by Nicholas Beaudrot of Electoral Math
I promise everyone a set of maps showing changes in party preferences, but for now, CNN's maps of Senate results are really quite good. In Virginia, Webb's winning coalition looks much more like Tim Kaine's than Mark Warner's, and Webb's strength in the Appalachian foothills during the primary did not translate into much support during the general. Harold Ford's efforts in Tennessee to crack the Republican strongholds in the Eastern portion of the state were not enough to push him to victory. And then there's Montana, which has by far the most interesting map, thanks to Tester's home town in Eastern Montana and the pockets of Democratic support scattered around the state.
Exit poll mavens will want to look at Chris Bowers's rundown of demographic changes since 2004. As others have noted, the shift away from Bush Republicans was very widespread, though younger voters were somewhat more likely to give up on the GOP than older voters. It's possible the "age gap" is really a diversity gap in disguise, and older white voters were just as likely to shift against Republicans as younger white voters. But there's plenty of time to look at such things.
