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WASHINGTON – Independents who swept Barack Obama to a historic 2008 victory broke big for Republicans on Tuesday as the GOP wrested political control from Democrats in Virginia and New Jersey, a troubling sign for the president and his party heading into an important midterm election year. Conservative Republican Bob McDonnell's victory in the Virginia governor's race over Democrat R. Creigh Deeds and moderate Republican Chris Christie's ouster of unpopular New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine was a double-barreled triumph for a party looking to rebuild after being booted from power in national elections in 2006 and 2008...

US Republicans score big in off-year electionsAFP November 4, 2009, 1:06 pm NEW YORK (AFP) - US Republicans won two governors' seats in off-year elections that dealt a stinging blow to President Barack Obama and his Democrats exactly 12 months after they swept into power. In New Jersey, Republican Chris Christie pulled off an upset to defeat Jon Corzine, the incumbent governor in the heavily Democratic state, by a margin of 55-44, according to preliminary results. And in the first Republican victory of the night in Virginia, Bob McDonnell took back the governor's mansion from the Democrats by defeating Creigh...

ST. CLAIRSVILLE,OHIO -- We the People - Ohio Valley sponsored a rally that attracted more than a thousand people to the steps of the Belmont County Courthouse. The purpose of the voter rally was to remind voters of the importance of the Congressional midterm election in 2010., and to refocus on some of the important issues that face us today. The rally featured patriotic music and motivational speeches.

SARANC LAKE, N.Y. – The mood is getting darker at NY-23 Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman’s election party. Results from Jefferson County–Republican territory that John McCain carried–show Owens in the lead. And the Syracuse suburbs–Madison, Oswego, and Oneida County–are not showing the blowouts that early polling suggested. The first results from Oswego show Hoffman at 2800, Owens at 2000, and Scozzafava at 324. The final Siena poll had Hoffman leading Democrat Bill Owens by a margin of 51 percent to 28 percent in this region. I asked Hoffman’s spokesman Rob Ryan for a reaction, and he suggested that it was...

JESSE LEE PETERSON RADIO SHOW Everybody and their mama listens!! Mon-Fri 6-9 a.m. PST / 9-12 p.m. EST LISTEN HERE FOLKS!

Fox News just called the Virginia gubernatorial race for Republican Bob McDonnell. Exit polls show him defeating Democrat Creigh Deeds in a landslide. Republicans also have captured the Lt. Governor and Attorney General spots, making it a clean sweep.

8:28 PM - Internal exit polls showing very good signs for Christie in NJ, most importantly Christie is running very strong independents. With indies breaking overwhelmingly for Christie, it could spell trouble for Democrat Corzine. It stands to note that the Democrats have a very strong coalition, so the sway of indie voters may not influence the as strong as it did in Virginia. However, CNN exit polls suggest that most voters - 38 percent - "said the quality they were looking for most in a candidate was the ability to bring change and most of them said they had...

WASHINGTON – Republicans wrested political control of Virginia from the Democrats on Tuesday as independent voters swung behind the GOP, a troubling sign for President Barack Obama and his party heading into an important midterm election year. New Jersey decided whether to stick with unpopular Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine.

WASHINGTON – Republican Bob McDonnell opened a lead in early counting in Virginia's governor's race Tuesday as independent voters swung behind the GOP and fled Democrat R. Creigh Deeds, a reversal from a year ago when they catapulted President Barack Obama to the White House. New Jersey decided whether to stick with unpopular Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine, while voters elsewhere cast ballots in local races. Democrats had won big victories in Virginia in 2006 and 2008, but interviews with voters leaving polling stations in the swing state on Tuesday were filled with signs of possible trouble for Obama and his...

<p>WASHINGTON – Republican Bob McDonnell opened a lead in early counting in Virginia's governor's race Tuesday as independent voters swung behind the GOP and fled Democrat R. Creigh Deeds, a reversal from a year ago when they catapulted President Barack Obama to the White House.</p>

RICHMOND, Va. – Voters cast their ballots Tuesday for a new Virginia governor in a closely watched race that has focused on promises of jobs and critiques of President Barack Obama's policies a year after he won the state. Interviews with voters leaving polling stations in Virginia showed that independents broke heavily for Republican Bob McDonnell, fleeing Democrat R. Creigh Deeds. Independents are considered the crown jewel of elections because they often determine outcomes.

