Around here, there weren’t any "bellwether" elections – they were important for local communities, but who wins the at-large seats for Boston City Council isn’t going to reflect any national trends (in case you’re wondering, it looks like it’s Flaherty, Arroyo, Yoon, and Murphy, with Connolly finishing fifth).
Not so in other parts of the country. To name just a few, Virginia and New Jersey had expensive and hotly-contested races for Governor, and Maine voters were asked for the third time whether they wanted to repeal an anti-discrimination law that protected gay people (they repealed it the last two times). I heard on NPR that President Bush went to Virginia today to campaign for the Republican, which may have turned that race into a bit of a referendum on how his second term is going.
So far, the results look good for us lefties, and bad for Bush. In Virginia, the new Governor is Democrat Tim Kaine. In New Jersey, it’s looking very good for Democrat Jon Corzine [update: the election has been called for Corzine]. And in Maine, early results suggest that this time the voters will agree that gay Mainers shouldn’t be fired from their jobs, or kicked out of their homes, because they’re gay. [Update: it’s official – Maine has rejected the effort to repeal the anti-discrimination law.]
No doubt the Republican spin machine will be on overdrive tonight and tomorrow to explain why these results have nothing to do with what’s going to happen in 2006, or in 2008. Let ’em try. For now, sit back and enjoy some good news – we’ve needed it for some time.