I was going to do a short and sweet summary for readers of races to watch as election results start rolling in later this afternoon from Eastern and Central Time Zones, but then John Fund has gone and written an excellent tutorial.

Short version on the House races, with my thoughts intermixed, in rolling order of polling place closures: watch races in Indiana and Kentucky. If more than one or two Republicans start falling in those states, there could be trouble. If they hold losses to one or two, things get more interesting.

Watch Georgia to see if the GOP picks up a House seat or two. If they do, it's a sign of a possible broader trend staunching GOP losses and making a Democratic House more challenging.

Watch Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut; a lot of House seats are in play in these states. There will be GOP losses; in part because of a number of races have baggage from Republican candidates or local elected officials. Democrats have to win an additional number of races expected to be close in these states, beyond the 6-7 likely GOP losses, to get anything close to the "wave" some have predicted.

After that, I expect news coverage will become chaotic based on the variable results in a multitude of races so all bets are off.

On the Senate side, watch Maryland, Missouri, and (gulp) Rhode Island. If Maryland or Rhode Island go GOP, Democrats face tough odds of winning the Senate. If Talent holds on in Missouri, it's also a sign of GOP strength in close races that makes a Democratic Senate more difficult. If Talent falls, as does Allen in Virginia, and Republicans don't pick up any Democratic seats, it could be a long night. If races are mixed - and they could be because of individual dynamics - all eyes might turn to Montana. All in all with the Senate, who the heck knows.

Just watch and see...and read Fund's piece to kill some time today while you wait.