Hints and whispers on the 2010 midterm election – and the 2012 presidential one as well
One of America’s most experienced political analysts, David Broder calls attention to three races in elections this Tuesday. In Virginia, Broder says Creigh Deeds has struggled to connect with younger, urban, increasingly minority voters who gave the state to Obama last year. His opponent, Bob McDonnell, with roots in the religious right, is appealing to financially struggling suburban voters. In New Jersey, Chris Christie has been hammering Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine, but New Jersey’s solid Democratic voter base may yet give Corzine the edge. Obama has become involved in the third contest, a special election in New York's 23rd Congressional District. The vacancy opened when Obama appointed then-Rep. John McHugh, his secretary of the Army. The Republican right turned on their ostensible candidate, state Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava, a political moderate. The man she beat for the nomination, Doug Hoffman, got the Conservative Party’s endorsement, became the favourite of conservatives like Sarah Palin and Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, and forced Scozzafava from the race. Broder concludes, “Tuesday's voting is merely the curtain-raiser to a full year of headlined Senate and statehouse races that will go a long way toward defining the landscape of Obama's political future.” Read more: Washington Post, New York Times
Become an Insider