Here’s yesterday’s election results, as they stand right now:
VA-Gov
Bob McDonnell (R) 59%
Creigh Deeds (D) 41%
99% counted
A big win for Republicans in VA-Gov. This result was no surprise, Deeds was a crappy candidate. His problem was that he tried to run against President Obama, at one point even saying he would consider opting out of the public option. Not a good way to inspire the base. According to reports, the Republican turnout was normal but the Democratic turnout was low. This follows the them of Republicans energized, Democrats less so but it doesn’t look like a win for tea bagger.
NJ-Gov
Chris Christie (R) 49%
Jon Corzine (D) inc. 45%
Chris Daggett (I) 6%
99% counted
There were a lot of changes in this race near the end. Daggett’s support collapsed (he was up to 20% at one point last week). A lot of Daggett’s votes went to Christie and the independents went to Christie at a 2:1 rate according to exit polls. Corzine never cracked 45% in any poll, so his final number is not a surprise. Corzine had very low popularity (in the 30s) and had been involved in scandals (affair with one of his aides, car accident) and was governor during the really crappy economy. Christie was not a good candidate but Corzine was just too unpopular. Also, congratulations NJ for getting a governor with 49% unpopularity before he even steps into office.
Maine Prop 1
Yes (repeal same sex marriage) 53%
No (keep same sex marriage) 47%
87% counted
This is the biggest disappointment of the night for me. It shows that lying works (they’re going to indoctrinate your children, the horror!). I don’t think people’s civil rights should be put to a vote.
Other interesting results in Maine as well – Maine approved medical marijuana and rejected an anti-tax initiative. This was definitely not a teabagger election.
Washington State Referendum Measure 71 (domestic partnership)
Yes (approve domestic partnership) 51%
No (reject domestic partnership) 49%
100% counted
A small glimmer of hope in the fight for same sex marriage. This should give the “call it anything but marriage” crowd a boost. There was also an anti-tax initiative on the ballot that lost.
CA-10
John Garamendi (D) 53%
David Harmer (R) 43%
Others 4%
100% counted
This result is not a surprise. The seat was formerly held by Ellen Tauscher.
The most intriguing races of the night were in New York.
NY-23
Bill Owens (D) 49%
Doug Hoffman (I) 45%
DeDe Scozzafava (R) 6%
93% counted
Well, the teabaggers got their scalp with Scozzafava, but didn’t take the district. In some polls, Hoffman had led by as much as 15% over Owens. Were these polls wildly inaccurate? Probably but I think there was a lot of flux in the race at the end. How much did Scozzafava’s endorsement help Owens? Did Palin, Pawlenty, Thompson and Limbaugh (all out-of-district politicians) hurt Hoffman? How much did Hoffman’s unfamiliarity with the district hurt him? Did the reports of overzealous Hoffman supporters harassing voters make a difference?
I think the surprise election of the night was NYC-Mayor. Bloomberg was expected to cruise over former comptroller Bill Thompson and spent more than $100,000,000 of his own fortune on the race. The final results were the following:
Michael Bloomberg (I), (R) inc. 51%
Bill Thompson (D) 46%
That looks like a huge protest vote. I wonder how the democrats would have done if they had run a higher profile candidate?