Robo-Palin Gets Into Va. Gov's Race

Louisiana governor faced little Democrat opposition

(AP) - Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal easily coasted to a second term today, winning in a landslide election after failing to attract any well-known or deep-pocketed opposition. The 40-year-old Republican overwhelmed nine competitors in the open primary, where a candidate wins the race outright if he or she receives more than 50% of the vote. With 99% of precincts reporting, Jindal had received about 66% of the total vote. More»

Ta-Nehisi Coates isn't joining in on the criticism

(NEWSER) - Ta-Nehisi Coates doesn’t want to fight with conservatives over race all the time. “I want so bad to take up skiing,” he writes, “to drive across Montana and think of nothing of being the only black person for miles.” That’s why he’s giving Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell credit for apologizing over the omission of slavery in the declaration of Confederate History Month. McDonnell “must have known that his actions would be reported as a ‘surrender,’” but he did it anyway. More»

Reports of a great liberal realignment are greatly exaggerated

(NEWSER) - The outcome of Tuesday's elections dispel the myth of a great political re-alignment supposedly heralded by the election of Barack Obama last year, writes Charles Krauthammer . Believers swore young and minority voters would establish a new liberal majority and bury the GOP. But Republican victories in Virginia and New Jersey show that Obama’s victory had more to do with his personal appeal, and the dissatisfaction with George Bush, than any great political shift. More»

Get ready for a permanent tea party as voters seek leaders

(NEWSER) - In the GOP upsets in Virginia and New Jersey, Daniel Henninger doesn't just see Obama backlash, he sees a voter rebellion from both parties, with independent Americans behaving like stampeding cattle. That independents would within one year swing from Obama enthusiasts to backing decent-to-weak Republicans in Virginia and New Jersey is “simply astonishing,” writes the Wall Street Journal opinion editor. “The American voter is absolutely, totally, unremittingly disgusted with both political parties.” More»

Polling guru gives a post-mortem on last night's elections

(NEWSER) - The numbers are in, now it's time to make sense of them. Nate Silver breaks down last night's election results:

• Don’t blame Obama; Creigh Deeds and Jon Corzine were probably just weak candidates. In New Jersey, 57% of voters approved of Obama, but 27% of those supporters voted Republican anyway. In Virginia 20% of those who approved of Obama voted GOP.
• Democrats had turnout problems in Virginia; the voters who came out last night supported McCain 51-43 in 2008, a mirror image of that year's margin.