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Nature is unpredictable here in the 50th state, as are politics -- up to a point. As often happens here, Democrats won big Tuesday night.

First, Hurricane Iselle shook up the primary season. Then state Sen. David Ige unseated incumbent Gov. Neil Abercrombie in the Democratic gubernatorial contest.

Just in time for the general election, Kilauea began spouting lava, causing some polling place confusion in the small town of Pahoa on the Big Island of Hawaii.

But Ige went on to win the governor's office in a big-money, three-way race against Republican Duke Aiona -- the former lieutenant governor who had trailed in the polls for the entire campaign -- and Mufi Hannemann, the former mayor of Honolulu and longtime Democrat who ran as an independent.

Democratic Sen. Brian Schatz retained his seat, and Democrats took both House seats too.

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Hawaii: Democrat David Ige wins governorship in 3-way race

Published November 04, 2014

April 1, 2014: Muriel Bowser in Washington.(AP)

WASHINGTON Democrat Muriel Bowser has been elected mayor of the District of Columbia, continuing her party's perfect record when seeking the city's highest office.

Bowser turned back a challenge by independent David Catania after an unusually long and competitive general-election campaign.

The 42-year-old Bowser is a native Washingtonian who has served on the D.C. Council since 2007. She is a protege of former mayor Adrian Fenty, but she says she's learned from the mistakes that saw him booted from office after a single term.

Bowser defeated scandal-plagued Mayor Vincent Gray in the Democratic primary. She ran as a big-tent Democrat who could appeal equally to wealthy, majority-white neighborhoods and poorer, mostly African-American communities. She was endorsed by President Barack Obama, an unusual development for a mayoral election in the nation's capital.

Excerpt from:
Democrat Muriel Bowser elected District of Columbia mayor

Democrat David Ige won Hawaiis gubernatorial election Tuesday night, insuring the top statewide office remained in his partys hands despite a contentious primary earlier this year that saw him beating the incumbent Democrat in a historic upset.

Early results showed Mr. Ige with 53.1% of the vote to Republican Duke Aionas 34.1% and Independent Mufi Hannemanns 11.3%, the Associated Press reported.

Mr. Ige, 57, an engineer, longtime legislator and chair of the state senates committee on ways and means, faced a competitive challenge from Mr. Aiona, 59, a moderate Republican, and the former lieutenant governor.

Mr. Ige and Mr. Aiona participated in 15 debates together before the end of the election. Campaign issues have included Hawaiis homeless population, the states troubled health exchange, the environment and economic growth.

The Democrat led the race despite a fundraising disadvantage. A poll conducted in October for the Honolulu Star-Advertiser and Hawaii News Now by Ward Research showed the soft-spoken Mr. Ige scoring well among voters over 50, union members and Japanese Americans, important constituencies in the Aloha state, according to an article by the Star-Advertiser.

Mr. Iges victory against Mr. Aiona came after he defeated the incumbent governor, Neil Abercrombie, despite a notable fundraising disadvantage, little name recognition and a last-minute push by President Barack Obama on behalf of the governor, who recorded a radio advertisement for Mr. Abercrombie. It was the first time since Hawaiian statehood in 1959 that an incumbent governor had lost a primary challenge.

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Democrat David Ige Wins Gubernatorial Election in Hawaii

Democrat Seth Moulton won the 6th Congressional District in MassachusettsTuesday, defeating Republican Richard Tisei.The seat had been held by Democrat John Tierney, 62, since 1997.

Tierney has been in political trouble since his wife was convicted on federal tax charges four years ago, for which she received a 30-day prison sentence with five months of house arrest.He was defeated in the Democratic primary in September by Moulton, 36. Moulton has an MBA from Harvard and served four tours of duty in Iraq. He also held a summer associate position at Goldman Sachs and later became a top aide to Gen. David Petraeus.

Moulton held his primary victory party at the Veterans of Foreign Wars post in Salem.Our win tonight says two things, hesaid to the crowdat the time. First, that we are fed up with the gridlock in Washington, and second, that voters want to keep this seat blue.

Tisei,who is openly gay, has connections to the region's LGBT community, but had previously made it clear that he didnt want to be defined by that trait.

Tisei, 52, is a real estate agent who served in the state Legislature for 26 years, and narrowly lost to Tierney in 2012. At the time, he was the Republicans best bet in the Massachusetts House delegation, which has been all-Democratic for nearly two decades.This led to a lead in the polls in early October, which analysts attributed to Republican enthusiasm, according to the Wall Street Journal.

At the time, Tisei claimed that many former Tierney supporters were turning to him.There were people who were very loyal to John Tierney who have called me and said theyre voting for me, he told the Boston Herald. So its an unusual coalition that Ive put together.

The Boston Globe called the 6th District race the liveliest in the region.The race had the biggest discrepancy between nonparty outside spending and candidate spending, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Outside groups outspent the candidates themselves by nearly $2 million. Candidates themselves were relatively similar in spending, with Tiseis 2014 total at $3,872,880 and Moultons at $3,706,480.

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Democrat Seth Moulton Wins Massachusetts 6th District, Defeats Republican Richard Tisei

Vermont News Guy - Interview with Dean Corren, Progressive/Democrat for Lt. Governor
Veteran journalist Jon Margolis presents thoughtful and investigative stories that others aren #39;t covering, exclusively for vermontpbs.org.

By: Vermont PBS

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Vermont News Guy - Interview with Dean Corren, Progressive/Democrat for Lt. Governor - Video