CALIFORNIA YANKEE

Democrats poised to lose first electoral referendum on the Obama presidency

Today, voters in New Jersey, an upstate New York's Congressional District (NY-23) and Virginia will participate in the first electoral referendum on the Obama presidency.

All three races, the New Jersey and Virginia gubernatorial and the NY-23 Congressional elections were nationalized by Obama and the Democrats.

In New Jersey, Democrat Governor Corzine could not tie himself any closer to President Obama. Obama campaigned for Corzine multiple times. Even former president Clinton was brought in to help. The latest polls suggested a trend toward Republican Christie, but it will be close and dependent upon turnout.

In Virginia, the Democratic Party spent more than $10 million to elect Craig Deeds. President Obama also campaigned for Deeds multiple times. Despite those efforts, Republican Bob McDonnell has held a comfortable double digit lead for weeks. 

In New York's 23rd Congressional District, team Obama sent Vice President Biden to campaign for the Democrat and the former Republican candidate also endorsed the Democrat. Nevertheless, Conservative candidate Doug Hoffman has a slight lead in the closing polls.

Facing a huge electoral defeat only a year after winning the presidency, the White House has already started spinning that the Democrats' pending losses will not have any significance. At Friday's press briefing, Press Secretary Gibbs said, "But I don't think it portends -- quite honestly, whatever the results are I don't think they portend a lot in dealing with the future." The effort President Obama and the Democrats put into these three races belies Gibbs claim of insignificance.

Christie Joins race for New Jersey Governor

Republican Christopher J. Christie, the former United States attorney for New Jersey, is running for governor of New Jersey:

“With strong leadership now, we can fix our broken state and make it more affordable for all New Jersey families,” Christie wrote to supporters in an e-mail, adding that a formal announcement will take place the first week of February.

Christie's record of fighting political corruption is just what the Republicans need in the face of the growing of pay to play scandal that has Illinois Democrat Governor Blagojevich facing impeachment and forced New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson to withdraw as Obama's Commerce Secretary designate:

Mr. Christie, a former Republican fund-raiser, was greeted by skepticism when President Bush appointed him in 2001, but won widespread admiration for his aggressive fight against political corruption. During the seven years that Mr. Christie was the top federal prosecutor in New Jersey, his office won convictions or guilty pleas from more than 130 elected or appointed government officials without a single acquittal.

Former Bogota mayor Steve Lonegan and state Assemblyman Richard A. Merkt are already campaigning for the Republican nomination.