We also passed some nanny-state non-conservative issues that brought out the liberal voters, things like the anti-smoking issue and the minimum wage constitutional amendment (the latter being the absolute worst way to do it).
Some conservative ballot issues passed nationwide, but others failed badly. The defeat of the SD abortion law, and the parental notification shoot-down in CA, were real shockers.
Sherrod Brown's commercials lamenting the loss of jobs standing in front of boarded-up factories and businesses were powerful and effective. He tapped a simmering unease and discontent that conservatives/Republicans didn't (couldn't?) effectively blunt. The 'Rats played it very smart this last cycle. They correctly identified the things people were unhappy about or wanted to change, and cast themselves in the role of the party to do the things people wanted. They painted the Reps/conservatives as the people who had caused the state of affairs that gave rise to the discontent. We need to learn our lesson from this. We ignore it at our peril.