Reid Indicates Timetable For Health Care May Slip WASHINGTON – In a blow to the White House, the Senate's top Democrat signaled Tuesday that Congress may fail to meet a year-end deadline for passing health care legislation, leaving the measure's fate to the uncertainties of the 2010 election season. Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., spoke as Democratic officials said it could be December before Senate debate begins in earnest on the legislation atop President Barack Obama's domestic agenda, months after senior lawmakers and the White House had hoped. House leaders, on a somewhat faster track, pointed toward a vote this...

If it’s the economy, stupid, Republicans have the edge, at least for now. And that message isn’t coming from the GOP. New research from Democracy Corps says Republicans are getting the better of the debate on the economy in 60 battleground congressional districts – a problem for Democrats as the 2010 midterm elections begin to come into focus. Democracy Corps, founded by Clinton pollster Stan Greenberg and strategist James Carville, conducts political research aimed at sharpening Democrats’ messaging on key issues. The latest, released today and based on public opinion surveys in the 60 districts – shows Republicans are scoring...

For all the hubbub over a rebirth of conservatism in NY-23, you can make the case that the two biggest beneficiaries of a GOP sweep tonight will be moderate Republicans and centrist Democrats. Why moderate Republicans when Scozzafava just got blown out of the water? Because: As this piece at Big Government shrewdly explains, the reason grassroots conservatives are animated about Hoffman is because he represents a return to fiscal conservatism. The big problem with Scozzafava is that she wasn’t socially or fiscally conservative, which is why all of us could credibly argue that she was no better than the...

A sign of hope? Recent events suggest that things may (and I stress may) be looking up. Despite the endorsement of the Democratic candidate by Scozzafava in NY 23, Conservative candidate Hoffman currently leads in Sienna College polling by 5 percentage points, with undecideds doubling from 9% to 18%. In Virginia, the Republican candidate Bob McDonnell holds a commanding lead of 12% on his Democratic rival in a poll by the Richmond Times-Dispatch poll, with suggestions that his candidacy has coat-tails. Even the liberal bastion of New Jersey is in play, with Republican Christie leading Corzine by two points, with...

President Barack Obama's political clout was on the line Tuesday as Virginia and New Jersey chose governors in contests that could serve as warning signs for Democrats about the public's mood heading into an important midterm election year.

UPDATE: I have a bit more detail now. Again, this is based strictly on the morning turnout, and there's the afternoon and evening turnout could look completely different. The two heaviest turnout counties are Hunterdon, which McCain carried by 13.3 percent over Barack Obama, and Morris County, which McCain carried by 8.1 percent. The phenomenon is not uniform; Union Country's turnout is described as above Ocean's, and Obama carried Union by 27 percent; Ocean County's turnout is described as "good," and McCain carried that county by 18 percent. Hudson County and Essex County were described as "light." Hudson County is...

Is what's going on in New York's 23rd Congressional District a GOP civil war or not? If you ask me, it's not. The media and their friends on the left, including White House adviser Valerie Jarrett on ABC News, are doing their best to turn Dede Scozzafava's withdrawal from the race and endorsement of her Democratic opponent into another example of Republican feuding over "litmus tests." They just can't help themselves. In fact, Jarrett calls Republicans "more and more extreme," yet it's the liberals who have worked themselves into a hissy fit of angry rhetoric. Take a look at Frank...

  I'm passing these two observations from liberal Virginia bloggers on to readers, but they're so out of line with expectations, I have a hard time buying them.First, from Not Larry Sabato, about the Virginia delegate races: "SIX SEATS ARE GONE — ANOTHER NINE ARE IN PLAY FOR GOP PICKUP." Yesterday I predicted a GOP gain of six seats; I think most Virginia Republicans saw picking up 11 as their best-case scenario.Then, from Blue Virginia: I'm a bit skeptical of this, so take it with as big a grain of salt as you'd like, but it's from an excellent source....

Follow those races here. Report turnout, exit polls etc. as they happen..

