memeorandum: Gubernatorial contests serve as warning to Democrats (Dan Balz/Washington Post)

11:10 AM ET, November 4, 2009

Top Items:

HOFFMAN CLOSING ON OWENS — Democrat ahead of Conservative by 2,512 votes — Democrat Bill Owens is leading in the 23rd Congressional District race. — The Plattsburgh attorney has 50,884 votes compared to Conservative Doug Hoffman, a Lake Placid CPA, with 47,166 votes.

Discussion: The Other McCain, The Daily Politics, Left Coast Rebel, the albany project, DaTechguy's Blog, Open Left, PoliBlog, Riehl World View, Swampland, Michelle Malkin, Macsmind and Talking Points Memo

Erick Erickson / Erick's blog:

In NY-23, Conservatives Win — The race has now been called for Democrat Bill Owens. — This is a huge win for conservatives. — “Whaaaa. . . ?” you say. — There are two big victories at work in New York's 23rd Congressional District. — First, the GOP now must recognize …

Discussion: TBogg, Washington Monthly, IntoxiNation, Pajamas Media, WSYR-TV, Sadly, No!, American Spectator, thedanashow.wordpress.com, Flopping Aces, Whiskey Fire, MyDD, Dump Dede, RedState, Comments from Left Field and Big Government

Michelle Malkin:

The GOP elite's $1 million object lesson — and the message of NY-23 — Conservatives owe NY-23 candidate Doug Hoffman immeasurable gratitude. He overcame impossible odds (single digits just a month ago) to come within two points of defeating Democrat Bill Owens. Hoffman had zero name recognition.

Discussion: Riehl World View, The Other McCain, Dr. Melissa Clouthier, Cold Fury, Right Klik, Gathering of Eagles: NY, Firedoglake, No More Mister Nice Blog, Wizbang, TPM LiveWire, Sister Toldjah and And So it Goes in Shreveport

Glenn Harlan Reynolds / New York Post:

The Obama magic has faded — All politics is local, they say, and Tuesday's off-off-year elections certainly had their local angles. Jon Corzine has been a terrible governor even by the undemanding standards of terribly governed New Jersey. Creigh Deeds, though he looked …

Discussion: Michelle Malkin, Scared Monkeys, Joust The Facts, Betsy's Page, QandO and Runnin' Scared

David Weigel / The Washington Independent:

NY-23: Watertown Mayor: 'It's Over' — SARANAC LAKE, N.Y. - I caught Watertown, N.Y., Mayor Jeff Graham, who endorsed NY-23 Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman this weekend, looking very glum at Hoffman's election party. I asked him what happened in Jefferson County, where Watertown is located …

Discussion: Hot Air, Watertown Daily Times, The Daily Politics, The Hill, AMERICAblog News and DownWithTyranny!

Jeremy W. Peters / New York Times:

Conservative Loses Upstate House Race in Blow to Right — SARANAC LAKE, N.Y. — Democrats won a special election in New York State's northernmost Congressional district Tuesday, a setback for national conservatives who heavily promoted a third candidate in what became an intense debate over the direction of the Republican Party.

Discussion: The Politico, Associated Press, Runnin' Scared, Newsweek Blogs, Wall Street Journal, American Street, Liberal Values, American Power and JammieWearingFool

Elizabeth Benjamin / NY Daily News:
Democrat Owens beats Conservative Hoffman who Sarah Palin …

Discussion: The Latest Word and msnbc.com

Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:
Lessons from Election Night

Discussion: NO QUARTER and Swampland

Michael Patrick Leahy / TCOT REPORT 2009©: Hoffman Barnstorms NY 23 in Plane

New York Times:

G.O.P. Wins Two Key Governors' Races; Bloomberg Prevails in a Close Contest — Republicans swept contests for governor in New Jersey and Virginia on Tuesday as voters went to the polls filled with economic uncertainty, dealing President Obama a setback and building momentum …

Discussion: WCBS-TV, Think Progress, Los Angeles Times, The Politico, Bloomberg, The Hill, Guardian, Washington Post, Washington Times, Politicker NJ, The Moderate Voice, Harry's Place, QandO, The Confluence, Prairie Weather and Libertarianism, from A to Z

