Election 2007

From an upset win on a Town council in NJ to reelecting the youngest Secretary of State in Kentucky history, the RLC made a difference on election day yesterday. As in past years, the RLC did not just endorse safe incumbents - we supported candidates in tough races all across the country. In some of the closest races from Maine to Washington, RLC-endorsed candidates were big winners last night. I am especially proud of our New Jersey candidates who achieved great victories across the state. Assemblywoman Jennifer Beck defeated an incumbent Democratic Senator – the first time this has happened in a decade. Six of our eight candidates for State Assembly won - several winning seats previously held by Democrats.

Overall, I was particularly pleased at the thoughtfulness that voters demonstrated yesterday. For the first time in two decades, voters in New Jersey voted down certain specific bond issues, highlighting both citizens' concern for getting our fiscal house in order and their attention to the issues. Throughout the country Republican voters in particular demonstrated this type of sound judgment in looking past rhetoric: voting out Kentucky Governor Ernie Fletcher after his questionable ethical issues despite his socially conservative messages and reelecting Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour because of his strong work after Hurricane Katrina despite his opponent's appeal to the religious right. This is the kind of thoughtful and informed voting that our nation desperately needs. Now it is up to those who were elected to uphold the decisions of the voters.