Democrats a good bet to retain control of legislature

Misleading to say Christie didn't have coattails.... (4.00 / 2)

they didn't pick up any Assembly seats because its impossible - they are too gerrymandered.

Look at county races for a real barometer of Christie's coattails.  We lost 3 Freeholder seats in Passaic County plus a County Clerk's race.  

Monmouth County we got slaughtered.  I don't have confirmation yet - but I think we also lost 2 Freeholder seats in Bergen County.  

I'm sure there were loses on the County and Municipal level all over New Jersey.  

---

by: Matthew Jordan @ Wed Nov 04, 2009 at 04:58:15 AM UTC

Bergen County.... (0.00 / 0)

we did lose 2 Freeholder seats.  Incumbents Vernon Walton and Julie O'Brien lost.  

---

by: Matthew Jordan @ Wed Nov 04, 2009 at 05:12:17 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Yes, they're all gerrymandered. (0.00 / 0)

Especially District 1. What a Democratic Gerrymander. I mean, adding Somers Point made a seat Republicans held since '91 safe Democratic.

---

by: Scott Weingart @ Wed Nov 04, 2009 at 05:13:12 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

You're taking 1 race and applying it across the state. (0.00 / 0)

How much did the Democrats spend there, $2 million?  Plus a once in the lifetime popular Senator who worked his ass off for them.  

Whether people were voting for Christie or against Corzine, they did it all the way down the ballot and it is going to revitalize Republicans in places like my home county (Passaic) where they were hapless & inept for the last 10 years.  

---

by: Matthew Jordan @ Wed Nov 04, 2009 at 05:17:11 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Let's wait... (0.00 / 0)

...and see which NJ-Gov candidates win which districts.

I'll bet you a bottle of Westvleteren 12 there are more Democratic Assemblymembers in Christie districts than Republican Assemblymembers in Corzine districts.

---

by: Scott Weingart @ Wed Nov 04, 2009 at 05:40:30 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

I'm Irish - how about a bottle of Jameson? (4.00 / 1)

I could use some whiskey after tonight.  

---

by: Matthew Jordan @ Wed Nov 04, 2009 at 05:43:38 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

we lost one in Salem County (0.00 / 0)

and kept one, but to me it looks just like last year and the year before. Republicans have been slowly picking freeholder seats since they went as low as a single seat.    

Frank LoBiondo Record and Jon Runyan Watch

---

by: Hopeful @ Wed Nov 04, 2009 at 05:33:00 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

What about Middlesex County Freeholders? (0.00 / 0)

I checked nj.com, mycentraljersey.com, and politickernj.com. No coverage of Freeholder races anywhere. Christie picked up Middlesex County and 2 of the three Democrats aren't particularly well known, so the Republicans might have won some seats.

The quality of the Democratic candidates, leaving aside their relative lack of fame, is higher than it has been in some years. And of course they're better in general philosophy than the Republicans. But having an outsider or two on the Board would not be an entirely bad thing.

---

by: Dvd Avins @ Wed Nov 04, 2009 at 05:38:49 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

They held on in Middlesex.... (4.00 / 2)

http://www.co.middlesex.nj.us/...

What doesn't make sense to me is that Corzine won Passaic County, yet our county candidates lost.  Did people bullet vote? Or just vote for Governor?

---

by: Matthew Jordan @ Wed Nov 04, 2009 at 05:42:38 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Middlesex (0.00 / 0)

And Corzine apparently lost Middlesex.  Which says a lot about coattails.

---

by: 12mileseastofTrenton @ Wed Nov 04, 2009 at 13:49:11 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Disagree (0.00 / 0)

While it's true many are gerrymandered, there was several competitive districts, like the 14th and the 36th, where, if there were coattails, Democrats would have lost.  But they didn't.  A four point margin and a pick up of only one seat shows that it was more anti-Corzine than anti-Democrat.  Freeholder losses occur even in the best of times.

---

by: 12mileseastofTrenton @ Wed Nov 04, 2009 at 13:47:38 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

GOP wins council seats in Monroe, South Brunswick (4.00 / 1)

Both towns, though previously competitive, had been completely Democratic for many years.

I think it's more negative coattails for Corzine than actual coattails for Christie, but the gubernatorial race did have spill0over effect.

---

by: Dvd Avins @ Wed Nov 04, 2009 at 05:01:56 AM UTC

likewise in Freehold Borough (0.00 / 0)

The Republicans won their first borough council seat here in a very long time.

---

by: lilybart @ Wed Nov 04, 2009 at 05:10:42 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

I'm thinking that it says more about Corzine (4.00 / 2)

than about Christie.  I knew he was not popular but I underestimated just how unpopular he was.

It's not a good year to be a governor.

Let's hope the state house can keep him from "turning Trenton upside down" as he just pledged to do.

The numbers from South Jersey are awful.  In my state district, popular incumbents didn't win by very much.  

---

by: joanneleon @ Wed Nov 04, 2009 at 05:06:51 AM UTC

We should try and keep him from tunring Trenton upside down (0.00 / 0)

He will ultimately be accountable to us.  As long as you keep calling his office and writing letters, hopefully we can stop all of his agenda, or lack thereof.  We need to take a page out of what the Republicans in Washington are doing to President Obama

http://outspokenliberal.blogsp...

