Virginia Landslide
One year after Barack Obama won Virginia, the land of Jefferson has returned to its Republican roots – and decisively so.
Republican Bob McDonnell steamrolled Democrat Creigh Deeds in the Virginia gubernatorial race on Tuesday by a 60%-40% margin, leading a GOP sweep of the state that was significant for both its wide margin and the recent history it reverses.
In addition to Obama’s victory last November, Democrats have held the governor’s office in Virginia for the last eight years. They also won Virginia’s last two U.S. Senate elections, in 2006 and 2008.
In fact, in a race for Attorney General four years ago featuring these same two candidates, McDonnell defeated Deeds by just 360 votes – winning the closest statewide election in Virginia history.
Obama campaigned for Deeds as recently as last week, but after polls still showed the Democratic candidate trailing badly, the President shifted his efforts to New Jersey – which he carried a year ago by a fifteen point margin. Obama appeared in the Garden State five times in support of incumbent Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine, who was also defeated Tuesday by a Republican candidate, former U.S. Attorney Chris Christie.
McDonnell’s campaign emphasized fiscal and economic issues while downplaying more divisive social issues.
In other words, it did exactly what we’ve been exhorting Republicans to do for years – and what we expect will likely become a blueprint for the party in the 2010 elections.
The Virginia and New Jersey races – along with a high-profile Congressional race in Upstate New York – are being viewed as early indicators of the mood of the country with respect to the Obama administration and its policies.
Based on the Virginia results, that mood is decidedly displeased.
Comments
By No Way! on November 3rd, 2009 at 9:44 pm
This is just a preamble to 2010 when we remove the Democrat control of congress and then send Obama packing in 2012. He should go ahead and schedule the moving crew.
By SnakeMD on November 3rd, 2009 at 9:48 pm
The tide is turning on the Messiah. Maybe Rahm Emanuel will send McDonnell a wrapper of dead fish. Pelosi will perhaps call for an investigation concerning possible voter fraud. Maybe it was the “macaca effect?” I just hope that Rush Limbaugh doesn’t dance on the grave of Deeds, to much. To much chest beating will surely anger the Dems. The gulf widens…
By No Way! on November 3rd, 2009 at 10:02 pm
I hope Rush has one heck of a day tomorrow. This election is a referendum on Obama. The man-child will be heading for home in 2012. I wonder if we can get Obama to campaign for others in 2012. That can only help us further the conservative mission.
By No Way! on November 3rd, 2009 at 10:05 pm
This just further illustrates that Obama is in way over his head! His 5 minute resume is not adequate for the position as leader of the free world.
By Liberty For Me on November 3rd, 2009 at 10:39 pm
Dont get too excited…communist policy by Bush is no better than Obama.
Only holding to true liberal (liberterian) ideals like Thomas Jefeerson will bring true freedom back to this country.Most politicians are in government for power not to be patriots.
By vicupstate on November 3rd, 2009 at 10:54 pm
‘recent history it reverses’…
Not exactly. This is the NINTH CONSECUTIVE election in which the VA Governor was of the opposite party of the White House victor of the previous year. 1973 was the last time the two men’s parties were in synch.
Exit polls show Obama > 50% approval in VA and a majority of voters don’t see the race as a referendum on Obama. Dems stayed home in droves with Deeds running a lousy campaign and EVERY poll in the last month showing he had no chance.
By Soft Sigh From Hell on November 3rd, 2009 at 11:12 pm
You know, using that image of a naked mole rat as an avatar is just too funny. The ecology of naked mole rats has been well studied and published and they are the perfect animal analog for today’s relict GOP.
Naked mole rats are colonial “hive” creatures: they cannot stand alone without the support of the mass of their near-identical like. They are ruled by a grotesque pudgy queen (think Limbaugh) who—I am not making this up—sends her instructions downward as messages (in the rat’s case, hormonal or chemical) in her feces that are serially consumed by the lower legions. They are thereby routinely fed crap, neutered, commanded, and controlled. It is almost as if these bizarre creatures were created to serve as a model for the Dub and post-Dub GOP. Though it must just be convergent evolution.
