I’ve Lived In New Jersey And Virginia. Here’s What You Need To Know About This Week’s Election.

I lived in New Jersey and worked on campaigns the last time a Democratic president faced a first-year referendum on his performance. Now I live in Virginia, where Tuesday night the state sent a clear message to President Joe Biden and Democrats: Stop the bullying.

Living in these two states at such pivotal moments has given me a unique insight into what these elections mean and what they have meant over the past 12 years.

This week, in Virginia, Republican challenger Glenn Youngkin defeated former Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) in a state Biden won by 10 points in 2020. Last year, Biden won the state by the biggest margin since President Franklin D. Roosevelt trounced Thomas Dewey by 25 points in 1944.

When all the votes had been counted, Youngkin defeated McAuliffe by two points. That’s a huge swing from Democrat to Republican in just under a year.

In New Jersey, Republican challenger Jack Ciattarelli lost to the incumbent, Gov. Phil Murphy (D), by fewer than 60,000 votes. In the days ahead of the election, Murphy was on track for an easy win. The fact that the race ended up being so close was its own win for Republicans in the state.

Another big story out of New Jersey that shows just what a good election this was for Republicans is the fact that a commercial truck driver who reportedly spent just $153 on his campaign ousted state Senate President Steve Sweeney (D-West Deptford), who has held his leadership position since 2010 and has served in the senate since 2002. That Sweeney was vulnerable at all in such a Deep Blue state that has such powerful entrenched politics is a sign that Republicans are on to something.

Going back to 2009, when Republican Chris Christie won in New Jersey and Republican Bob McDonnell won in Virginia, we can see those races were pretty equally seen as referendums on the states themselves and the president in power. In 2009, President Barack Obama was in office, and people across the country opposed his stimulus and healthcare plans by the time the Virginia and New Jersey elections occurred. Virginia had two Democratic governors prior to McDonnell’s election, and New Jersey had incumbent Gov. Jon Corzine (enough said). In 2009, Chris Christie was seen as a law-and-order guy to Corzine’s Soprano State stylings.

Flash forward to 2017, when the media tried to make the state gubernatorial races a referendum on President Donald

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