Lots of good news for Democrats around the country. Both governorships that were up for grabs remained in Democratic hands, as Jon Corzine won easily in New Jersey and Tim Kaine completed his comeback win in Virginia. (Note to Rick Casey: Kaine was once the Mayor of Richmond. Just a data point for you there.) Every last one of Arnold Schwarzeneggar’s ballot initiatives failed, meaning the special election he called for a vote on them was nothing but a waste of time and money. Every incumbent member of the Dover, PA school board, which is currently involved in a lawsuit over its insistence on teaching “intelligent design”, was booted out of office. And perhaps the sweetest of them all is this:
St. Paul voters punished Mayor Randy Kelly on Tuesday for standing with President Bush a year ago, denying the Democrat a second term in Minnesota’s capital city.
Former City Council member Chris Coleman, also a Democrat, routed Kelly by a more than 2-to-1 margin in unofficial returns with most precincts reporting. Ahead of the election, independent polls showed voters were primed to fire Kelly, and most cited his 2004 endorsement of the Republican president as the reason.
No sitting St. Paul mayor had lost a campaign since 1974. Kelly had a personal election streak that spanned just as long, covering his quarter-century in the Legislature and first term as mayor.
“It may sound silly, but Kelly was for Bush and I’m not,” said retiree Audrey Guith after casting her vote for Coleman.
Not silly at all, ma’am. Not silly at all. Kos has some other results of interest. The news isn’t all good, of course – all the progressive-backed ballot initiatives in Ohio were defeated, for example – but on balance, pretty darned good.
I live in the ‘burbs of St. Paul, so I didn’t vote in the mayoral race, but I did some nonpartisan doorknocking and chauffeuring to the polls. There was a TON of anti-Randy Kelly sentiment in the air, and has been for, oh, about a year. For someone with a 31-year career in state politics, he totally misread his constituents when he endorsed and campaigned for Bush. Unless, as some suspect, he’s going to follow the Norm Coleman career path (Democratic mayor of St. Paul, switch to GOP, get elected to the Senate). Much rejoicing in Pig’s Eye today.
And since you asked, things went well in my town, too – we passed a green space referendum and kept the local perennial wingnut school board candidate in last place again.
Good election night, and good luck
I wasn’t aware of this, but Kuff says that all of the incumbent members of the Dover, PA school board involved in Scopes Monkey Trial 2 were booted out of office. I am shocked and awed sometimes by the intelligence
Sounds like, based on the election results and the explanation offered above, that St. Paul has some wingnut problems of it’s own, this time on the democratic side!