Republicans Sweep N.J., Va. Gov. Races

Chris Christie Wins in New Jersey, Bob McDonnell Wins in Virginia; But Democrat Bill Owens Win N.Y. House Special Election

(CBS/ AP)  Updated 11:59 a.m. ET

The GOP wrested political control Tuesday from Democrats in Virginia and New Jersey, a troubling sign for President Obama and his party heading into an important midterm election year.

Republican Bob McDonnell's victory in the Virginia governor's race over Democrat R. Creigh Deeds, and Republican Chris Christie's ouster of New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine was a double-barreled triumph for a party looking to rebuild after being booted from power in national elections in 2006 and 2008.

Elsewhere on Tuesday, Maine voted to repeal a state law that would allow same-sex couples to wed.

And Democrat Bill Owens captured a GOP-held vacant 23rd Congressional District seat in New York in a race that highlighted fissures in the Republican Party and illustrated hurdles the GOP could face in capitalizing on any voter discontent with Mr. Obama and Democrats next fall.

California Lt. Gov. John Garamendi, also a Democrat, won a special election to a vacant congressional seat, Ohio voters approved casinos and a slew of cities selected mayors, including New York, which gave Michael Bloomberg a third term. (See more key election results)

Exit polls results in both Virginia and New Jersey showed many reasons for Democrats to be concerned and for Republicans to be optimistic, particularly about independents - the crown jewel of elections because they often determine outcomes.

In Virginia, McDonnell's decisive 66 percent majority of the independent vote was a key to his victory.

"McDonnell's victory in this off-year election has as much to do with who didn't vote as who did," CBS Poll Analyst Fred Backus said. "African Americans broke overwhelmingly for Deeds, but though they make up 20 percent of Virginians and voted proportional to their population in 2008, they made up just 15 percent of the voting population today in Virginia. Voters under 30 made up only 10 percent of the voters in Virginia - half the percentage that turned out in 2008 - and nearly half of those who did show up to the polls voted for McDonnell." (Read more on why McDonnell won in Virginia)

In New Jersey, independents made up 28 percent of the electorate and backed Christie over Corzine by 60 percent to 30 percent.

"Corzine's performance among independents was 21 points lower than Mr. Obama's last fall when 51 percent of New Jersey independents backed him," CBS Poll Analyst Jennifer De Pinto said. "Also, moderates, who made up 45 percent of the electorate, narrowly backed Christie by 48 percent to 45 percent. Mr. Obama won the support of New Jersey moderates last year."

"New Jersey's electorate was older and slightly more conservative than last year. Voters were looking for change, but while change represented the Democrat, Barack Obama a year ago, New Jersey voters saw Christie, the Republican, as the change agent this time around," De Pinto added. (Read more on why Christie won in New Jersey)

In both states the economy topped the list of issues that mattered most to voters in their choice for governor - in Virginia health care was second, while in New Jersey the second choice was property taxes.

Exit polls also showed the impact of Mr. Obama on the race. Majorities of voters in both states said the president was not a factor in their vote. Those who said Mr. Obama was a factor in New Jersey divided as to whether their vote was a vote for the president or against him. In Virginia, slightly fewer voters said their vote was for Mr. Obama than against him. (Read more analysis of the exit polls in both states)

The outcomes in Virginia and New Jersey were sure to feed discussion about the state of the electorate, the status of the diverse coalition that sent Mr. Obama to the White House, and the limits of the president's influence - on the party's base of support and on moderate current lawmakers he needs to advance his legislative priorities.

The president had personally campaigned for Deeds and Corzine, seeking to ensure that independents and base voters alike turned out even if he wasn't on the ballot - and voters still rejected them. Thus, the losses were blots on Mr. Obama's political standing to a certain degree and suggest potential problems ahead as he seeks to achieve his policy goals, protect Democratic majorities in Congress and expand his party's grip on governors' seats next fall.

"Bob McDonnell's victory gives Republicans tremendous momentum heading into 2010," declared Haley Barbour, chairman of the Republican Governors Association. "His focus on ideas and pocketbook issues will serve as a model for Republicans running next year."

On CBS' "The Early Show" Wednesday morning, Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele proclaimed that the GOP has "found its voice again."

Also on "The Early Show," Mr. Obama's campaign manager, David Plouffe, played down the results, saying, "I think generally these elections tend to be overrated in terms of what they mean later."

Democratic victories in both Virginia, a new swing state, and New Jersey, a Democratic stronghold, in 2005 preceded big Democratic years nationally in 2006 and 2008.

Tuesday's impact on Mr. Obama's popularity and on the 2010 elections could easily be overstated. Voters are often focused on local issues and local personalities.

