Thanks for the excellent coverage running up to this election, Abdul. I was a much more informed voter due in part to your efforts.

One piece of post-election advice for you (more like a request): maybe next time include something about judicial retention in Indiana. Some people don’t understand how it works, and others just skip it altogether. After all, how can we know if Justice Frank Sullivan of the Indiana Supreme Court should be retained if we don’t know what sort of rulings he has made or dissented from. The same is true, to a lesser extent, for the appellate judges, even though they have to follow precedent. And the judges themselves are supposed to remain impartial, so there isn’t any “campaigning” one way or the other. The back side of the paper ballot may be less sexy, but it’s still important.

To all the winners and all the losers, some sage advice from a contemporary source:

If you wake up and don’t want to smile,
If it takes just a little while,
Open your eyes and look at the day,
You’ll see things in a different way.

Don’t stop, thinking about tomorrow,
Don’t stop, it’ll soon be here,
It’ll be, better than before,
Yesterday’s gone, yesterday’s gone.

Why not think about times to come,
And not about the things that you’ve done,
If your life was bad to you,
Just think what tomorrow will do.

Don’t stop, thinking about tomorrow,
Don’t stop, it’ll soon be here,
It’ll be, better than before,
Yesterday’s gone, yesterday’s gone.

All I want is to see you smile,
If it takes just a little while,
I know you don’t believe that it’s true,
I never meant any harm to you.

Don’t stop, thinking about tomorrow,
Don’t stop, it’ll soon be here,
It’ll be, better than before,
Yesterday’s gone, yesterday’s gone.

Don’t you look back,
Don’t you look back.

Following the spirit of the last poster, I’d like to offer my own two cents, in the form of lyrics:

Sometimes the world looks perfect
Nothin’ to rearrange
Sometimes you just
Get a feelin’ like you need some kind of change
Standin’ tall
On the wings of my dream
Rise and fall
On the wings of my dream
Rain and thunder, the wind and haze
I’m bound for better days
It’s my life
It’s my dream
Nothin’s gonna stop me now.

Last report, Carson wins the 7th District with low numbers.

Cost average vote per precinct
803 precincts = 86.5 votes per precinct; Costly
Carson 69,468 or 53% of the votes
(spent $200,000.00) $2.879 per vote,with 3 negative mailings from the DCCC, and national figures to boot.

803 precincts = 74.9 votes per precinct; Good budgeting and business practice: Dickerson 60,172 46% of the votes (spent $60,000.00) $.997 per vote, no national figures, no media support, no negative mailings, nominal Party support, very cost effective campaign for a political newcomer.

No record breaking numbers in the campaign, 9,286 votes difference.

Typical Democrat spending is not cost effective.
Carson did not receive an overwhelming victory for the number of years she has been in public office versus a political newcomer.

Elections are won precinct by precinct. Dickerson can win a second time around. This campaign was a learning experience. He has no need to give up

What, no advice for Pat Bauer?

Yes: Ditch the muskrat. You’re not fooling anyone.

As to the creative accounting by a disgruntled Dickerson supporter: Andy Horning spent way less and got about the same number of votes. Eric was a profligate spendthrift in comparison and should adopt Andys cost-effective style of losing!

What miracle would it take for the Republican organizations to actually fund a Dickerson campaign?

Isnt it peculiar that supposedly-successful businessman Eric Dickerson would put none of his own money into his campaign? Why should the GOP stretch its dollars to cover the obviously feeble camapign of a supposedly wealthy man who wouldnt put any money whatsoever into his race? He knew he wouldnt win so he didnt invest in himself – why should other folk give up beaucoup cash?