Dan Balz / Washington Post:

Gubernatorial contests serve as warning to Democrats — Off-year elections can be notoriously unreliable as predictors of the future, but as a window on how the political landscape may have changed in the year since President Obama won the White House, Tuesday's Republican victories in Virginia …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, The Note, Virginian-Pilot, BBC, Wall Street Journal, Achenblog, Newsweek Blogs, Hot Air, The Corner on National …, Associated Press, PostPartisan, The Hill, Taylor Marsh, Althouse, Commentary and New York Magazine

Alexander Burns / The Politico:

GOP sweeps gov races; Dem wins N.Y. — Republican gubernatorial candidates racked up major wins for the GOP in Virginia and New Jersey Tuesday night as Democrats scored a single victory in a special congressional election in upstate New York. — Former Virginia Attorney General Bob McDonnell …

Discussion: The Swamp, The Roanoke Times, New York Times, Wake up America, Pajamas Media, CNN, Clusterstock, The Nation and Left Coast Rebel

Adam Nagourney / New York Times:

A Year After Dousing, Republicans' Hope Rekindled — WASHINGTON — The Republican victories in the races for New Jersey and Virginia governors put the party in a stronger position to turn back the political wave President Obama unleashed last year, setting the stage for Republicans to raise money …

Discussion: Democracy in America, Associated Press, The Plum Line, Lawyers, Guns and Money, The Fix, NewsBusters.org, FiveThirtyEight and Washington Post

Associated Press:

Steele: Election Returns Show ‘Transcendent’ GOP — GOP Chairman Steele hails election results, says GOP ‘found its voice again’ — An ebullient Republican Party Chairman Michael Steele asserted Wednesday that GOP victories in governors' races in New Jersey and Virginia demonstrate “a transcendent party” on the move again.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice

Washington Post: Editorial: Lessons from Robert F. McDonnell's victory in Virginia

Gary Langer / ABCNEWS:
'09 Exit Polls: Voters Approve of Obama, Wary of Economy

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Media Matters for America, The Fix, Hullabaloo, MyDD, Blue Virginia, Daily Kos, CNN, The Big Picture, Outside The Beltway, YID With LID, Big Government, The Daily Dish, Firedoglake, George's Bottom Line, Pundit & Pundette and Commentary

Ruth Marcus / Washington Post:
Ruth Marcus on empty harbingers in Virginia and New Jersey

Discussion: Slate, Washington Wire, Time, Newsweek Blogs, Economist, NewsBusters.org and PostPartisan

Domenico Montanaro / msnbc.com:
FIRST THOUGHTS: LAST NIGHT'S LESSONS

Discussion: The Politico and Top of the Ticket

The Politico:
Dems, incumbents get wake-up call

Discussion: Gothamist and The Sarah Palin Blog

Mark Preston / CNN:
Analysis: Elections not a referendum on Obama

Discussion: New York Post and Riehl World View

Nate Silver / CNN:
This time, all politics was local

Discussion: Weekly Standard

Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
Morning Fix: Sorting through the numbers in Va., N.J., and N.Y.

Discussion: TQIA, Ben Smith's Blog and Ezra Klein

CBS News:
Exit Polls in Va. and N.J.: The Obama (Non) Factor?

Discussion: Real Clear Politics, Hotline On Call, CNN, Joust The Facts, Real Numbers and Other Musings, JammieWearingFool, The Strata-Sphere, Power Line, Hot Air, The Hill, Bob Cesca's Awesome Blog! and The Opinionator

Wall Street Journal:
Republicans Win Key States

Discussion: Brendan Nyhan

Abby Goodnough / New York Times:

Maine Voters Repeal Law Allowing Gay Marriage — In a stinging setback for the national gay-rights movement, Maine voters narrowly decided to repeal the state's new law allowing same-sex marriage. — With 87 percent of precincts reporting early this morning, 53 percent of voters had approved the repeal …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, New York Magazine, theblogprof, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, The Daily Dish, The Baseline Scenario and La Shawn Barber's Corner

Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:

What Happened and Why? — The outcome of all seven contests that we were tracking tonight appears settled, or very nearly so: — Virginia Governor: Republican Bob McDonnell wins by 17 points, toward the upper end of the range predicted by the pollsters, although not to anybody's great surprise.

