Democrats Win Contests in Virginia, New Jersey

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

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NEW YORK SUN CONTRIBUTOR

WASHINGTON – Democrats easily won the governors races in Virginia and New Jersey last night, while a ballot initiative banning gay marriage in Texas drew broad support and several ballot proposals backed aggressively by Governor Schwarzenegger appeared headed for defeat.


Political analysts saw the Democratic victory in Virginia by Lieutenant Governor Tim Kaine, despite a last minute push for his Republican opponent by President Bush, as a possible prelude to Democratic gains in next year’s congressional races. Mr. Kaine led the state’s attorney general, Jerry Kilgore, 51% to 46.8% with 88% of precincts reporting late last night.


But Mr. Kaine’s victory was not unusual in a state that has gone for Republicans in every presidential election since 1964 but which has chosen four Democratic governors in the past 25 years. The last of these, Mark Warner, was term-limited out of office and remains popular. Some said that the election of his lieutenant could provide a boost to Mr. Warner in a potential 2008 presidential bid.


In the nation’s only other gubernatorial race, Democratic Senator John Corzine, of New Jersey, easily defeated a Princeton-area businessman, Douglas Forrester. The race, which saw the candidates spend a record $72 million, began as a battle over property taxes but ended up focusing on speculation about extramarital affairs.


Mr. Corzine will replace an acting governor, Richard Codey, who stepped in last year when the previous governor, James McGreevey, a Democrat, resigned after admitting to a homosexual affair with an aide. As of late last night, Mr. Corzine had 54% of the vote, as compared to 45% by Mr. Forrester with 55% of the precincts reporting.


If the governor’s races held signs for some of Democratic congressional gains next year, then a series of ballot initiatives held signs for others that the cultural divide that drove voters to the polls in last year’s presidential elections remained strong. Texans supported a statewide ban on gay marriage by an overwhelming margin, becoming the 19th state to enact such a ban. The ballot measure passed with more than 76% of voters coming out against it.


A referendum on gay rights met a different fate in Maine, where voters voted not to repeal a new law that bans discrimination against gays. As of late yesterday, 57% of those voting supported the law with 24% of precincts reporting. Mr. Bush lost Maine by a 10% margin to Senator Kerry, of Massachusetts, in last year’s presidential election.


On the West Coast, California voters appeared poised to defeat four ballot initiatives that Governor Schwarzenegger had lobbied hard to push through. Proposition 73 would have amended the state constitution to include a parental notification clause for minors seeking an abortion; Proposition 74 would have made it more difficult for public school teachers to earn tenure; Proposition 75 would have required unions to get written consent before using dues for political purposes’ and Proposition 77 would have redrawn the rules on who gets to draw congressional lines.


Political analysts saw the rejection of the measures as sign that Mr. Schwarzenegger faces a touch reelection bid in 2006, though polls show that the actor-turned politician’s popularity has halved in the last year alone. The latest Public Policy Institute poll said that only 33% of voters think Mr. Schwarzenegger is doing a good job, compared to 61% last year.


“I think the Republicans were looking for evidence that all this talk of how bleak ’06 will be was wrong, but they don’t have any evidence of that yet,” an independent political pollster, Stuart Rothenberg, said.

The New York Sun
NEW YORK SUN CONTRIBUTOR

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.


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