Oh, all right. I’ll confess. The victory is already certain because nobody ever doubted it: Today John Hoeven will be elected to a second term as the Republican governor of North Dakota just as surely as Barak Obama will be elected Democratic senator from Illinois. Why does a Californian care who wins in North Dakota? Oh, all right. I’ll confess once again. John was a classmate of mine at Dartmouth. He’s well-spoken, fundamentally conservative (in North Dakota politics, you have to look after the farmers in a way that might not entirely please, let us say, Milton Friedman), and one of the nicest guys I’ve ever known. Why should you care? Because North Dakota’s senators are liberal Democrats, and John’s re-election places him in a good position to wait a few years, then knock one of them off.
John Hoeven, re-elected governor of North Dakota. His victory will be completely overlooked tonight, of course, so take a moment to celebrate right now.