The mantle for the concept of unstoppable Democratic momentum is now squarely on the shoulders of Virginia’s Creigh Deeds. If Deeds is the next governor of Virginia, then the story this November will be the continuing collapse of the Republican party; victories in Virginia and possibly New Jersey will go a long way toward changing the subject. But while these states will have a big effect on the conversation in Washington, the opposite may not be true.
Colin Delany at ePolitics makes a good case that the selection of Deeds indicates a dissatisfaction with the incumbent political class among Democrats. Consider that Deeds bested not only former DNC chairman Terry McAuliffe, but also Brian Moran who has been a prominent Northern Virginia figure (both for his own work and for that of his brother). Clearly, Virginia Democrats did not feel like their support was an entitlement for either candidate.
The elections in Virginia and New Jersey will continue to be big news in 2009 as pundits try to read the tea leaves for the 2010 and 2012 elections. But as Deeds’s upset showed, state voters may have more important things on their mind than how their decisions will play in other cities along I-95.
Jim Eltringham 