Do you agree with late polls that say Republicans could sweep today's elections? Yes No Undecided Other

In New Jersey, Turnout Higher In GOP and Swing Districts Than In Democrats I want to preface this by noting that all of this is based only on the early voting, and is based on about a half-dozen polling places in every county in New Jersey; some known as historically Republican districts, some known as historically swing districts, and some known as historically Democratic districts. A trusted source tells me that as of noon, total turnout in the GOP the swing districts in NJ is significantly outpacing turnout in Democrat districts. The turnout ratio is not quite two to one,...

Interactive map and links to earmark spending by state.

Christie leading by 13 points, 56-43.

Some more movement in the right direction.

Pundits have thoughts what today’s elections really mean. But I think the following is the best take. The election results in NJ and VA mean that if Corzine gets defeated, the Republicans win a Governor’s seat. If McDonald in VA wins, the Republicans have another seat. And regardless who wins in NY-23, the outlay in the House of Representatives won’t change much one way or the other. Pelosi will still be in full control of that house. The elections also mean that Republicans can be joyful for a day or two, thinking that things will change in their lives due...

In a very early test of President Barack Obama's political influence, two states are choosing whether to continue Democratic rule while voters elsewhere elect a handful of congressmen and big-city mayors. Elected just a year ago, the president has spent a considerable amount of time and energy trying to ensure that Democrats win governor's races in Virginia and New Jersey and pick up a GOP-held congressional seat in upstate New York.

3 Points in 3 Months: VA Gov Contest Polling Ends Just About Where It Began, With GOP Sweep Of VA Races: Today it's McDonnell 58% Deeds 40%... In the race for Lieutenant Governor Bill Boiling today defeats Democrat Jody Wagner 57% to 41%... Republican candidate for Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli...today wins 59% to 39%. ...

In a spirit of bi-partisanship and to celebrate the one year anniversary of President Obama’s victory, I thought it would be nice to come up with a list of what I consider to be Obama’s top accomplishments since last November. So here are some of them, in no particular order. Feel free to add more.

I live in Brecksville, OH. - a tiny red dot within the otherwise uniformly blue Cuyahoga county. I woke up this morning eager to vote, but when I got to my usual polling place, there was no sign out by the street as there usually was. For a second I thought "did I get the day wrong?", but then I turned in anyway and was relieved to see that I hadn't. But when I got inside I found the table I always vote at was empty. ?? I asked a worker and was told they moved my boting location. I...

The final push is underway in Virginia and New Jersey, where President Obama has campaigned hard for the Democratic gubernatorial candidates, while New York's hotly contested 23rd Congressional district has attracted conservative leaders and Vice President Joe Biden. Is Tuesday's vote a referendum on President Obama and his administration? .

In this video clip, commerce secretary Gary Locke says that "if there is to be another stimulus -- and that’s being hotly discussed and very seriously considered within the administration as well as members of Congress -- it needs to be very targeted, very specific and we need to be very mindful of the deficit as well.In other words, with unemployment not improving after the first $787 billion was spent, and since at this point nothing matters since America will never be able to realistically service its debt, with mid-term elections coming up, and Obama's rating plummeting even despite an...

Hoffman's supporters stage big rallyDouglas L. Hoffman's first congressional campaign stop in Watertown had more campaign staff — three — than attendees. Three months later, the Conservative Party candidate in the 23rd Congressional District race was a bigger draw here than the vice president of the United States. Mr. Hoffman's raucous rally Monday at the Jefferson County Agricultural Society Exhibition Hall drew more than 300 and featured speeches by former U.S. Sen. Fred Thompson and a soundtrack by country music star John Rich. Mr. Thompson, revered in conservative circles, wasted no time reminding the crowd of what was at stake...

Talk radio host and best selling author Mark Levin will join with Michelle Bachmann on the Capital Steps on Thursday at noon. Concerned Americans will join the top conservatives to protest the Pelosi nationalized health care disaster. From the Representative Bachmann’s website: Bachmann Calls on the American People to Bring the Town Hall To Washington “This is the deciding moment and the people need to make sure their representatives know where they stand.” Washington, D.C., Nov 2 - WHAT: Health Care “House Call” on Washington Press Conference WHO: Republican Members of Congress Americans concerned about our health care future Other...

