November 04, 2009
Three Republican Wins East Of The Cascades

One of them a defeat of an appointed Democrat, Laura Grant.

Next year, I think it nearly certain that the Republicans will make further gains in the legislature.  But it is too soon, in my opinion, to even guess at how large those gains will be.  For one thing, we don't know what the level of unemployment will be then, though many economists are predicting a jobless recovery, at least for the next half year or so.)

(There's background on the Grant-Nealey election in this editorial.   Note that the editor(s), while endorsing a Democrat, are implicitly criticizing the Democratic majority in the legislature, by suggesting that they are trapped by partisanship, and are unwilling to listen to ideas from across the aisle.)

I'm closing the post, because I don't have time today to moderate a general discussion of election returns.  And because some of the comments have not been suitable for a family-friendly site.

Posted by Jim Miller at November 04, 2009 06:22 AM | Email This
Comments
1. Aaaah yes...something to feel warm and fuzzy about? Not quite. :)

Posted by: Duffman on November 4, 2009 06:41 AM
2. yes, huge gains...

dem turnout in VA was weak and corzine fared horribly, not surprising given how unpopular he was. i give chritie a month or two before the indictment.

how about that conservative party, though. holy cow. refrendum on palin and beck's conservative party REJECTED!

Posted by: mike on November 4, 2009 07:08 AM
3. Yep, Jim, the GOP is really on a roll in Washington state.

In the 9th, a Republican beat a Republican to hold on to a Republican seat -- a stunning defeat for Democrats!

In the 15th, a Republican held on to a Republican seat by beating a Democrat who gave up almost two months ago and moved to California. (The Republican still lost 30% of the vote to a man who wasn't there.)

In King County (representing almost 1/3 of the state's voters), undercover Republican Susan Hutchison was crushed, although she still can't bring herself to recognize it.

Meanwhile, I-1033 got pasted, including defeats in many counties where Eyman could previously count on support.

Spin it however you like, but it wasn't a good night for Republicans in Washington.

Posted by: scottd on November 4, 2009 07:25 AM
4. What #1 said. Typical liberal progressive excuses - the left (and the corrupt one in NJ) lost elsewhere. Considering the odds for the conservative candidate - only behind by 3% not a bad showing for someone who only decided to run 2 months before for the 1st time because there was leftist posing as a GOP who ran, then supported the Democrat. BTW, there is no conservative party.

The referendum on the White House was rejected at this time by many. Stay tuned...

Posted by: KDS on November 4, 2009 07:33 AM
5. one correction - in NY, the conservative party is recognized, but is a minor party, like the Reform or Libertarians.

Posted by: KDS on November 4, 2009 07:36 AM
6. 'Spin it however you like, but it wasn't a good night for Republicans in Washington.'

Actually #3 you could say it 'isn't a good existance for Republicans in Washington'. Republicans are fighting an uphill losing battle and they have no super-stars on the horizon. The RNC has likely written off this state long ago. :)

Posted by: Duffman on November 4, 2009 07:37 AM
7. hoffman was supposed to win by 7%.

first dem win in NY23 in 160 years.

Posted by: mike on November 4, 2009 07:38 AM
8. Mike - Two suggestions for you:

1. Read the post before you comment on it.

2. If you have nothing to say about the subject of the post, then it is best not to put up a comment. (Unless, of course, you can say something amusing.)

(I assume most readers will understand that this post is not the place for a general discussion of the elections yesterday. I may, depending on my mood, put up an open thread for such a discussion later.)

Posted by: Jim Miller on November 4, 2009 07:43 AM
9. Republicans simply need to figure out how to register most Most Of These 700-Million :)

Still the place folks want to be!

Posted by: Duffman on November 4, 2009 07:45 AM
10. As far as I'm concerned every incumbent needs to be tossed.

Posted by: Vince on November 4, 2009 07:51 AM
11. Voters in this county would vote for Stalin or Mao if they had a (D) beside it. Thank goodness that the eastern half of the state is sane.

Posted by: yaddacubed on November 4, 2009 08:05 AM
12. I am always most comfortable when House of Reps and Senate are evenly split, because that more or less ensures they will be up to minimum trouble-making for the rest of us peons. The less damage they can actually do, the better off we all are.

Posted by: katomar on November 4, 2009 08:07 AM
13. jim,

are you saying VA, NY and NJ are not east of the cascades?

Posted by: mike on November 4, 2009 08:08 AM
14. If 3 Republicans winning in Eastern Washington is all you have to cheer about then perhaps you have nothing to cheer about at all.

Posted by: Tyler on November 4, 2009 08:10 AM
15. Why don't R's get some candidates with some substance. Hutchison and Rossi for example didn't have the depth to get past even a cursory inspection by voters. McKenna is a RINO. Why don't they recruit Brian Sonntag or Brad Owen to switch parties? They're better Republican than McKenna or Sam Reed, any day. The GOP's got bupkas in this state as far as candidates...Steve Berens? please!

Posted by: chaucer on November 4, 2009 08:45 AM
16. The thing about saying that the governor's races were a referendum on Obama is that you're also implicitly saying that they didn't win on their own merits at the state level--that they were just a reflection on the mood towards the president. That's not fair to them.

Posted by: Ryan on November 4, 2009 08:51 AM