TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

REFORM WINS
Electoral Reform on the Ballot: Wins for instant runoff voting and more (Huffington Post) A round of electoral reform victories in key ballot measures suggest that Americans have had enough of antiquated electoral laws.

INDEPENDENT EFFECT DOWNBALLOT

• Minnick edges Sali in upset (Idaho Press-Tribune) He said he won because Idahoans are independent voters. “I would like to thank the thousands of Idaho Republicans and independents who chose to look at the race in terms of who could do the best for Idaho,” Minnick said.
• Colorado Democrats ride Obama's coattails - after a fashion - Democrats split on how Obama affected contests (Rocky Mountain News) Udall's statewide margin of victory was wider than Obama's, and a pre-election Rocky Mountain News poll suggested he drew more support from men and independent voters than Obama did.
• Minnesota Senate race heads into automatic recount (Associated Press) An analysis of exit poll data showed Franken wasn't able to win over independent voters at the same rate as fellow Democrat Barack Obama, providing a clue as to why his race ended with such a tight margin.
• NYC mayor, NY governor hail Obama election (Newsday) As Obama and Republican John McCain began to emerge as front-runners earlier this year, Bloomberg ultimately concluded he could not win because they both appealed to independent voters that he would have sought to attract.
• What about Bob? Michele Bachmann owes re-election to third-party unknown (MinnPost) when the IPs endorsed Tinklenberg, Anderson grabbed a golden opportunity. He ran, unopposed, in the primary as the IP representative. He won the IP spot on Tuesday's ballot and, coupled with that comfortable Minnesota name, managed to win thousands of independent votes.
• Evans-Novak Political Report (Human Events) Some exit poll data suggest this was a base election rather than a swing-voter election.

CAMPAIGN

• Obama Wins Florida's Hispanic Vote (Hispanic Business)
• The Obama Realignment - This could be the start of a lasting Democratic majority like that created by FDR. (Wall Street Journal) In fact, President-elect Obama presents an ideological mix of social liberalism, fiscal conservatism and cultural moderation that attracted a 20-point margin Tuesday among self-described "moderates" -- including crucial crossover moderate Republicans from suburban and exurban areas previously considered safely part of the Republican/Reagan conservative base -- as well as a majority of self-described independent voters.