"I'm not one who thinks that local candidates are ever helped out much by a national candidate who comes in. These two races in both Virginia and New Jersey were so much about local issues -- about property taxes, about the economy," CBS News chief Washington correspondent Bob Schieffer said.

"Predicting national trends from off year elections is like predicting the World Series winner from Spring training," added CBS News senior political correspondent Jeff Greenfield.

CBS News political director Steve Chaggaris says that Republican excitement will be tempered by the reality of the continued debate within the Republican Party about whether to emphasize its right-wing base or to soften up in an attempt to appeal to more moderates.

"McDonnell's success was partly based on downplaying his social conservative views and making a somewhat moderate play for independent votes," he writes in his analysis.

As for New Jersey, Chaggaris notes that Corzine's popularity had been dropping for a while.

"Corzine's unpopularity going into Tuesday's election cannot be underestimated," he wrote in his analysis of the race. "Simply put, New Jersey voters have been looking at other options for a while."

CBSNews.com Election Night Coverage:

Results
All Election Night 2009 Results
Republicans Sweep N.J., Va. Gov. Races
N.Y. Democrat Owens Wins House Seat
Maine Voters Reject Gay Marriage
Breckenridge, Colo., Votes to Legalize Pot
Atlanta's Race For Mayor Heads To Runoff


Analysis
What McDonnell's Win Means for the GOP, Obama
Corzine's Fall Has Been Festering for a While
What Doug Hoffman's Loss Means to Conservatives
Lessons for the White House from '09 Election Results
Why Christie Won in New Jersey
McDonnell Won Due to Turnout, Independents
Exit Polls in Va. and N.J.: The Obama (Non) Factor?
Michael Steele: GOP Has "Found Its Voice Again"
David Plouffe: Obama "Delivering on His Promise"

[doc_holliday76]

by verycold:
"On the blame game, how do we assess that 9/11 happened during the 1st year of the Bush Administration? As I recall, he was pretty much blamed entirely for the attack by the 911 commission made up of biased democrats."
------------------------------------------






HA!...HA!...HA!...ROTFLMFAO!!!!

More of that republican't history revisioning, since a simple look at your calendar proves that 9/11 happened 8 months after the busheviks stole the White House through the 2000 coup and SCOTUS selection.

The 9/11 Commission was a bi-partisan commission, chaired by former NJ governor, Thomas Kean (R), created by GOP-led congressional legislation and signed into law by GWB. The commission's final report was lengthy and based on extensive interviews and testimony. Its primary conclusion was that the failures of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency and Federal Bureau of Investigation permitted the terrorist attacks to occur and that had these agencies acted more wisely and more aggressively, the attacks could potentially have been prevented.

[doc_holliday76]

by JayAdlerMusic:
"What happened to Government For The People and By The People?"
----------------------------------------





Nothing....the majority rule in our constitutional republic, and after 8 miserable years of bushevik neoconservatism, the American people spoke through the 2006/2008 elections, kicking the GOP to the curb.

Your miNOrity party demonstrations of a few thousand fueled by FAUX NoNooz propaganda and FreedomWorks lobbyists shows more of your discontent and anger towards losing power in D.C., but WE THE PEOPLE is still majority rule no matter how loud the miNOrity shouts!

[doc_holliday76]

by Empire-George:
"Now economy being #1, maybe it was the massive spending and debt that THIS administration has incurred in the past 10 or so months."
--------------------------------------------



by doc_holliday76:
So you didn't have any problems with the doubling of the national debt by the busheviks through reduced revenue due to tax cuts for the wealthy, coupled with massive spending over the past 8 years?

YOU "born again" fiscal conservitards are truly hypocrites, but this is no different than your "small government" rhetoric that has never matched your actions either!
--------------------------------------------------




by Empire-George:
"This is true, I have been opposing Bush's expansion of government and overspending....that's the exact reason why Bush didn't exhibit any conservative principles of smaller government and lower debt....that's why he was a liberal republican.....definitely NOT conservative no matter how many times you cry "neo-con, neo-con, con, con"....doesn't make someone conservative...their actions do...and frankly, there has been very little conservatism the past 8 years....sorry...You spend wastefully.... your a lib, bottom line"
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Whoaa now georgie....you're the one that originally stated above, about the "massive spending and debt incurred in the past 10 months," despite all the wasteful spending over the past 30 years -- especially the past 8 years of bushworld.

FACT is...."ronnie the rat" raygun TRIPLED our national debt and GREW that hated government, so he must have been a liberal republican't too, while supplying arms to the Iraqis, Iranians, Contra rebels and the Taliban!

