In the US, the major television networks are like the gatekeepers of electoral results; as polls in various states close, network talking heads jostle to make ‘calls’ on potential electoral outcomes. These calls are quite often wrong (“Kerry wins in 04!”), but are compulsively watched anyway.
Here’s a roundup of the latest calls for McCain, via @Agoracom, as at 20:45 ET:
FOX 69; NBC 58; CBS 54; ABC 49; CNN 34
Fox is clearly being far more aggressive in its tally, and (naturally) much more predisposed to project in favour of the Republican candidate, while CNN is the most conservative of the big five.
The Wall Street Journal (which has a very nifty interactive map on the front page of its website) projects McCain as winning 37 of a possible 538 electoral college votes, based on calls by AP.
A presidential candidate needs 270 electoral college votes to win.
Article Series - US Elections 08
- First blood to Obama
- "We are not sure if an election result has ever mattered so little to the markets."
- Why you should ignore exit polls
- Market talking heads: election means nada, redux
- Intrade odds favour Obama (shock)
- Pink Picks, White House edition
- Obama, the markets and the perils of presidential data mining
- Further reading, White House edition
- Presidential data mining, redux
- Gideon Rachman doesn't give a twit
- Dirty dirty exit poll data, round one
- McCain gets Kentucky and South Carolina, Obama claims Vermont
- Obama vs McCain - how the networks see it
- 270, 538, swing states, electoral college - what does it all mean?
- Obama wins Ohio, White House in sight
- As Obama sweeps Ohio, Pennsylvania and New Mexico...
- Electoral vote tally - Obama 207, McCain 129
- Barack Obama wins Virginia, California - and the White House