Our recent elections should tell us much

By Larry W. Anderson

The dust is settling from recent gubernatorial elections in Virginia and New Jersey where there were some pleasant surprises for those of us on the right and some unhappiness for those on the left now laboring to spin their way to a new degree of delusion.

The election results are significant for several reasons.

In Virginia, underdog Republican Glenn Youngkin gutted Democrat Terry McAuliffe in a contest that should have been a breeze for the liberal but wasn’t. McAuliffe had been governor before and was blessed by the left-wing establishment that assumed a cake walk. Instead, Youngkin won 50.9 percent of the vote to McAuliffe’s 48.4 percent.

A look at an election map reveals McAuliffe carried around a dozen heavily populated and usually Democratic counties with a concentration in the northern rim and at spots along the seaboard. Otherwise the state is a glowing red with a pocket or two of Democratic votes here and there. Virginia has 95 counties; if McAuliffe had won the governorship, he would not have had much statewide support. Maps tell us things other than numbers.

McAuliffe had pulled in Democratic big guns Biden, Obama and Harris to buoy his campaign, but that didn’t work. Biden and Harris’s approval and popularity are tanking and Obama is in the rearview mirror. However, McAuliffe’s big goof was an arrogant remark in which he stated unequivocally parents should not have a say in their own kids’ education. Parental hackles went up, Youngkin pounced and McAuliffe was soon toastier than a raisin bagel.

McAuliffe’s gaffe was bone stupid for a skilled professional, but it tipped his hand. The remark spoke to liberal indifference to what people think. Voters didn’t like it for good reason and turned out to make their feelings known. Good for them!

Just as exciting is how the rest of the election went. Winsome Sears, a black former congresswoman, veteran and Republican, beat her opponent Hala Ayala by nearly two percentage points for lieutenant governor. Sears is exactly what the country and the Republicans need: a forceful conservative female who can fearlessly take on the left and win elections. I hope Sears, a legal immigrant, follows Youngkin in the governorship in a rare state that forbids consecutive terms.

Republicans also won the attorney general spot and the state legislature. All indications are Virginia is no longer a reliable state for Democrats in next year’s midterm election and beyond. Biden and the party of extremes have no coattails and are facing an angry and concerned population.

New Jersey’s election may not have attracted as much attention as Virginia’s, but the results are still vital. Democrat governor Phil Murphy finally defeated challenger Jack Ciattarelli, the Republican, by a final count of 50.4 to 48.8 percent. Murphy won election to his first term by 14 points. Considering there are one million more registered Democrats than Republicans in Jersey, that’s a substantial loss of support that could be extended in next year’s election.

Both elections underscore an essential truth concerning American politics: the growing power of the independent voter. According to a Gallup poll, 38 percent of voters nationally consider themselves independent which means they are more likely to vote according to the individual and the issues than party. That’s what happened to McAuliffe and will continue to happen to politicians who put party ideology ahead of the people and what they need.

Compare that number to the 31 percent of voters who identify as Democrats and the 29 percent who choose to be Republican. Clearly, Republicans who appeal broadly to independents have an excellent chance of winning elections. Virginia, and to a lesser extent New Jersey, prove it.

Democrats are on notice. People are paying more attention to their nonsense than they have in a long time, and many are no longer buying what they’re selling. We don’t all live in California. Indeed, with the right leadership, America may be ripe for the rise of a major third party.

 

Now with the mid-term election on approach and following major setbacks in two important states, we will get to witness liberals magically morph into moderates. Don’t fall for the oldest switcheroo in the game.