By James the Foot Soldier on November 4th, 2009 at 12:47 am
vic – by all means – keep thinking that way – please….
The key point in both New Jersey and Virginia is the larger turnout by senior citizens – the very populace democrats have thrown under the bus with Obamacare.
Coincidence? Not hardly – they’re MAD AS HELL – and they ain’t takin’ it no more.
By sid on November 4th, 2009 at 12:52 am
Funny, SSFH, as I was thinking how your screen name seems so appropriate. I imagine the figurative Hell you must occupy, watching impotently as the conservatives you seem to revile bask in the glory of a transcendent election night. All you can muster is a shockingly desperate, poorly crafted personal attack. Learn to lose with more grace. It’s a talent you will find will come in handy for the next few years.
By ohara on November 4th, 2009 at 1:32 am
Deeds is a moron, he deserved to lose. Good luck to the new Gov-elect.
By roofus on November 4th, 2009 at 7:48 am
Proud to be a native of the Old Dominion, once again!
By Soft Sigh From Hell on November 4th, 2009 at 9:05 am
El Sid is a laugh on almost every line. Impotent and in abject defeat at the national level, allied with a party that has failed so abjectly that a young liberal urban northern black man wins the presidency almost in a landslide, El Sid now takes some strained solace in scattered rustlings within redneck red states and other Republican redoubts. Well, let him find some joy and hope where he can. But traditional red areas voting red is hardly a groundswell.
(A friend fron upstate NY says her relatives there are just the same as our rednecks except for a different accent.)
By larry on November 4th, 2009 at 9:51 am
Strange, SSFH– I didn’t know New Jersey was a Republican redoubt or a traditional redneck state.
By sid on November 4th, 2009 at 11:22 am
SSFH whistles past the graveyard, failing miserably to comprehend a fairly simple political message. Barry lost big, in two states he won just a year ago, and in two states he campaigned for the losers. The independents he relied on so deeply abandoned him ands his candidates in droves. Most shocking is that N.J. race. Not that Barry lost, but that, unknown to the rest of the world, it is actually a Republican state.
Of course, more likely SSFH is simply trying to show the brave face of a quashed liberal, defiantly raging against the tide of a conservative reawakening. Don’t worry. You’ll have ample opportunities to do try to spin losses as…what…ties? Is that what you are trying to say? Your particular Hell must be a rather interesting place.
It stings, losing, doesn’t it? It will get easier for you, I’m sure, so don’t worry. At least, that’s what I’ve been told by other liberals. But that doesn’t mean you need to abandon all sense of reality.
By political hack on November 4th, 2009 at 12:16 pm
Radical left elitists with an agenda, namely the International money changers and the gangster communists (wealthy Askenazi Jews) who settled in America due to Hitlers persecution and became “renowed professors” dominating our institutions of higher indoctrination, put obama in the office he holds today. Massive voter fraud and the Republicans pitting McCain, himself a stooge to the moneychangers, were also part of the plan. It was not true Democracy at work. Obama was “tapped” as they say in the world of secret societies by a closely knit group of very wealthy communist moles. Central banks have the money to support an operation like this and they are the essence of Socialism, and the more Socialism, the more they profit. I believe establishing a central bank is also the 5th pillar of communism as outlined by Karl Marx.
By weighing in on November 4th, 2009 at 1:28 pm
I hate to break it to you all, but this has nothing to do with anti-Obama….if it did why did the Dems pick up another seat in Congress. VA had some good D candidates in the past, and not typical (Mark Warner) and were able to sell to a more conservative mainstream in VA. Corzine bought the Gov’s office last time and it was still close, so it was bound to be close this time. I’m sure talking heads will announce this as “Republican Victory” and “America is waking up” but in reality, state politics is much much more local and the exit polls show that this wasn’t an Obama referendum. The better candidates won.
