Yesterday was a big day for Republicans with huge wins in Virginia and New Jersey. Those two races also showed that the Obama election machine is not invincible. While the White House had already conceded Virginia prior to election day, New Jersey they fully backed right up to election day. They brought all their big guns out to stump for Governor Corzine. Former President Clinton, Vice President Biden, and President Obama himself all came to New Jersey to push Corzine over the finish line, but it didn’t work. This leaves current Democrat Congressmen and Senators wondering if the highly touted Obama coalition will actually get out to vote for anyone other than Obama. It shows Democrats, from Republican (or Independent) districts, that they better look out for their own tail, because the president can’t protect them. This election showed that Obama’s election/star power is not transferable to his allies, and that leaves a lot of Democrats nervous about their jobs.
The other case where the big guns fired blanks was in upstate New York’s 23rd district. This election became something of a saga as the Republican nominee dropped out and endorsed the Democrat. However, conservatives from outside the state swooped in to endorse the conservative candidate Hoffman to no avail. Palin, Limbaugh, Pawlenty, Beck, and Thompson all came out strongly for the conservative candidate in this solid Republican corner of New York. Clearly the locals were unimpressed as Democrat Owens won the seat. While this is something of a convoluted case, it does raise questions for the Republican party about whether they want to be an inclusive big tent party, or if they want their conservative membership unsuccessfully trying to strong arm races they don’t necessarily belong in.
The big winner of the night was Governor-elect McDonnell of Virginia who won by nearly 20 points in Virginia, a state that last election went to the Democrats. Pundits are saying that they expect contenders for the 2010 election to follow his lead and run a race focussing on the big issues, the economy, jobs, government spending, and taxes. This common sense approach could be a winner for Republicans as these are the top priorities of many people in both parties.
Filed under: Clinton, Economy, Independent, Moderate, Obama, Palin, Politics, democrats, republicans | Tagged: election reults, mid term elections, ny 23 results, off year election, virginia new jersey
[...] The big winner of the night was Governor-elect McDonnell of Virginia who won by nearly 20 points in Virginia, a state that last election went to the Democrats. Pundits are saying that they expect contenders for the 2010 election to follow his lead and run a race focussing on the big issues, the economy, jobs, government spending, and taxes. This common sense approach could be a winner for Republicans as these are the top priorities of many people in both parties. Big Guns Fire Blanks on Election Day [...]
[...] The big winner of the night was Governor-elect McDonnell of Virginia who won by nearly 20 points in Virginia, a state that last election went to the Democrats. Pundits are saying that they expect contenders for the 2010 election to follow his lead and run a race focussing on the big issues, the economy, jobs, government spending, and taxes. This common sense approach could be a winner for Republicans as these are the top priorities of many people in both parties. Big Guns Fire Blanks on Election Day [...]