Winning governor races in Va. & N.J. is a GOP centerpiece to revitalize the party before the 2010 congressional elections - Va. is a bellwether state.
From the Wall Street Journal:
Republican leaders, still licking their wounds from the party's disastrous performance in 2008, have made winning this year's two governor's races -- in Virginia and New Jersey -- a centerpiece of their strategy to revitalize the party before the 2010 congressional elections. Republicans saw in both states the opportunity to win back moderate voters by tacking away from wedge issues, such as opposition to abortion, that have long defined the party, and by seizing on discontent with Mr. Obama and the Democratic-controlled Congress over their handling of the recession and health care.
Strategists in both parties use Virginia to gauge the national electorate, because the state's racial, age and gender profile, as well as its moderate political views, generally mirror those of the nation. Last year, for instance, Mr. Obama got nearly 53% of the vote nationwide and 52.6% in Virginia.
So far, Republicans are making headway. [Republican Bob McDonnell] McDonnell, a former Virginia attorney general and state lawmaker, has pounded his Democrat opponent [state Sen. R. Creigh Deeds] as a disciple of Mr. Obama and congressional Democrats, and built a lead of 10 to 12 percentage points in most polls. A Survey USA poll released Sept. 3 found that 13% of last year's Obama voters planned to vote for Mr. McDonnell.
In New Jersey, Republican challenger Christopher Christie has used a similar strategy against Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine to build a lead of 10 percentage points, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released this week.
Going into the campaign, [Virginia] Democrats were expected to capitalize not only on Mr. Obama's popularity but also on a Democratic winning streak that began with Mark Warner's gubernatorial win in 2001, followed by victories by current Gov. Tim Kaine in 2005, Sen. Jim Webb in 2006 and Mr. Warner again in a 2008 landslide victory for the other Senate seat. (Virginia governors are limited to serving one four-year term and cannot seek re-election.)
Mr. Deeds faces another obstacle: history. In every Virginia gubernatorial election since 1977, the party that won the presidency the previous year went on to lose the governor's race.
Republican leaders, still licking their wounds from the party's disastrous performance in 2008, have made winning this year's two governor's races -- in Virginia and New Jersey -- a centerpiece of their strategy to revitalize the party before the 2010 congressional elections. Republicans saw in both states the opportunity to win back moderate voters by tacking away from wedge issues, such as opposition to abortion, that have long defined the party, and by seizing on discontent with Mr. Obama and the Democratic-controlled Congress over their handling of the recession and health care.
Strategists in both parties use Virginia to gauge the national electorate, because the state's racial, age and gender profile, as well as its moderate political views, generally mirror those of the nation. Last year, for instance, Mr. Obama got nearly 53% of the vote nationwide and 52.6% in Virginia.
So far, Republicans are making headway. [Republican Bob McDonnell] McDonnell, a former Virginia attorney general and state lawmaker, has pounded his Democrat opponent [state Sen. R. Creigh Deeds] as a disciple of Mr. Obama and congressional Democrats, and built a lead of 10 to 12 percentage points in most polls. A Survey USA poll released Sept. 3 found that 13% of last year's Obama voters planned to vote for Mr. McDonnell.
In New Jersey, Republican challenger Christopher Christie has used a similar strategy against Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine to build a lead of 10 percentage points, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released this week.
Going into the campaign, [Virginia] Democrats were expected to capitalize not only on Mr. Obama's popularity but also on a Democratic winning streak that began with Mark Warner's gubernatorial win in 2001, followed by victories by current Gov. Tim Kaine in 2005, Sen. Jim Webb in 2006 and Mr. Warner again in a 2008 landslide victory for the other Senate seat. (Virginia governors are limited to serving one four-year term and cannot seek re-election.)
Mr. Deeds faces another obstacle: history. In every Virginia gubernatorial election since 1977, the party that won the presidency the previous year went on to lose the governor's race.
posted by Sid Cottingham | 5:37 AM
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