| GOP Wins Big in N.J. and Va., but Loses in N.Y. |
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| by Tom McGregor | Wed, Nov 4, 2009, 10:10 AM |
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Fox News reports that, "the Republican victories nevertheless marked a potential turnaround after two consecutive cycles of midterm losses. In New Jersey, Republican Chris Christie beat out Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine, even though Obama campaigned heavily for the incumbent in the closing days of the race and the state has not elected a Republican governor since 1993." Republican Bob McDonnell in Virginia defeated Creigh Deeds by a substantial margin, heading up a succesful GOP ticket. McDonnell's win ends eight years of Democratic rule of the governor's seat. The victories may spell trouble ahead for the Democats' legislative agenda in Washington and stand as a signal of future GOP gains in the 2010 midterm elections. Republicans announced the races Teusday serve as a collective rebuke of House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi (D.-Ca.); Senate Leader, Harry Reid (D.-Nv.) and President Barack Obama. Yet, Democrats claimed they were not worried about the results of the elections, since the candidates campaigned heavily on local issues. According to Fox News, in the Garden State, Corzine had suffered from low approval ratings, stemming in part from voter discontent over high property taxes. In his victory speech, Chrisitie said the state was "in crisis." He added, "tomorrow, together, we begin to take back New Jersey." The Republican in Virginia had been favored to win after leading by double-digits in nearly every pre-election poll. The campaign hinged on economic worries - McDonnell pitched himself as the "jobs governor" to voters. As reported by Fox News, "Republican Party leaders were quick to claim the victories as a sign that Americans are rebelling against Democratic policies in Washington. Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele said the victories marked a 'clear rejection' of 'tax-and-spend' policies in Washington." To read the entire article from Fox News, link here: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
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Comments (9)
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written by bk , November 04, 2009 The spin will be (already is) that the governorships were based solely on what is going on in those states, not Obama, but NY is clearly a vindication of Obama. Whatever. Of course, there will be some "exit polls" to back it up. Where were the polls conducted? Who was asked? What were the questions? Losing begins when people begin believing their own spin.
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written by Paul Barnes , November 04, 2009 From Larry J. Sabato, Professor of Politics at the University of Virginia: In retrospect, NY-23 was almost comical—another fine mess created by local and national GOP “leaders”. And the results are plain for all to see. Republicans are now down to two, count ‘em, two U.S., House seats out of 29 in New York State. In the mid-90s, they had 13 House seats—plus a U.S. senator and the governorship. Some compromise candidate in NY-23 would have delivered a victory to the GOP, instead of a defeat—the loss of a seat they have held since the early 1870s—that spoiled their otherwise good showing last night. I doubt these circumstances will be repeated quite as widely in 2010 as some think. Still, there are dozens of senior Republicans who have omelet, not just egg, on their faces over this debacle.
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written by Jason K , November 04, 2009 The GOP lost a House seat they should've won. Won a governorship they should have won, and pulled an upset in another. I really don't see anything for Dems to be afraid about yet, but think the GOP should feel much better today as they believe they've stopped the bleeding.
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written by bk , November 04, 2009 Oh, yeah, alternate spin. Republican Party is too "right wing." Like you guys care about the Republican Party. It was the "local" leaders who picked Dede to run. Is she too right wing for you? Professor of Politics? How does the prof spin off the Va. governor's race?
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written by furrpiece , November 04, 2009 The most absurd remark of the entire evening was the White House claiming, "President Obama is not watching the election returns". Let me see if I've got this right. Obama spends OUR tax dollars going to New Jersey three times to campaign for Corzine, has the DNC invest millions of dollars in the race, goes to Virginia twice to campaign for the Democrat, invests more millions there, and he's not interested in whether they won? Why does the White House lie like it does? That's just emblematic of the arrogance of the Obama Administration. Is this President REALLY so dismissive of friends he campaigned for that he ignored whether they won or lost on election night? Last night, two blue states turned red in the governor's mansions, and Virginia saw a rare sweep of the top statewide offices for one party. ACORN, SEIU, and the usual suspects in New Jersey went in early to steal as many votes as they could, and the Republican STILL beat Corzine by about 5%. Interesting in both states is that the "Obama Coalition" didn't show up to vote, and the independents went two-to-one for the Republicans instead of the Democrats. The bottom line is, Obama expended precious and copious presidential capital in New Jersey and Virginia, and he was rejected in both states. The Republican Party can either use this as a springboard for 2010, and possibly take back the Senate, or try to become more like the Democrats and drive the base of the GOP to a Third Party - thereby losing for decades. We'll see what happens.
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written by manny s , November 04, 2009 Republicans take heed,, NOW!! is the time to out the rinos,snowe, collins, mccain, graham and all those others in the house,,,purge purge you have been vindicated only hard core conservatives allowed you were right now that you've won in NJ and VA nevermind the 23rd put that out of your mind, i know i know, that you have won that district since 1870 and should have won but ah whos counting
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written by Jason K , November 04, 2009 I'm sure no one informed Obama of anything during the count of election ballots. After all, the only place he could probably ever get that information is from TV.
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written by furrpiece , November 05, 2009 Jason, you're exactly right, and therein lies the problem. The White House wished to convey the idea that President Obama was disinterested, aloof, and unconcerned about the elections and their outcomes. But, that's a notion that is beyond the pale, given half-a-dozen trips into those states and putting his personal credibility on the line over the results. He could have been "listening" to the returns, "reading" the returns, "reviewing the returns" on his Blackberry, having the returns relayed to him, or he could have simply had his spokespeople misrepresent the truth as they have in the past. But, what comes across is an air that feels like detached arrogance about his friends and the results of their elections. I think to most people, he looks bad either way. Write comment
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Republican Chris Christie defeats incumbent Gov. Jon Corzine in New Jersey; Republican Bob McDonnell demolishes Democrat Creigh Deeds in Virginia. However, Democrats avoided a shut-out with its victory of a New York congressional seat.
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