Given these numbers, it is pretty clear why the Virginia race was never really in doubt.
New Jersey, however, was another story. The incumbent governor, Jon Corzine, was personally unpopular, with approval ratings mired in the 30s for much of the last two years. His opponents ?? Republican former US Attorney Chris Christie and independent Chris Daggett - also had high negative ratings in what was considered a rather rough-and-tumble election, even by New Jersey standards, with the outcome still in doubt on election day.
Christie won with 49% of the vote in a state where Obama, who made several trips to the state, remains popular and the Democrats lost just one seat in the Assembly, where they now hold a 48-32 majority. Just one in five voters cast their ballot for Christie as a protest vote against Obama.
Most, however, were casting votes against Jon Corzine and the economy. ABC found that 42% of Christie's supporters ??said they'd cast their ballot more against his opponents than for him ? ?? which makes sense given the anger over property taxes in the state and the (unfair) blame placed on the incumbent ( ??tax-focused voters ? backed Christie 67-25, ABC found). ABC found that ??voters who were most worried about the economy backed ? Christie 61-34, though Corzine was the choice of voters who listed the economy as the top issue, 58-36.
The numbers support David Sirota's argument that we are experiencing a churning of the electorate, that the economy has people ??looking at change, ? as he told David Brancaccio on PBS Now.
??I think what we're seeing is that a recession and a bad economy means change, ? he says. ??It doesn't mean change for the Democrats. It doesn't mean change for the Republicans. It means constant change until things feel or get a little bit better. ?
But they also point to the need for progressives to do more than put their trust in presidential candidates. Voting for Barack Obama has not built a progressive movement, anymore than voting for Ralph Nader created a third-party movement or voting for Ronald Reagan created the conservative movement.
Movements must be built from the ground up, their energy becoming contagious across the culture, creating momentum for change and forcing elected officials to listen or get out of the way.
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