By Mallory Hayes
Co-Editor-in-Chief
Election? What election? Although the people of Tennessee were not actively involved in electing new and incumbent individuals to notable public offices this year, many across the nation were watching expectantly yesterday as citizens of certain states went to the voting booths to cast their ballots.
The eyes of the country were especially on two key battleground state elections in Virginia and New Jersey. Although these contests were for governorships rather than positions on the federal level, they were still cause for attention. Both the Commonwealth of Virginia and the State of New Jersey helped elect Barack Obama to the presidency this past November, and already the tides have turned. In yesterday’s elections, both states turned red.
In Virginia, the Republican candidate Bob McDonnell secured a handy victory by winning nearly 60% of the popular vote compared to 40% won by the Democratic candidate Creigh Deeds. McDonnell will be the first Republican to occupy the Virginia Governor’s mansion in eight years. In addition to the governorship, Republicans also gained the positions of Lieutenant Governor and Attorney General by similar margins.
Meanwhile, New Jersey experienced a true nail-biter, as the results went down to the wire. The Democrat incumbent Jon Corzine lost his office by a five-point margin to Republican nominee Chris Christie. The New Jersey race was a particularly sweet victory for the GOP, as they managed to win while spending half as much money as the Democratic campaign.
It is widely believed that such decisive wins on Tuesday were the result of widespread dissatisfaction among Independents, Conservatives, and even moderate Democrats in the way the country is being governed under the Obama Administration and a Democrat-controlled Congress. As is tradition, disapproval may have been the driving force in the 2009 Elections. Just as many believe Barack Obama was successful in the 2008 Presidential Election by being the most drastic change from the unpopular sitting Republican President, perhaps McDonnell and Christie were simply in the “right” party during this election cycle. Whether the results were due to opposition or support of the individuals themselves, these few state-level contests will quite probably serve as a springboard for the many Congressional Elections to be held in November 2010.
Or not. The district Representative election in N.Y. was probably more indicative of the nation’s political disposition. That district had been Republican since the Civil War but fell to a Democrat.