---

by: tabbycat31 @ Wed Nov 04, 2009 at 05:21:39 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

It's not the Republicans (4.00 / 1)

in Washington who are doing anything significant to Pres. Obama.  They are a toothless tiger at this point.  It's an unforced error by Obama and Dem. Congressional leaders.  I don't think they are going to see the rise in populism until it smacks them in the face.

But you're right that I'll have to spend more time on state level things now.  I basically never worried about Corzine.  Now it's a whole different ball game.  

I can't believe the people of this state were so incredibly stupid to put a Republican like Christie in office at the worst possible time.  I'm still in shock.  When we get the final numbers, I bet it won't be just the Independents who killed Corzine, it will be a really low turnout by Dems.  How incredibly stupid.  

---

by: joanneleon @ Wed Nov 04, 2009 at 05:41:48 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

It's Official -- We Live in a Craphole (1.00 / 1)

All of the reforms that McGreevey and Codey made will be gone in a couple of years.

This beast is evil and unfortunately, we are stuck with this fat bastard for four years  -- unless it keels over first.

---

by: lzachary @ Wed Nov 04, 2009 at 12:52:43 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Christie Is A Criminal...... (0.00 / 0)

....who belongs in jail.    We should be doing all we can to push for a real investigation and prosecution of his Hatch Act violations.

We should get all the FOIA data on this crook and connect all the dots.

We should also make sure that the people of New Jersey become fully informed on the many many morally/politically scuzzy things he is and he's done.  
But calling him a "fat bastard" is absolutely counterproductive.

We live at a time when most of us are overweight.   I look in the mirror an I see more fat than I want to and I'm not happy about it.   Arguably, Christie was able to deflect virtually all the legitimate critiques because the media stupidly let him get away with hiding behind the "fat" non-issue.

Let's let that one go.  If there are people's who just can't stand Christie because of his obesity, they are themselves bigots....and play right into Christie's hands by providing him with a distractive non-issue.

---

by: Nick Lento @ Wed Nov 04, 2009 at 13:42:18 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

It is What It Is (0.00 / 0)

He's a bastard at an unhealthy weight.

---

by: lzachary @ Wed Nov 04, 2009 at 14:36:03 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Too nebulous (0.00 / 0)

It could say more about Robert Giles, Ocean County GOP boss George Gilmore's boy who now is head of the state elections, than about anyone.  

Doesn't anyone pay attention to who counts the votes?  We were supposed to have verifiable, countable paper ballots two years ago.  Where are they?  We have to "trust" what the tech guru tells us is the vote.  Until we have paper ballots, I'm not buying it.  

---

by: jim34 @ Wed Nov 04, 2009 at 05:43:52 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Links to state, county and local results (4.00 / 1)

If you want results for your county, the state website seems to have links to each county's election reports (often in otherwise obscure places, and they include local township results)

http://www.njelections.org/200...


Frank LoBiondo Record and Jon Runyan Watch

---

by: Hopeful @ Wed Nov 04, 2009 at 05:46:42 AM UTC

You knew it had to happen (0.00 / 0)

The peabag bloggers over at Clowns With Agita are now taking credit for Christie's victory.  After bashing him all summer they now say he was saved by a "Lonegan surge" after they appeared together at a rally in Flemington on Saturday.

http://christiegonewild.blogsp...

---

by: ken bank @ Wed Nov 04, 2009 at 05:50:40 AM UTC

Without Howard Dean as chair, Dems lose (4.00 / 3)

Isn't it interesting that with former Virginia Gov Kaine as DNC chair, the Democrats couldn't win the VA governorship?  Someone made a good point on dailykos that we need Howard Dean back at the DNC.

---

by: proud2Bliberal @ Wed Nov 04, 2009 at 06:01:16 AM UTC

You Got That Right (4.00 / 1)

I was thinking the same thing.  Kain has proved himself to be a whole lotta nuthin' thus far.  Just another Terry McAuliffe.  All smiles and glad-handing with no substance.

Peace.

---

by: lzachary @ Wed Nov 04, 2009 at 12:45:04 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

The Camden County Conservadems (4.00 / 1)

They're trying to oust Codey and put in one of their DINOs.  This will ensure a liegislative roll-over to the fat bastard.

---

by: lzachary @ Wed Nov 04, 2009 at 13:20:13 PM UTC

Yup (0.00 / 0)

Chris Christie and Steve Sweeney.  Perfect together.

---

by: 12mileseastofTrenton @ Wed Nov 04, 2009 at 13:41:41 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

A good bet? (0.00 / 0)

Try a sure bet.  Democrats held up well in the Assembly.

---

by: 12mileseastofTrenton @ Wed Nov 04, 2009 at 13:40:33 PM UTC

they need to fight Christie all the way (0.00 / 0)

unfortunately in my county (Monmouth), the Democrats were creamed up and down the ticket.    

http://outspokenliberal.blogsp...

---

by: tabbycat31 @ Wed Nov 04, 2009 at 15:31:47 PM UTC

[ Parent ]