An Encouraging Day for Conservatives!

Yesterday was an encouraging day for the Conservatives of this nation. I stayed glued to the television until I heard both Virginia and New Jersey had voted Conservatives in and liberals out.

In Virginia and New Jersey the Republican victories last night were bigger than they were in 1993!

Voters were clearly unhappy. According to Mike Allen of Politico, network exit polls showed that 85 percent of Virginia voters and 90 percent of New Jersey voters were worried about the economy. Hey, I'm with you!

Governor Haley Barbour put it best: "It's not about the President personally...the President's policies are unpopular."

It will be interesting to see if any congressional Democrats get that message or if House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is able to push through the massive left-wing health bill this coming Saturday.

The biggest winner last night was Bob McDonnell and his campaign for governor in Virginia.

McDonnell is so attractive and effective as a candidate, and so knowledgeable after years in the state legislature and four years as Attorney General, that he should be a model for all Republicans to study.

He is a solid conservative who knew how to appeal to suburban voters, how to deflect the Washington Post's attacks , and how to appeal to minority voters. I was proud to hear him say he would not give up his integrity to win any job.

The results were overwhelming in Virginia. Republican enthusiasm was up, and after a year of the Obama presidency, I have to think Democrats were demoralized.

The result was a turnout in which 47 percent of voters identified themselves as Republicans and 36 percent identified as Democrats. This is an enormous change for a state which one year ago gave President Obama 53 percent of the vote.

Four Democratic congressmen from Virginia are now at risk because their districts went for Bob McDonnell last night.

* In Rep. Glenn Nye's (D) 2nd District, McDonnell was winning by a whopping 63 percent to 37 percent with 130 out of 161 precincts reporting.

* In Rep. Tom Perriello's (D) 5th District, McDonnell was winning by 61-39 with over 90 percent of the vote counted.

* In Rep. Rick Boucher's (D) 9th District, McDonnell was ahead 68-32 with 295 out of 336 precincts in.

* In Rep. Gerald Connolly's (D) 11th District, McDonnell was up 56-44 with 68 of 168 precincts reporting.

And not just Virginia House members should take note. Virginia Senators Jim Webb (D) and Mark Warner (D) need to look carefully at the impact of the energy tax in the cap and trade bill on Virginia voters.

Chris Christie's Victory Margin was four times Christine Whitman's!

In a more Democratic state than Virginia, former federal prosecutor Chris Christie's (R) win yesterday in New Jersey was an equally impressive Republican victory.

Christie won by over 100,000 votes, which is four times moderate Republican Christine Todd Whitman's margin in 1993.

As for the Democrats, incumbent Governor Jon Corzine's 44 percent of the vote was a huge drop from President Obama's 57 percent of the vote in New Jersey just a year ago. Is Obama's magic fading?

All in all, I went to bed as one happy camper last night!

2009 April Lorier Perspective