Republican Pick-Ups

Republican candidates for governor went two for two last night: In New Jersey, the much-hated Republican candidate defeated the much-hated Democratic incumbent by a small but comfortable margin:

Christopher J. Christie
Republican
1,140,134
48.8%

Jon S. Corzine
Democratc
1,040,404
44.6

Christopher J. Daggett
Independent
132,919
5.7%

In Virginia, it was a landslide:

Robert McDonnell
Republican
1,159,003
58.7%

R. Creigh Deeds
Democratic
815,343
41.3%

Many on the right will argue that these results are a rejection of President Obama's first ten months in office. While that may have been the case for some voters, the reality overall is that these contests were decided based on local issues. 60% of voters in NJ said Obama was not a factor in their balloting choices. In Virginia, that number was 56%.

My take on the Republican victories here.