW: a "youthful indiscretion" which didn't make it to the criminal justice system. (police report here.)

George P. Bush might be a hunkalicious young Republican, but he still seems a bit creepy. So TSG wasn't too surprised to learn that "P" was involved ina troubling 1994 incident described in this Metro-Dade Police Department report. On December 31, 1994, Bush showed up at 4 AM at the Miami home of a former girlfriend. He proceeded to break into the house via the woman's bedroom window, and then began arguing with his ex's father. Bush, then a Rice University student, soon fled the scene. But he returned 20 minutes later to drive his Ford Explorer across the home's front lawn, leaving wide swaths of burned grass in his wake. Young Bush avoided arrest when the victims declined to press charges.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

Via On the Issues: Here are some items from Paul Ryan's record on crime-related issues:

On Crime:

• Voted NO on expanding services for offenders' re-entry into society. (Nov 2007)
• Voted NO on funding for alternative sentencing instead of more prisons. (Jun 2000)
• Voted YES on more prosecution and sentencing for juvenile crime. (Jun 1999)

On Drugs:

• Voted YES on prohibiting needle exchange & medical marijuana in DC. (Oct 1999)

[More...]

Can you imagine how happy the Obama reelection team would be if they got to face Newt Gingrich next year? True, if they could pick who they face, it would be Bachmann or Cain, but avoiding Romney, or even Perry, would be unbelievably fortunate. And yet, Rasmussen Reports says it's Gingrich time:

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of Likely Iowa Republican caucus-goers shows Gingrich with 32% followed by former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney at 19%. Georgia businessman Herman Cain, who led in Iowa last month, drops to third with 13% of the vote. Texas Congressman Ron Paul draws 10% of the vote in Iowa, while Texas Governor Rick Perry and Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann each grab six percent (6%). Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum draws support from five percent (5%) of caucus-goers while former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman picks up two percent (2%). Only one percent (1%) would prefer some other candidate and six percent (6%) more are undecided.

To be sure, Ras is wholly unreliable and what ax they are grinding is important to know. But how great would it be if Gingrich was the GOP nominee?

Rick Perry must be rubbing his hands in delight. He's got company as Herman Cain shows once again he's not ready for prime time. Watch Cain draw a blank on Obama's position on Libya. [More...]

Newt Gingrich, via the New York Times, said in 1995, while he was weighing whether to run for the Presidency:

Speaker Newt Gingrich said on Friday that he would ask Congress to enact legislation imposing the death penalty on drug smugglers, and he suggested that mass executions of people convicted under such a law might prove an effective deterrent.

..."The first time we execute 27 or 30 or 35 people at one time, and they go around Colombia and France and Thailand and Mexico, and they say, 'Hi, would you like to carry some drugs into the U.S.?' the price of carrying drugs will have gone up dramatically."

[More...]

Just another sign Republicans are all about grandstanding. They don't even care about winning the election. The latest CBS News Poll finds Republicans overwhelmingly believe Mitt Romney is the only one who can beat Obama, but they still would rather see someone who thinks like them get the nomination -- like Cain, who they believe only has a 20% chance of beating Obama. Perry and Gingrich's odds are even less than Cain's in their eyes.

Four out of ten Republicans believe Mitt Romney would be the most likely candidate to beat President Obama in the general election, according to a new CBS News poll....

[Romney] led Herman Cain by a 2-to-1 margin with 40 percent support. Cain trailed in the category with just 20 percent, followed by Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry, each with six percent.

58% said it's more important that their candidate agree with them on issues than beat Obama.

They just want to make noise. No wonder I've tuned them out. [More...]

Mississippi voters today defeated a personhood amendment.

[T]he full wording of the measure as it appeared on the ballot define[d] every human being as a person "from the moment of fertilization, cloning or the equivalent thereof."

The Amendment was largely an effort of Keith Mason, co-founder of the group Personhood USA, based in Colorado. The group tried and failed to get the Amendment passed in Colorado in 2008 and 2010. The ACLU says Arkansas, Montana, Florida, Oregon, Nevada may be the next battlegrounds.