The lesson is that voters in both parties are in a very anti-establishment, populist mood. Hillary Clinton is the establishment candidate.

As those states and others in the South and West become more diverse and educated, they will become harder for the Republican Party - in its current form - to win.

Does Donald Trump accept the results and concede graciously, pursue legal action, or tell his followers to take to the streets?

As one person said to me , Republicans know [Donald] Trump is a stain on their party.

The winner's margin of victory also matters. If it's a squeaker, that will make the lessons learned for both parties much murkier.

While Romney has an overall deficit with women voters, his biggest disadvantage is with college educated women - wherever they work, at home, in an office, a store or a factory.

The Democrats pulled out one of their most powerful surrogates - and no, it wasn't President [Barack] Obama. Beyoncé showed up at a GOTV rally in Cleveland, joining her husband, Jay Z, and Hillary Clinton.