AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka made a key statement in Washington today with implications for the 2010 midterms: The union leader saved his toughest political analysis, however, for a candidate that his institution endorsed. Former gubernatorial aspirant Creigh Deeds lost the race for Virginia governor because he declined to promote progressive policy points, said Trumka. “Creigh [...]

So, you might have noticed that I took an interest in the elections last night. The scoreboard was that Democrats lost the Governor’s races in New Jersey and Virginia, won a nice pickup in NY-23 where they hdn’t been in office since 1871 and took a seat in CA-10 with an ideological shift toward a [...]

Sorry, I’m on the radio right now. More updates at the top of the hour. But Bill Owens looks pretty good to win that seat in NY-23, making him potentially the first Democrat representing that area since Reconstruction. …The Mayor of Watertown, who endorsed Hoffman, says, “it’s over.” Surprises all over the map tonight. Meanwhile, [...]

The only call we have is in VA-Gov; Bob McDonnell (R) has won. NJ-Gov (29% reporting): Christie 50% Corzine 43% Daggett 5% Very low numbers for Daggett. He didn’t hold his voters. Maine Question 1 (5% reporting): No 54.48% Yes 45.52% NY-23: no returns yet, but the polls have closed. CA-10: polls close at 11PM [...]

Polls close at this hour in New Jersey and Maine. Leaked exit polls show New Jersey to be basically a tie, FWIW. There are no exit polls out of Maine. Virginia remains too early to call, which shocks me. The networks are being ultra-cautious. The latest numbers: 26.19% reporting McDonnell (R) 62.86% Deeds (D) 37.03% [...]

The polls close in Virginia at 7:00 ET. The reports show light turnout, seen as a boost for Bob McDonnell, who doesn’t really need a boost. I’d expect a call on this race within minutes of the polls closing. Actual results can be found here. NBC News has released some exit poll information: Obama’s approval [...]

Public Policy Polling released a spate of polls last night, all of which you can find on their blog. There’s absolutely no good news in them for Democrats and their supporters. They showed Bob McDonnell holding a comfortable 56-42 lead in VA-Gov, Chris Christie surging late to a 47-41 lead in NJ-Gov, Question 1 winning [...]

For those of you scoring at home, I thought I’d lay out exactly what the major races are next Tuesday, November 3. From Maine to California, New Jersey to Washington state, there are several significant races on the ballot, all of which will be spun by Democrats and Republicans as indicative of the national mood. [...]

There’s a week to go in the key gubernatorial races in New Jersey and Virginia. A Democratic Governor’s Association conference call yesterday sought to manage expectations, saying that the party out of the White House has come back to win both governorships in five straight elections, and if Republicans lose one of these races they [...]

I’d shrug off the anonymous carping from White House officials about the Creigh Deeds campaign, a classic distancing strategy from a failing campaign. If Deeds managed to pull it out, you’d hear these same “senior Administration officials” saying how putting up Obama ads did the trick and brought him to victory. But if you want [...]

Creigh Deeds is, by most measures, fading in the Virginia governor’s race. Two polls show him trailing Republican Bob McDonnell by double digits with two weeks to go. So Deeds is pulling out his trump card. He’s released an ad with Barack Obama, touting Deeds at a campaign event earlier this year. The ad directly [...]