Happy election day! Are you voting? What's the buzz on the ground? What's the turnout like? Here is a round-up of the more high-profile races being decided today:

In Kentucky, the Ernie Fletcher/Steve Beshear showdown is finally upon us. Democratic challenger Beshear goes into election day with a double digit lead over the incumbent and as TPM alerts us, the GOP is getting desperate.

Just yesterday, in an effort to boost his prospects among conservative voters, Fletcher put up a display containing the Ten Commandments in the state Capitol Rotunda, and a robocall from Pat Boone is warning that Beshears will work for "every homosexual cause."

Now comes word of a second anti-Beshear robocall with an anti-gay-themed message. This one purports to be from an actual gay rights organization in Kentucky and touts Beshears' support for "the homosexual lobby." But the group, Fairness.org, denies any being responsible for the call. The Fletcher campaign also denies any involvement.

This sounds to me to be all very 2004. Does this shit still work? We'll get a sense today. Local blog Bluegrass Report doesn't think it will and predicts a 61%-39% Beshear blowout. Would love to see Kentuckians send such a loud and clear message today.

Religion is playing a part in the Mississippi gubernatorial race as well where Democratic challenger John Arthur Eaves, Jr. has tried to puncture the goodwill Barbour received as a result of his response to Hurricane Katrina by tying Barbour to corruption.

Barbour's opponent, Democratic trial lawyer John Arthur Eaves Jr., quoted Scripture when he accused the governor of being beholden to "moneychangers" such as big tobacco, oil and insurance companies through his old Washington lobbying firm.

Barbour responded in a recent debate by reciting a passage from the Book of Daniel in which a hand appears out of nowhere to write a message on the wall of the temple in Babylon. If another hand appeared and wrote out a denial of Eaves' allegations, Barbour said, "that wouldn't be good enough for my opponent."

Conventional wisdom has it that Barbour will skate to an easy re-election.

In Virginia, hundreds of local races are being decided, the most significant of which will be in the state senate where Democrats need a net gain of just 4 seats to win control. Marc Ambinder puts the Democrats' chances this way:

Democrats are poised to take control of the State Senate (unless immigration gets in their way, which is possible).

If immigration is going to be a thorn in the side of Democrats next year, Virginia may tell us today. WaPo has more on what voters will be deciding today:

Voters will signal what direction government should take on such high-profile issues as immigration policy, improving traffic and managing growth. Their choices will indicate whether they approve of a transportation plan devised last winter by Republican lawmakers that funnels hundreds of millions to Northern Virginia roads and transit system but imposes steep new fees on the state's worst drivers. And in races in which candidates have focused on immigration policy, they will indicate whether they want action on this emotional issue at the state and local level.

Polls in Virginia close at 7pm EST and as always, check out Raising Kaine for local coverage.

The AP has a rundown of some ballot measures that are being decided today as well:

Several states were voting on ballot measures, including a Utah proposal that would create the nation's first statewide school voucher program open to all families. If approved, the plan would grant $500 to $3,000, depending on income, for each child sent to private school. Unlike other voucher plans geared toward low-income students or those in failing schools, Utah's plan would be available to anyone, even affluent families in well-performing districts.

Oregon voters considered a measure to raise the cigarette tax by 84.5 cents a pack -- to $2.02 -- to fund health insurance for about 100,000 children now lacking coverage. Tobacco companies opposing the plan have outspent supporters by a 4-1 margin, contributing nearly $12 million.

New Jersey voters were deciding a referendum authorizing the state to borrow $450 million over 10 years to finance stem cell research. The Roman Catholic Church and anti-abortion groups opposed the measure, which was placed on the ballot by the Legislature with strong backing from Gov. Jon Corzine.

Check out Swing State Project for a more comprehensive list of races to watch and each state's poll closing times.

What races are you watching today?

Update [2007-11-6 12:50:48 by Todd Beeton]:Progressive Majority is doing some excellent and largely unheralded work at the local level around the country. Check out a rundown of all the great progressive candidates whose races will be decided today HERE.

There's more...

Although the Bush administration and the Republican Party nationally were clearly hurt politically by their inability to effectively respond to Hurricane Katrina, on a more local level it was Democrats who seemed to bear the brunt of the political backlash. For instance, while Mississippi's Republican Governor Haley Barbour, a former career lobbyist and chairman of the Republican National Committee, has seen his approval rating remain fairly good, Louisiana's Democratic Governor Kathleen Blanco has seen her numbers stick at or below the low-40s since the deluge. Unsurprisingly, then, Barbour is running for reelection this fall while Blanco is not.

But should Mississippians turn a skeptical eye towards their Governor, perhaps those numbers could begin to move. An article on the Bloomberg newswire today by Timothy J. Burger may just provide that opportunity for Mississippi voters to rethink their views of Barbour.

Many Mississippians have benefited from Governor Haley Barbour's efforts to rebuild the state's devastated Gulf Coast in the two years since Hurricane Katrina. The $15 billion or more in federal aid the former Republican national chairman attracted has reopened casinos and helped residents move to new or repaired homes.

Among the beneficiaries are Barbour's own family and friends, who have earned hundreds of thousands of dollars from hurricane-related business. A nephew, one of two who are lobbyists, saw his fees more than double in the year after his uncle appointed him to a special reconstruction panel. Federal Bureau of Investigation agents in June raided a company owned by the wife of a third nephew, which maintained federal emergency- management trailers.

Meanwhile, the governor's own former lobbying firm, which he says is still making payments to him, has represented at least four clients with business linked to the recovery.

Reading through the entire article, the details sound even worse. Two of Haley Barbour's nephews -- one of whom, Henry Barbour, was the Governor's campaign manager during the 2003 campaign -- registered as lobbyists for the first time almost immediately after their uncle was sworn in. Henry Barbour, in particular, saw his fortunes rise, both after his uncle's successful campaign and then after his uncle appointed him as unpaid executive director of the Governor's Commission on Recovery, Rebuilding and Renewal, with his lobbying fees growing from nothing to $150,000 in the Governor's first year in office to $379,000 in 2006, the first full year after Hurricane Katrina hit. At the same time, a number of those enriching Henry Barbour through plush lobbying contracts were also plying Haley Barbour with campaign contributions.

This is all just some of the information contained in the article. Other details bring up similar questions. Burger makes clear that "no evidence has surfaced that Barbour violated the law," but quotes the head of a government watchdog group who explains that these revelations raise "many red flags."

It's not clear that there is much to gain for local Democrats in the short run by hitting on these allegations. By most accounts this fall's gubernatorial election is not supposed to be terribly close, and the Democratic nominee, John Eaves, appears to be running, at least in part, on bringing back school prayer. That said, there are those who view Barbour as Vice Presidential material -- or even potentially Presidential material (you know how Republicans love their lobbyists like Fred Thompson and Haley Barbour...) -- so there are long-term benefits to the Democrats giving this news a full airing, both in Mississippi and inside the Beltway, to help undercut Barbour before he can act on national ambitions.

There's more...