Spring Break
Election 2009: few surprises, unique state issues important
State of Play
Matt Santacroce
Issue date: 11/5/09 Section: News
While Tuesday's elections were generally limited to local races, there were a few races around the country that received a good deal of attention. This week's edition of State of Play will take a look at the gubernatorial elections in Virginia and New Jersey, and the special election for the Congressional seat in New York's 23rd district - and what the outcomes may or may not mean for 2010 and beyond.
Virginia gubernatorial race
Not much here in the way of surprises. Republican candidate Robert McDonnell took double-digit advantages in the polls over Democrat Creigh Deeds into Election Day, and ended up winning handily with nearly 59 percent of the vote. Campaigning on promises to create jobs, revive the economy and improve transportation infrastructure within the state, McDonnell avoided divisive social issues and took advantage of Deeds' weak name recognition in the Democratic stronghold of northern Virginia.
Lesson Learned: This was a state election that hinged on state issues. While many pointed to this as a one-year report card on President Barack Obama's standing in Virginia, Deeds explicitly rejected the label of Obama Democrat throughout the campaign and promised a more fiscally moderate administration upon election. Instead, Deeds' failure to appeal to northern Virginia voters and McDonnell's fiscally conservative, socially moderate platform were the factors that decided this race.
New Jersey gubernatorial race
This race was much closer than the race in Virginia. In recent weeks, most polls gave Democratic incumbent Jon Corzine a slight advantage over his Republican opponent, former U.S. Attorney Chris Christie. But the relative unpopularity of both candidates and the presence of independent candidate Chris Daggett gave this race a twist - although Daggett had no chance to win the race, many thought he could steal enough votes from either Corzine or Christie to swing the election. This race was too close to call until nearly midnight on Tuesday. In the end, though, Christie won a close race with 49 percent of the vote. Corzine went down with 44.5 percent, while the independent Daggett ultimately gained 5.7 percent.
Virginia gubernatorial race
Not much here in the way of surprises. Republican candidate Robert McDonnell took double-digit advantages in the polls over Democrat Creigh Deeds into Election Day, and ended up winning handily with nearly 59 percent of the vote. Campaigning on promises to create jobs, revive the economy and improve transportation infrastructure within the state, McDonnell avoided divisive social issues and took advantage of Deeds' weak name recognition in the Democratic stronghold of northern Virginia.
Lesson Learned: This was a state election that hinged on state issues. While many pointed to this as a one-year report card on President Barack Obama's standing in Virginia, Deeds explicitly rejected the label of Obama Democrat throughout the campaign and promised a more fiscally moderate administration upon election. Instead, Deeds' failure to appeal to northern Virginia voters and McDonnell's fiscally conservative, socially moderate platform were the factors that decided this race.
New Jersey gubernatorial race
This race was much closer than the race in Virginia. In recent weeks, most polls gave Democratic incumbent Jon Corzine a slight advantage over his Republican opponent, former U.S. Attorney Chris Christie. But the relative unpopularity of both candidates and the presence of independent candidate Chris Daggett gave this race a twist - although Daggett had no chance to win the race, many thought he could steal enough votes from either Corzine or Christie to swing the election. This race was too close to call until nearly midnight on Tuesday. In the end, though, Christie won a close race with 49 percent of the vote. Corzine went down with 44.5 percent, while the independent Daggett ultimately gained 5.7 percent.
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