McDonnell, Christie spoke to joblessness, taxes, spending

Winning campaigns are primarily about the candidates and the issues that they emphasize, so kudos to Bob McDonnell and Chris Christie for winning the two biggest elections this year. They campaigned long and hard, reached out to independent voters, and ran strong Election Day operations.

Gov.-elect McDonnell broke the Democrats’ long winning streak in Virginia. Christie overcame New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine’s personal fortune. But they also did something else. They won because they focused on the issues that were of real concern to their electorates.

The exit polls this year told us that Americans are worried about the economy, about jobs, about high taxes and ever-rising government spending.

McDonnell and Christie both spoke to those concerns. They promised to fight to keep government spending in check, to keep taxes low and to revitalize economic activity through the creation of real, private-sector jobs, not more short-term government jobs. They both focused on results and accountability and this was the winning message for successful candidates in 2009.

Exit polls also catalogued how the GOP won big majorities among independents and suburban voters. McDonnell won Fairfax County and Christie nearly won in Bergen County, quintessential suburban counties stuffed with independent voters. This was not just a base-turnout electorate, but a far more diversified one than predicted and is a very good sign that Republicans can be competitive in 2010 and 2012 when turnout will be far higher.

In addition to the two governor races, Republicans gained six seats in the Virginia House of Delegates, including four in Washington’s Northern Virginia suburbs. New Jersey Republicans gained one seat in the Assembly and made major gains at the local level in several key counties. The McDonnell tide also brought in a Republican lieutenant governor and attorney general.

Earlier this year, Republicans won seven special elections for state legislative seats held by Democrats around the country. Republicans won special elections for the state senate in Michigan and for the state house in Washington and New Hampshire, bringing the total state legislative gains to 10. The GOP also captured a seat on the state Supreme Court.

Democrats will now have to decide how to respond. Will the Obama administration continue its quest to enact an agenda that includes government-run healthcare, tax increases, cuts in Medicare, new energy taxes, ever-higher deficits and measures that hamper job growth? This year’s elections indicate that the American people are not buying that.

More importantly, are moderate Democrats going to continue to support such an agenda and cooperate in their own demise? House liberals are in safe districts and most will be reelected in any case. The president doesn’t face reelection for three more years, but there are 48 mostly moderate Democrats who represent districts that voted for Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) for president in 2008.

Several Democratic senators representing conservative states are also up for reelection. The Obama agenda is not popular with these voters and Obama cannot be of much help to reelect these Democrats. Will the moderate Democrats vote for measures that will surely place them on the Endangered Species List when they face the voters next year? Will they continue to give the Obama administration and their liberal congressional leaders a blank check beginning with a vote in favor of ObamaCare?

Whatever the Democrats’ response, the stage is set for a strong Republican year in 2010. The combination of Obama’s unpopularity, continuing high unemployment and spiraling record deficits give the Republican Party an opening to make major gains in Congress and the state legislatures. The public is rejecting the Obama agenda and will soon be ready to listen again to what the new Republican Party has to offer.

The author is chairman of GOPAC, a group dedicated to getting Republicans elected to state and local offices.