I had serious qualms about giving Allen a second shot at it (although I felt a little more confident about it after Webb announced he wouldn't be running for re-election), and it turns out that Allen was indeed the wrong choice. I still can't believe Romney managed to lose Virginia to Obama, but I think Allen still ran behind Romney in most parts of the same. 1994 Allen didn't show up for the campaign, 2006 Allen did.
I think Shaheen will be re-elected in N.H. if they try the same strategy and recycle John "my daddy was Governor" Sununu for a rematch. (even though 2014 should a terrible year for the RATs overall). Shades of the Wellstone vs. Boschwitz rematch. We're trying the same thing over again after voters kicked out these Senators six years ago and still don't like 'em. It's not going to change anymore than Stephenson vs. Einsenhower in 1956 helped the RATs.
Cuccinelli should be elected Governor easily next year, especially with the backlash against the national RATs. But it's troubling that Virginia used to be very reliable for us in Presidential elections and seems to have become a very centrist swing state in recent years, allowing the marxist Obama to win it twice. It's almost as if Virginia and West Virgina have switched sides. West Virginia was never part of the "solid south" but it was always more likely to go RAT in Presidential elections because of poor white people controlled by the coal miners unions. Gore loss in West Virgina in 2000 was considered an upset, and since then it's become strongly Republican in presidential contests, to the point where the RATs don't even try to contest it anymore (I think it's probably because the national RATs moved so far left on social issues, and the pro-life, pro-traditional marriage, and pro-gun local RATs in West Virgina still win elections regularly). Virginia, on the other hand, is no longer the GOP friendly state it was, when it even terribly unpopular RAT presidents with horrible economic records can win it, and liberal RATs imported from northeastern states can win the governorship. But none of that changes the fact the RATs have a terrible weak bench for Governor next year. McAuliffe wouldn't even win the RAT primary if they could find anyone else. He's a walking disaster. He might win if it's Minnesota (Al Franken!) but even Virginia isn't that bad yet.
With respect to NH, I’m not sure whom else we can run against Shaheen but Sununu, Jr. Frank Guinta wasn’t able to win reelection against one of the two moonbats and hopefully Charlie Bass goes away for good. Ovide Lamontagne ended up being a total bust, and he already ran against Shaheen in 1996 and was shellacked. Who else is left ? Bring Judd Gregg out of retirement ? Bob Smith ? Craig Benson ?
Bolling might not be out of the running yet; some articles I’ve read suggests Bolling might run as an independent. One of his advisors hasn’t shut the door on that possibility.
VA’s shift has definitely troubled me, and the fact that Obama was able to win it a second time was a shocker. There’s the shift in NOVA, but I’ve noticed Republican candidates in recent years tend to run behind in other metro areas when they lose, like the Richmond suburbs, Virginia Beach, and Chesapeake. Even when Romney was running ahead of McCain in rural, small-town counties, I noticed when the results from Chesterfield County (suburban Richmond) came in, Romney wasn’t up from where McCain was four years ago. That told me Romney was likely to lose. Suburban VA as a whole seems more swingy than it used to be.