Discussion: Boston Globe, The Moderate Voice and The Mahablog

Susan M. Cover / pressherald.mainetoday.com: Mainers vote down gay marriage law

Devin Dwyer / ABCNEWS:
Maine Voters Overturn Gay Marriage Law

Discussion: Scared Monkeys, Politics Daily and Ben Smith's Blog

Brian Beutler / TPMDC:

Yesterday's Overwhelming Historic Republican Victory Makes Democratic Health Care Reform Just A Bit Easier — Most of the commentary about last night's elections has centered around Republican pickups in the New Jersey and Virginia statehouses. But what's gone largely unnoticed …

Discussion: Washington Monthly and TalkLeft

Joe Garofoli / San Francisco Chronicle:
Garamendi beats field for Tauscher's seat

Discussion: The Nation

Tim Alberta / The Politico: Democrat wins Calif. special election

Cory Doctorow / Boing Boing:

Secret copyright treaty leaks. It's bad. Very bad. — The internet chapter of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, a secret copyright treaty whose text Obama's administration refused to disclose due to “national security” concerns, has leaked. It's bad. It says:

Discussion: Michael Geist Blog, QandO and The Moderate Voice

Gwen Hinze / Electronic Frontier Foundation:
Leaked ACTA Internet Provisions: Three Strikes and a Global DMCA

Discussion: The Huffington Post and PC World

New York Times:

Bloomberg Wins 3rd Term as Mayor in Unexpectedly Close Race — Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg pulled out a narrow re-election victory on Tuesday, as voters angry over his maneuver to undo the city's term limits law and his extravagant campaign spending provided an unexpected lift …

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blog, New York Post, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Media Decoder, Runnin' Scared, CNN, The Daily Politics, Indecision Forever and Michael Calderone's Blog

Wall Street Journal:

Iranian Police Clash With Protesters — DUBAI — Iranian authorities battled with opposition protesters in Tehran Wednesday, after demonstrators used the 30th anniversary of the storming of the U.S. Embassy as cover for their first significant protest in weeks.

Discussion: BLACKFIVE, ATTACKERMAN and The Washington Independent

BBC:
Iran police clash with protesters

Discussion: Guardian, Times of London, CNN, QandO, Informed Comment and The Majlis

Joe Arnold / WHAS:

Survey USA: Rand Paul surges for GOP, Mongiardo maintains lead in Dem. race — The Republican party in Kentucky has never seen anything like it. — Bowling Green eye doctor Rand Paul has no political experience, but with the support of the same people who backed his Dad, Texas Congressman Ron Paul, when he ran for president.

Discussion: Scorecard's Blog and The Washington Independent

Carly Fiorina / Orange County Register:

Why I'm running for Senate — Our most pressing problems today are too few jobs for Americans and too much spending in Washington. — CANDIDATE FOR U.S. SENATE FROM CALIFORNIA — Recommend — Admittedly, I have not always been engaged in the electoral process, and I should have been.

Discussion: The Hill

Mickey Kaus / Kausfiles:

Election 2009: Some Winners, Losers, — Winner: Robopolls. Rasmussen's final poll, showing a 46-43-8 Christie win, was pretty damn accurate. Polls using conventional human operators tended to show Corzine ahead. They were wrong. ** ... If you have a choice between Rasmussen and …

Discussion: Megan McArdle and Daily Pundit

Chris Kelly / The Huffington Post:

Dud, Baby, Dud: The Lesson of Doug Hoffman — “I believe America is turning the page to a new dawn.” ~ Doug Hoffman, Concession Speech — Doug Hoffman lost his election last night. He was supported by a plurality of talk radio entertainers, and a majority of former half-term governors of Alaska, but it wasn't enough.

Discussion: The Washington Independent, alicublog, The Reaction and The Daily Politics