Tuesday’s election results and comments shed some interesting light on voter sentiment that outshined whether Republicans or Democrats took the reins from the other party.
Republican victories in key states Virginia and New Jersey shifted the political territory against the Democrats and their leader, President Obama.
Less than a year after Obama’s election, Republicans took back Virginia’s top office after eight years of Democratic rule, electing former Attorney General Bob McDonnell.
Eight years ago, Democrat Mark Warner was elected Virginia’s governor, benefiting from dissension in the Republican ranks, and promises not to raise taxes. Restricted by Virginia’s Constitution against consecutive terms, he left office with a 71% approval rating.
His Lieutenant Governor, Tim Kaine, who promised to continue the policies of his predecessor, succeeded him. He is now the Chairman of the Democratic National Committee.
McDonnell had defeated his Democratic rival Creigh Deeds in 2005, for the Virginia office of Attorney General. That race was close and Deeds filed for a recount that confirmed McDonnell had won.
He won again Tuesday based mainly on his position as a bipartisan conciliator focused on job creation and economic growth.
Did the Republican victory mean a change in political sentiment for Virginia? Or was the more powerful candidate elected for his accomplishments and platform that identified what the citizens want.
In New Jersey, incumbent Democrat Jon S. Corzine lost the top office to Chris Christie after a term that included a government shutdown over a budget dispute with legislators, cutting programs, decreasing funding to colleges, lost time in office due to a speeding accident, and a controversial toll increase plan for fundraising rejected by voters, along with other unpopular financial moves.
The governor’s speeding accident prompted voters to provide for a Lieutenant Governor to serve in the Governor’s absence.
Christie ran on a pledge to clean up corruption, not to raise taxes and to spur growth in the state’s manufacturing sector as well as increase production of alternative energy.
In New York’s upstate 23rd Congressional district, Democrat Bill Owens beat out third-party conservative Doug Hoffman after the Republican candidate Dierdre Scozzafava pulled out of the race and threw her support to Democrat Owens.
The district has been represented by Republicans since 1873.
Owens platform included the creation of jobs in his district, and ensuring Fort Drum (with a population of more than 12,000 military personnel) is preserved.
What conclusions can we draw from these contests? In all contests, voters were concerned with jobs and the economy.
A Virginia voter said, “I think there are a lot of questions about whether [the country] is going in the right direction. Obama’s slogan last year was change, but I think it’s changed a little too much and needs to change back the other way a bit.”
The Democratics won the election in 2008 as the party of hope and change. With a discontented electorate growing hardened to those promises, Republicans are now positioning themselves as the real party of change.
Chris Chocola, president of the Club for Growth, drew this conclusion: “When Republicans stand up for pro-growth policy, fiscal responsibility, and economic conservatism unapologetically, and reflect their district on social issues, they win.”
Another aspect to Tuesday’s election is that young voters and minorities who were such a Democratic force in 2008, stayed home in droves (more than 3 million in Virginia and New Jersey alone), leaving victories at the polls to older voters, many of them Republicans.
One Virginia college student seemed to capture the mood of non-voters when she said she did not bother to vote in the election because the candidates didn’t give her anything to get excited about.
Exit polls showed about 60 percent of voters in both states said their feelings about the President were not a factor in their choice.
Finally, voters seem to advocate independence, rather than vote strict party lines for issues chosen by a political machine. Independents are performance-based and their numbers are growing.
They could be the nucleus of a new political party, but probabaly wouldn’t vote along those party lines either. But those voters will be a growing force to judge political performance.
And they will vote out the ins who do not take action and make things happen.
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