NJ Legislature OKs Medical Marijuana

Measure defeated 20-14; incoming governor promised veto

(AP) - New Jersey's state senate today defeated a bill to legalize gay marriage, leaving it unlikely the state will have a gay marriage law in the very near future. The bill needed 21 votes to pass, but was defeated 20-14. Gay-rights advocates had pushed hard to get the bill passed before Jan. 19, when Republican Chris Christie becomes governor. Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine promised to sign the bill; Christie has said he would veto it. 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»

Prez shouldn't lose sleep over defeated lackluster Dems

(NEWSER) - if the votes in New Jersey and Virginia were a referendum on President Obama, then Ohio's vote for casinos must have been a referendum on health care reform and Cincinatti's public transit vote a rejection of cash-for-clunkers, smirks Gail Collins. Nearly all of Tuesday's results are being portrayed as blows to Obama, despite the president's lukewarm support for some distinctly substandard Democratic candidates, Collins notes in the New York Times . 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.

Winning coalition doesn't reemerge in gubernatorial races

(NEWSER) - Last night’s gubernatorial defeats proved to Democrats that whatever magic they harnessed last November has left the building. Off-year elections aren’t usually great predictors, but with the Democrats’ winning 2008 coalition essentially absent, the warning signs are clear, writes Dan Balz in the Washington Post. Most notably, Democrats lost the independents, who broke decisively for Republicans last night after being solidly Democratic last year. More»