Just a quick reminder to all of our readers that two competitive special elections will be held tonight. In California's 10th CD, multiple candidates from all parties will face off for the right to succeed Ellen Tauscher in the House. While Tauscher's seat has a D+11 PVI, the NRCC has signaled some interest in the race, lifting attorney David Harmer to "On The Radar" status in its recently-relaunched "Young Guns" program -- so it'll be interesting to see how big of a share the GOP vote is tomorrow. Recent polling suggests that Lt. Gov. John Garamendi (D) and Harmer are the favorites to advance to the next round of voting, so other Democrats, like state Sen. Mark DeSaulnier, will have to hope for a lopsided turnout effort in order to grab an upset.
Further down the ballot and a couple time zones away, there will also be an open state House seat up for grabs. It's another Dem-held seat, with the vacancy created when Tom Vilsack tapped farmer and sitting Rep. John Whitaker to head the Farm Service Agency in Iowa. Democrats hold a plurality of the district's voters in terms of registration, but the GOP is hoping to entice enough conservative Democrats over to their side -- aided in part by a massive effort by the National Organization for Marriage to paint the election as a referendum on same-sex marriage. The Iowa Independent and Governing.com's Ballot Box both have comprehensive summaries of the race, and the indefatigable desmoinesdem of Bleeding Heartland fame has all the latest dope on the race here and here.
As usual, we'll have results links for you to follow as polls close, and will post occasional updates on the latest score as the votes are counted.
