Early Thoughts on a Very Tough Night  —  There is no other way to put it, last night was a disaster for the Democrats.  How we respond in the coming days and weeks will set the stage for 2022  —  One year ago, Joe Biden won Virginia by ten points.  Four years ago, Ralph Northan won it by nine.

At Least 7 Republicans Who Were At The Jan. 6 Rally Just Got Elected To Office  —  And even more attendees of the rally that turned into the Capitol riot will likely be on the ballot in 2022.  —  At least seven Republicans who attended the Jan. 6 rally in Washington, D.C. …

POLITICO Playbook: Let the Democratic freakout begin  —  DRIVING THE DAY  —  THE NAIL BITER — New Jersey's gubernatorial race is still too close to call as you wake up this morning.  With 88% of the expected vote in, incumbent PHIL MURPHY is trailing Republican JACK CIATTARELLI by just over 1,000 votes.

Democrats Need to Face Up to Their Public School Problem Education should be helping Democrats, not hurting.  What happened?  —  Election reaction statements by politicians and interest groups may be the most robotic genre in the messaging business.  Every outcome proves everybody was right all along.

A sobering reality hits Democrats after Tuesday's elections losses  —  Democrats awoke Wednesday to a sobering reality.  A year after celebrating victory in the 2020 elections, their slender congressional majorities are now even more at risk than they feared, and it is not clear that President Biden …

Virginia Results: Giving Up on Rural America Is Proving a Nightmare for Democrats  —  Margins matter.  —  About a year ago I wrote about the big “trade” that had taken place in our politics.  Democrats were picking up former Republican “red dogs” who live in the suburbs.

How McAuliffe Lost Virginia  —  An uninspiring candidate with no big ideas and terrible messaging.  —  Going into the 2021 gubernatorial election in Virginia, a state that Joe Biden won by ten points, former governor Terry McAuliffe likely reasoned that he had a good chance of repeating his remarkable feat from eight years earlier:

New Jersey Election Results  —  In New Jersey, the headline matchup is between Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, and his Republican challenger, Jack Ciattarelli, a former state assemblyman.  The entire State Legislature is also up for election, and there are two ballot questions.  Read more »

I Hung Out With Both Curtis Sliwa and Eric Adams on Election Night  —  It was the best of parties, it was the worst of parties.  —  At Empire Steak House on East 50th Street, the stench of fait accompli hangs in the air.  The Curtis Sliwa campaign has gathered here in midtown to watch him go down.

Manchin says ‘unbelievable’ Virginia results validate concerns over spending package  —  Centrist Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), who has slowed down negotiations on a massive $1.75 trillion reconciliation package, says the “unbelievable” Republican victories in Virginia's statewide races Tuesday validate …