WASHINGTON – For Republicans, an election win of any size Tuesday would be a blessing. But victories in Virginia, New Jersey or elsewhere won't erase enormous obstacles the party faces heading into a 2010 midterm election year when control of Congress and statehouses from coast to coast will be up for grabs.

Is There Late Movement to Republican Christie in NJ? Or is the World Series Affecting Who Pollsters Reach? On Election Eve in New Jersey, with a New York City team and a Philadelphia team in the World Series, Republican Chris Christie may have slight late momentum in his bid to unseat incumbent Democrat Jon Corzine, according to a SurveyUSA tracking poll conducted for WABC-TV. The candidates remain today within the theoretical margin of sampling error, as they have been in each of SurveyUSA's 5 tracking NJ polls. At the wire, Christie 45%, Corzine 42%. Interviews were conducted Friday 10/30/09 through...

Compared to Nancy Pelosi, former House Majority Leader Tom “The Hammer” DeLay was a pussycat. Speaker Pelosi means to force doubtful Dems to vote for the health care nationalization bill this week or next. But her tactic is anti-historical: she doesn’t remember that in World War Two, Japanese kamikaze pilots were all volunteers. Pelosi is ordering her fearful members to vote for the Obama-cum-Pelosi healthcare “reform” bill that has voters up in arms all over the country. House Blue Dog “moderates” are already caught in a crossfire between their constituents and their leadership. The Tea Partyers have been heard, and...

Wow!… This is excellent! Thank you Rep. Mike Pence for this wonderful video. Congressman Mike Pence released the following video, urging all Americans to rise up and let their voices be heard in opposition to the Pelosi health care plan. “Let Your Voice Be Heard” Please PASS IT ON! Remember: If the liberals in government have their way. They will forever change the relationship between government and We the People. It’s time to rise up! UPDATE: Here’s the transcript– “As President Ronald Reagan said: ‘Since the American founding, we have been a people with a government, not the other way...

James Galyean is a candidate running for South Carolina’s 3rd Congressional District. Prior to that time, Galyean was an Assistant United States Attorney and also has some pretty direct connections to the War on Terror. It was Galyean who helped helped write both the Detainee Treatment Act of 2005 and the Military Commissions Act of 2006. As a result, he has a bed of knowledge and massive amounts of contacts that others do not. And his contacts are telling him that, protestations to the contrary from the Pentagon, Barack Obama has every intention of sending GTMO terrorists to the Charleston,...

Big Government’s open about the fact that this is an issue: Will Corzine Allies Steal the Election in New Jersey? ACORN, Dirty Tricks and Absentee Ballot Fraud New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine is locked in the political fight of his life. With just hours left before voting, polls show a neck-and-neck race between Corzine and GOP candidate Chris Christie, with Independent candidate Chris Daggett pulling significant support. Obama and VP Biden are making last ditch pitches for the embattled governor. But evidence is building that Corzine’s campaign may see its only salvation is in rigging the election. What can you...

New York Republicans got a rock in their trick-or-treat bags over the Halloween weekend, as Dede Scozzafava ripped off her million-dollar Republican mask and revealed herself to be a Democrat. It was never a very good disguise, but every previous attempt to peer beneath it was punished with stern lectures from Newt Gingrich and the rest of the party establishment. The bags of contributor money Republicans handed to the Scozzafava campaign would have been more usefully spent hiring detectives to trail ACORN operatives, and keep Democrat voter fraud down to manageable levels. The Scozzafava campaign is the latest dreadful mistake...

I arrived here in Watertown, NY about an hour ago. There is lots of energy as the campaign enters the final stretch. Bob Adney, field director for Hoffman for Congress greeted me as I came in and immediately asked me to go to work at the phone bank. Here in Watertown they have over 40 phone lines humming. Starting this evening, John Rich and Fred and Jeri Thompson will be holding a rally here. I will update you all as it happens. While here I met a fellow named Robert Stacy McCain, you may have heard of him, and we...

