ABCNEWS: Vast Economic Discontent Spells Trouble for Dems in 2010…
Vast economic discontent marked the mood of Tuesday’s off-year voters, portending potential trouble for incumbents generally and Democrats in particular in 2010. Still the gubernatorial elections in Virginia and New Jersey looked less like a referendum on Barack Obama than a reflection of their own candidates and issues.
An early voter signs in to cast her ballot at a polling station Nov. 3, 2009, in Hoboken, N.J. Democratic Governor Jon Corzine faces Republican Chris Christie and independent Chris Daggett in today’s election.
(Hiroko Masuike/Getty Images)
About half the voters in Virginia and a majority in New Jersey – 49 and 58 percent, respectively – approved of the way Obama is handling his job. Most in both states, moreover, said the president was not a factor in their vote.
Perhaps most striking – though simply confirmatory of national polls – were economic views. A vast 89 percent in New Jersey and 85 percent in Virginia said they’re worried about the direction of the nation’s economy in the next year; 56 percent and 52 percent, respectively, said they’re “very” worried about it.
Voters who expressed the highest levels of economic discontent heavily favored the Republican candidates in both states – underscoring the challenge Obama and his party may face in 2010 if economic attitudes don’t improve. The analogy is to 1994, when nearly six in 10 voters said the economy was in bad shape, and they favored the out-of-power Republicans by 26 points, helping the GOP to a 52-seat gain and control of Congress for the first time in 42 years.
In Virginia on Tuesday, voters who were “very” worried about the economy concern supported the Republican winner, Bob McDonnell by a wide margin, 76-24 percent. In New Jersey, while the gap wasn’t quite so broad, voters who were most worried about the economy backed Republican Chris Christie by 59-36 percent.
Read the whole story at ABC News
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