The insta-punditry on the Virginia outcome widely holds that Obamacare was the main reason Ken Cuccinelli came much closer than expected to winning. As Cuccinelli himself put it: “This race came down to the wire because of Obamacare. That message will go out across America.” But what if Cuccinell’s stance […] Read more »
Black voters were a big reason McAuliffe won in Virginia
Democrat Terry McAuliffe lost white voters to Republican Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli by 20 points in the Virginia governor’s race, 56-36 percent. But McAuliffe still won the election by 3 points, 48-45 percent. How is that possible when more than seven-in-10 (72 percent) of Virginia voters Tuesday were white? Simple: […] Read more »
2013 elections show Latinos and young voters can’t be pinned down
Those that know me understand that I hate any turn of the phrase “permanent majority”. I almost always believe that there are larger, mostly uncontrollable, factors at play such as the state of the economy for national elections that have a greater influence in determining the outcome. Therefore, I pretty […] Read more »
About last night (in Virginia and New Jersey) . . .
… Lost in the rush by most in the media to impose their pre-conceived narrative of “conservatives bad, moderates good” on last night’s result is the fact that a close race in Virginia is hugely good news for Republicans. Cuccinelli probably did as poorly as a Republican can do in terms of […] Read more »
How Obamacare mattered in Virginia – but not in the final outcome
The day after Terry McAuliffe’s (D) closer-than-expected gubernatorial victory in Virginia, Republicans are arguing that Ken Cuccinelli’s (R) campaign to emphasize President Barack Obama’s health-care law narrowed the race. And, they add, that should frighten Democrats heading into the 2014 midterms. … Did Obamacare play a role in last night’s […] Read more »
New Race Politics and the Virginia Election
Virginia’s election results were a deep disappointment for Republicans who have long been competitive—even dominant—in this Southern state. Terry McAuliffe defeated Ken Cuccinelli 48%-45%, and the margin was greater in the Lt. Governor’s race. A closely contested Attorney General’s race is too close to call. … While the exit polls […] Read more »