Paramus man who claimed to be the assistant deputy director of Gov. Jon S. Corzine’s re-election campaign was arrested by East Rutherford police Friday, Oct. 30 for possession of Ecstasy. Jason Shih, 25, was arrested and charged at 11:28 p.m. with possession of Ecstasy, possession of drugs with intent to distribute within 1,000 feet of a school, possession of drugs with the intent to distribute, talking on a cell phone while driving and possession of drugs in a car.

Manager claims ignorance of his own candidate's past, including Rev. Wright Obama campaign manager David Plouffe claims President Obama's campaign staff had done "zero research" on its candidate and was not aware of the inflammatory statements and views of Rev. Jeremiah Wright. Plouffe, whose firm was hired to run Obama's presidential campaign, made the statement in a forthcoming book. While Plouffe and his staff may not have done their homework on Obama's radical associates, it may be hard for political insiders to believe some of Obama's other key advisers during the campaign were not aware of Wright's controversial views. One...

Newt Gingrich, who had previously endorsed moderate Republican Dede Scozzafava in the NY-23 special election, now says he is "deeply upset" about her endorsement of Democrat Bill Owens after she withdrew from the race. "How could she have accepted all that support?" said Gingrich, also adding: "I'm very, very let down because she told everybody she was a Republican, and she said she was a loyal Republican." Gingrich had caught a lot of criticism on the right for supporting Scozzafava, and arguing that the Republican Party needs to have room for moderates. Now that Scozzafava has quit the race and...

Boehner regrets Scozzafava support By: Jake Sherman November 2, 2009 04:04 PM EST House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) said today he regrets backing former GOP candidate Dede Scozzafava for New York's 23rd district race. "This lady clearly has an agenda that's different that most Republicans," Boehner said of Scozzafava, who dropped out of the race Saturday. "She was out there promoting herself and we're doing everything we can to help Doug Hoffman in this race and we hope he wins." Boehner's support of Scozzafava was a gamble. He donated $5,000 to her campaign and threw his weight behind her...

House Republicans Find 111 New 'Bureaucracies' in Health Care Bill In its latest attempt to portray Democrats' reform package as an unwieldy expansion of federal government in the health care sector, the House Republican Conference circulated what it called a list of "new boards, bureaucracies, commissions and programs" created in the House health care bill. House Republicans claimed Monday that the health care reform bill pushed by Speaker Nancy Pelosi would create a whopping 111 new "federal bureaucracies." In its latest attempt to portray the Democrats' reform package as an unwieldy expansion of federal government in the health care sector,...

So Sarah Palin has started endorsing candidates, by boosting conservative Doug Hoffman for an upstate New York congressional seat in tomorrow’s elections. Maybe she should make that a regular practice. Endorsements matter, despite what the chattering heads say on cable news. And multiple Palin stamps of approval could be good for the recipients, the Republican Party, and ex-Governor Palin herself. Plus, the ads would be fantastic. Decoder can see one now: “Hi, I’m Sarah Palin, Brander of MavericksTM. I’ve taken time from my busy schedule here in Alaska because it’s important you know that [CANDIDATE NAME] is a maverick, just...

The Republican National Committee (RNC) is encouraging people to "vote conservative" in tomorrow's special election in New York's 23rd congressional district.An RNC radio ad, running Monday and Tuesday in the district, encourages voters to support "Republican, conservative values" without mentioning Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman by name. The last minute push for Hoffman marks a shift for the RNC, which had supported endorsed Republican candidate Dede Scozzafava in the race until Saturday, when Scozzafava suspended her flagging campaign.The RNC quickly endorsed Hoffman, who'd nabbed many traditional Republican voters in the race, before Scozzafava turned around on Sunday to endorse Democratic...

WASHINGTON – For Republicans, an election win of any size Tuesday would be a blessing. But victories in Virginia, New Jersey or elsewhere won't erase enormous obstacles the party faces heading into a 2010 midterm election year when control of Congress and statehouses from coast to coast will be up for grabs. It's been a tough few years for the GOP. The party lost control of Congress in 2006 and then lost the White House in 2008 with three traditional Republican states — Indiana, North Carolina and Virginia — abandoning the party.