By sid on November 4th, 2009 at 2:07 pm
Dems picked up that seat because of a unique situation. They lost the two top statewide races, in part, because of Barry. To say it had “nothing to do with anti-Obama” is just silly. The question is, how much did the anti-Barry thing have to do with the results? The numbers in VA were overwhelming, and covered all three statewide races. They were, by all definitions, landlsides. Of course the better candidates won, but were all three Dems just ridiculously bad candidates? No, there was a considerable abandonment of Barry, as exit polls indicated by the overwhelming difference in the key independent vote. Perhaps many people didn’t want to say they were anti-Barry for fear of being labeled a racist?
By jeffy on November 4th, 2009 at 3:46 pm
weighing in…its an off year election, there was only one congressional race….not really a genius point.
Trial lawyers of the Country shakin in da boots….I smell landslide next november.
By weighing in on November 4th, 2009 at 4:26 pm
N.J. gov’s race exit polls show property taxes, economy top issues for voters. The economy is to blame on more than the President that inherited it and property taxes aren’t federal. And do your homework, they won these races, but voter apathy of the President was little factor….racism though I’m sure was alive and well.
By No Way! on November 4th, 2009 at 5:05 pm
Nothing to do with Obama my @#$! He put his neck out there for these losers in VA and NJ. If they had one, we would be hearing a totally different story. Now that they lose despite the grace and majesty of boy wonder Obama, it is not a referendum on his policies. Again, it just shows that boy wonder is in way over his head and will be heading home in a few years. Until then, I hope he continues his record of no accomplishments! It fits his resume!
By sid on November 4th, 2009 at 5:55 pm
Oh, I’ve done my homework. Unfortunately, relying solely on exit polls is somewhat foolish, as they are rather contradictory at times. The economy, whether rightly or wrongly, is going to be blamed on the party in power, and the head of that party. That’s Barry and the Dems. Around 90% in NJ said they are worried about the nation’s economy, and the direction in which it is headed. That’s nation, I remind you, and the direction is being guided by Barry and the Dems. So, folks are concerned about the national economy, and the party not in power won. But that doesn’t mean the folks have concerns regarding Barry, who campaigned heavily in NJ on behalf of the loser? Get real. Yeah, property taxes were a big issue, but so was the national economy, and the direction Barry is steering it. And as others have said, if Barry’s team had won, every lefty would be crowing about how this was an affirmation of Barry and his agenda. I’m just happy I get to defend my position, rather than attack that one.
By Soft Sigh From Hell on November 4th, 2009 at 6:44 pm
The Mole Rat’s posts are like a Cliff Notes version of the Limbaugh-Beck-Hannity broadcasts. I suppose they have value even if for that alone.
Take whatever joy you can in these significant but still relatively minor (on a national scale) election accomplishments. Pretending they are mighty omens is a bit much though.
It hardly measures up to raining blood on Rome for three days.
By SnakeMD on November 4th, 2009 at 9:10 pm
To, Soft Sigh From Hell: May we call you Ms. Calpurnia? The actual message that Silliam Wakespeare wanted to convey to his audience was that omens actually do NOT foreshadow the inevitable. That is why he went overboard and used so many in Orange Julius. So, raining blood for three days was actually a message to the Roman GOP not to take anything seriously. Of course, Uncle Bard never met Sarah Palin ;-)
By No Way! on November 4th, 2009 at 10:24 pm
SSFH,
I would make Limbaugh look like a bleeding heart liberal! And yes, we plan to take back power. Conservatism is going to bring us through this economy. The more we impede boy wonder Obama’s agenda, the more successful our country and the economy. Boy wonder Obama is the problem here . . . he is the problem with the economy. No one wants to hire when they fear all of the mandates he spews to small business. Next thing you know, businesses will be required to pay off the credit cards of their workers.
By weighing in on November 5th, 2009 at 11:38 am
need I remind you all this all goes back to the Bush/Clinto administrations. Blaming it on the sitting President is foolish. And for all you folks that say let’s go back to Reagan…I’m a Reagan republican…here’s another school lesson for you.
http://money.cnn.com/2009/10/19/news/economy/Bartlett_Reaganomics.moneymag/index.htm
And for “No Way”…the war is over. Take down the confederate naval jack and quit having your weekly bunker at Maurice’s piggie park. You, like most, offer a bunch of talk, but no solutions.