BTW, the busheviks called themselves NEOCONSERVATIVES since many of the PNAC NEOCONS were directing the failed foreign policy during bushworld.

[JayAdlerMusic]

It is my view that emphatically in the case of New Jersey, always a very blue state, the resounding cumulative result reflected the malaise and despair that Americans are feeling specifically related to the direction the country is going and in tandem the way that our government appears somewhat disorganized and ineffective in solving our domestic and global calamities. Today thousands of Americans descended on the Capitol to ask that government health care be shelved while millions of Americans sat home in total agreement. That left a few politicians telling us that they will pass the unwanted legislation at a higher cost and with the sad conclusion of thousands still without coverage all in a back room on a Saturday. What happened to Government For The People and By The People? I was born in 1951 and I have gone through the A bomb Scare, Vietnam, Polio and much more. I have never, in my opinion, seen my country in such a miserable and sorrowful state. I apologize for the stark but truthful dose of reality.

[doc_holliday76]

Oh give it rest jay, since NJ was voting against a very unpopular incumbent, during the bush/cheney Great Recession of 2007-2009, and the FAUX NoNooz propagandists fueled the FreedomWorks rally in D.C. today for the miNOrity party of sore losermen!

Your reality is actually just a parallel universe where you try to justify the miNOrity still running the show after losing power following 8 miserable years of bushworld!

[verycold]

On the blame game, how do we assess that 9/11 happened during the 1st year of the Bush Administration? As I recall, he was pretty much blamed entirely for the attack by the 911 commission made up of biased democrats. So now we have a terrible economy that Obama continues to blame daily on Bush even though it is in fact a world event. I mean did Bush force Ireland to overbuild? Did he force Iceland to give up fishing and take up banking? Really democrats, you simply cannot have it both ways.

If VA and NJ had gone blue, Obama would have killed himself to get on t.v. and insist that happened because of his policies. He would have taken all the credit. Since that didn't happen, he now insists those races were local and had nothing to do with him. That is called throwing more people under the bus.

[noloyalisti]

Creigh Deeds was not even a Democrat. Almost all his stances were Republican positions. Of course he lost.

[noloyalisti]

Let's only have welfare for the rich. Let's vote to give the filthy rich even more of our money. Let's ban socialistic Medicare. Let's only help big corporations, not people and their families. Sounds like a good tea bag plan.

[noloyalisti]

The idiot tea baggers were nowhere to be found when the Bush Crime Family handed out 700 billion to the failed banks. But when someone (Obama) tries to do something to help workers and people out with jobs, these morons cry socialism.

You can't make up this kind of ignorant, lunatic mentality. Duhhhhhhhhh!

[Empire-George]

by velma179 November 5, 2009 1:58 PM EST

Velma, I am specifically talking about the Stimuls spending and borrowing.

[velma179]

by Empire-George November 5, 2009 4:04 PM EST
by velma179 November 5, 2009 1:58 PM EST

Velma, I am specifically talking about the Stimuls spending and borrowing.

**********

The deficit is $1.4 trillion ( remember the debt and the deficit are cumulative -- we can't "blame" any ONE administration or even -- for that matter, JUST the government).

So you have a problem with about $200 billion that has been spent on Stimulus in the last ten months. You DO know that the $787 billion is an ALLOCATED amount, not a SPENT/or borrowed amount -- TODAY.

There are indications that the money spent thus far HAS been beneficial, though the debate on whether it has done what it was proposed to do is valid.
But, I bet all those unemployed folks we talk about so much, are grateful for that extra $25 a week they are getting from the Stimulus funds.
And, I'm happy to see parts of the freeway system here getting much needed repair.
No, it hasn't fixed everything ... but stimulus -- by definition -- is only the beginning.

I have no problem with spending money to make money... we do it in my business all the time. And in the end, our profit margins only benefit.



Take care, thank you for your reasonable tone in our discussions...

[Empire-George]

by doc_holliday76 November 5, 2009 2:53 PM EST

YOU "born again" fiscal conservitards are truly hypocrites, but this is no different than your "small government" rhetoric that has never matched your actions either!
________

This is true, I have been opposing Bush's expansion of government and overspending....that's the exact reason why Bush didn't exhibit any conservative principles of smaller government and lower debt....that's why he was a liberal republican.....definitely NOT conservative no matter how many times you cry "neo-con, neo-con, con, con"....doesn't make someone conservative...their actions do...and frankly, there has been very little conservatism the past 8 years....sorry

You spend wastefully.... your a lib, bottom line

I am not "born-again" similar to the way you libs put your finger in the air to decide what you believe in.....I have always been against wasteful spending/debt, now, during bush and in the future.