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Political 'Wake-up Call': What 2017 Might Mean for 2018

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Democrats surprised just about everyone, including themselves Tuesday, as they swept not only the governor's races in New Jersey and Virginia but also captured more House of Delegate seats in Virginia than anyone imagined possible. Democrats took 14 seats in an upset that will leave Republicans with a much narrower majority in that chamber and could even tip the balance of power. Four races were so close Wednesday that they qualified for a recount.

Rep. Scott Taylor, a GOP congressman from Virginia Beach told the Washington Post "I don't know how you get around that this wasn't a referendum on the administration, I just don't."

In New Jersey, Democrat and first-time candidate Phil Murphy beat Republican Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno 55 to 43 percent. The victory comes on the heels of and matches Hillary Clinton's margin one year ago but switches party control of the office after 8 years with Republican Chris Christie at the helm.

In Virginia, Democrat Ralph Northam had led in the polls for weeks against Republican Ed Gillespie but the race appeared to tighten in the final days. On Wednesday, he framed his election by an unexpectedly large margin of nine percentage points as a pushback against hatred and bigotry. "I think what this message was yesterday that Virginia sent not only to this country, but to this world, is that the divisiveness, the hatred, the bigotry, the politics that is tearing this country apart, that's not the United States of America that people love," said Northam.

Dr. Eric Patterson, dean of the Robertson school of Government at Regent University, says Democrats in Virginia benefited from local activism plus outside funding. As the Washington Post reported, the race attracted national money from donors who saw Virginia as a bellweather for 2018. Northam ended up with a campaign war chest twice the size of Gillespie's.

"Democrats had alot at stake," Patterson told CBN News, "they've lost the last 5 special elections in places like Georgia, Montana, Missouri. This was in some ways their last hope to have a big win in this last election cycle."

Patterson called the election a "big wake-up call" for the Republican party in Virginia--and for the GOP in Washington.

"If Congress doesn't start to pass some legislation then this is going to happen across the country," he said. Voters look at Republicans controlling the House, the Senate and the Oval Office and are waiting for significant results, said Patterson.

He noted, as have others, that the House and Senate work just three days a week on average. "Until they pass a tax bill. Until they honor some of their promises on Obamacare, they're going to have a really bad 2018 if they don't get their act together," said Patterson.
 

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About The Author

Heather
Sells

Heather Sells covers wide-ranging stories for CBN News that include religious liberty, ministry trends, immigration, and education. She’s known for telling personal stories that capture the issues of the day, from the border sheriff who rescues migrants in the desert to the parents struggling with a child that identifies as transgender. In the last year, she has reported on immigration at the Texas border, from Washington, D.C., in advance of the Dobbs abortion case, at crisis pregnancy centers in Massachusetts, and on sexual abuse reform at the annual Southern Baptist meeting in Anaheim