Five things to look for in the midterms this hour:
1. At 7 p.m. EST, the first polls close in six eastern states – Kentucky, Virginia, Georgia, Vermont, Indiana and South Carolina. They include some of the most closely-watched Senate races, so calling winners and losers could take some time.
2. In Kentucky, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell is trying to take the first step to becoming majority leader – holding on to his own seat. He has faced an aggressive challenge from Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes. She became the public face of how far Democrats were running from President Barack Obama this year when she refused to say whether she had voted for him. Obama lost Kentucky by a whopping 23 percentage points, and a Grimes victory would rank among the greatest upsets in modern politics.
3. Just as McConnell will be an indicator of what kind of night Republicans are facing, Virginia Sen. Mark Warner’s performance will be an early sign of how Democrats are faring. Warner was the favorite in the contest, but a strong showing by challenger Ed Gillespie could mean Democrats are in deeper trouble.
4. It’s possible that the tightly contested Georgia Senate race won’t be resolved tonight. With a third-party candidate in the mix, there could be a runoff if neither Democrat Michelle Nunn or Republican David Perdue gets more than 50 percent of the vote. Two other Georgia races to watch are presidential grandson Jason Carter’s bid to unseat Republican Gov. Nathan Deal and whether Rep. John Barrow, one of the last white Democratic congressmen in the Deep South, can hang on to his seat.
5. South Carolina is the only state with two Senate races, with Republican Sens. Lindsey Graham and Tim Scott expected to overcome Democratic challenges. Scott is running for the first time statewide after being appointed last year to replace resigning Sen. Jim DeMint. Scott’s victory would be a historic first election of a black senator in the state.
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