Lot of tea leaves to read this morning and we’re going to be looking at all of them. The toplines we know. Big GOP wins in VA and NJ. A nice pick up for the Dems in the NY-23 special election and a rebuke to the Tea Party wing of the GOP, though not one they’ll necessarily recognize as such. In both gubernatorial contests, but especially in New Jersey, Republicans went to some lengths not to make their race about Obama. A key take-away from last night’s result is that the one race where the Republicans consciously sought to nationalize the race was the one they lost. Finally, a very disappointing loss for marriage equality forces in Maine, but an apparent win for a civil unions law in Washington state.
Almost without any notice, Maine and Washington state both had so-called Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR) initiatives on the ballot. And both went down to defeat. That’s an important barometer of right-wing, anti-spending, anti-government sentiment that should not be ignored.
But what’s your take. I want to hear your take on what happened last night, especially those of you who were watching races that weren’t the media-focused high-profile contests in New York, New Jersey, Maine and Virginia.
