as some of you already know, Tuesday's election was a brutal one for Democrats all across the country.

Bill Kurtis's sister, Jean Schodorf, was unsuccessful in her bid for Kansas Secretary of State, losing to incumbent Republican Kris Kobach.

Martha Coakley, who succesfully prosecuted the high-profile Louise Woodward case (as seen on American Justice) lost a bid for the governorship of Massachusetts. She lost a senate bid earlier in the decade, so we probably won't see her run for office again.

This race hasn't been called yet, but it appears Democrat Mark Begich has lost his bid for re-election as Senator from Alaska. He is the son of missing person and former congressman Nick Begich. Nick disappeared with then House Majority Leader Hale Boggs and a few staffers. It is widely believed their plane crashed and they perished as a result (weather was rough that day), although their disappearances have been the subject of numerous conspiracy theories over the years.

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/b/begich_nicholas.html

Democrat Edwin Edwards, the convict and former long-time governor of Louisiana, who is a suspect in the disapperance of Rebecca Gary, is attempting to make a political comeback at the ripe old age of 87. He is running for U.S. Congress in Louisiana's 6th district, a Baton Rouge based district. None of the candidates reached the 50% mark to avoid a runoff, but Edwards was one of the top two vote-getters, so he heads to a December 6 runoff with a Republican opponent. Despite his age, he is mentioned as being in very good physical and mental health.

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/g/gary_rebecca.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwin_Edwards

also of note, Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper, A Democrat whose refusal to execute mass-murderer Nathan Dunlap was the subject of a lot of controversy and a recent episode of Death Row Stories, won re-election by a small, 1% margin.

Pat Meehan (of Pennsylvania) and Trey Gowdy (of South Carolina), who were both first elected to the US House of Representatives in 2010, were both re-elected last week. Both men were interviewed in Forensic Files episodes that highlighted cases they prosecuted; Meehan and Gowdy prosecuted the killers of Aimee Willard and Dana Satterfield, respectively. The former case was highlighted in the episode "The Telltale Tracks" and the latter was profiled in "Driven to Silence." Both cases were presented on Unsolved Mysteries during the 1996-97 season. Trey Gowdy appeared in a few other episodes of FF, including "Home Evasion" and "Skeleton Key." As you know, he is also the chairman of the House Committee assigned to investigate the 2012 Benghazi attacks.

Ah yes. Trey Gowdy is in a safe district, so he shouldn't have trouble winning re-election for as long as he wants. I have seen a few of his Forensic Files appearances, including the Dana Satterfield one. Good guy.

Trey's description of what Jonathan Binney did in "Home Evasion" is one of the most disturbing and memorable moments in all of Forensic Files.

a few updates to some races:

Edwin Edwards has lost. By about a 2:1 margin as a matter of fact.

Begich has lost also in a race that was called several weeks ago.