GOP looks to claim wins in two states
Independent voters are factor in off-year elections

By The Associated Press Comments 5
Published: November 4, 2009

WASHINGTON — Republicans wrested political control of Virginia from the Democrats on Tuesday and New Jersey’s unpopular Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine was fighting for his political life as independent voters swung behind the GOP in both of those states.

Republican Governor-elect Bob McDonnell waves to the crowd at his victory party in Richmond, Va., Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2009. Unofficial results showed McDonnell, a conservative and former state attorney general, with about 60 percent of the vote over Democrat R. Creigh Deeds. He will be the state's first Republican governor in eight years. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

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It was a troubling sign for President Barack Obama and his party heading into an important midterm election year.

Republican Gov.-elect Bob McDonnell’s victory in Virginia over Democrat R. Creigh Deeds was a triumph for a Republican Party looking to rebuild after being booted from power in national elections in 2006 and 2008.

In New Jersey, exit polls showed Corzine locked in a close race, with independents heavily favoring his Republican challenger Chris Christie in a three-way contest with independent Chris Daggett.

The president had personally campaigned for Deeds and Corzine, raising the stakes in low-energy off-year elections.

The Associated Press exit polls showed that nearly a third of voters in Virginia described themselves as independents on Tuesday, and nearly as many in New Jersey did. They preferred McDonnell by almost a 2-1 margin over Deeds in Virginia, and Christie over Corzine by a similar margin — one year after breaking heavily toward Obama.

The surveys also suggested the Democrats had difficulty turning out their base, including the swarms of first-time minority and youth voters whom Obama attracted as part of his coalition.

In both states this year, voters said their top concern was the economy.