One year ago Barack Obama turned the political establishment upside down with a resounding national election that, according to so-called experts, spelled the end of influence and legitimacy for the GOP for years, perhaps decades to come. However, a mere 12 months later, Republicans have dramatically turned around their fortunes with two high-profile gubernatorial victories in Virginia and New Jersey -- both by comfortable margins.
In Virginia, Republicans won the top three offices (Governor, Lt. Governor, and Attorney General) in Virginia by sweeping margins. Republican Bob McDonnell won the gubernatorial race by a shattering 17 percent margin over Democrat Creigh Deeds.
Not only did McDonnell win in the vast majority of Virginia counties, but he also won in the three largest suburban counties: Fairfax, Loudoun, and Prince William, which trend Democratic and which Obama won by significant margins. He also took Obama successes among independents and turned it around to win 63 percent of those voters.
And while many Democrats now point to exit polls that indicate President Obama and his policies were not the driving force behind this phenomenon, the Democratic candidate there had a different take. In an interview in October, Creigh Deeds (D) blamed, in part, the Democrats' national agenda as he trailed Bob McDonnell (R) in Virginia's gubernatorial race. "Frankly, a lot of what's going on in Washington has made it very tough," he said.
In New Jersey, Republican Chris Christie ousted incumbent Democrat Jon Corzine. The margin of victory was the largest by a New Jersey Republican in a statewide race in 25 years.
Christie was significantly outspent by Corzine, who also had the advantage of having the full support of the White House and President Obama campaigning for him regularly. The victory was a 20-point reversal of Obama's victory in 2008. Exit polls say Christie won 58 percent of independent voters.
So what does this mean for Republicans nationwide?
First, I believe that this demonstrates that after a couple of dismal cycles, Republican voters are once again energized and ready to work hard so that Republican candidates gain traction nationwide.
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