Independents fuel GOP victories in Va., N.J.

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By Stephen Dinan and S.A. Miller

In New York City, another independent, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, won his third term, though the race was unexpectedly tight. In Detroit, former basketball star and Washington native David Bing was re-elected to the mayoral post and in Boston, Thomas Menino won his fifth full term. Other big-city mayor's slots up for grabs included Atlanta, Miami and Houston.

Voters in Maine were deciding whether to repeal a law that allows same-sex marriages, and the vote was still close Tuesday night. Meanwhile, another special congressional election in California was expected to be won by Democrats.

In Virginia's governor's race, Mr. McDonnell easily topped Mr. Deeds, despite the Democrat bringing moderate stances to the race and repeatedly attacking Mr. McDonnell for being too conservative in a state Democrats had touted as the ultimate "purple" state.

The entire Republican ticket ran double digits ahead of Democrats.

"For those out there who say conservatives can't win, this rejects that notion. This is a very conservative ticket," said Chris LaCivita, a Republican strategist who helped Virginia candidates this year and will be aiding congressional candidates in the state next year. "It's proof-positive that solid, committed conservatives can win, and can discuss and talk about issues in a campaign that people care about. The labeling aspect just isn't going to work."

Mr. Obama won the New York congressional district by five percentage points in 2008, won Virginia by six percentage points and won New Jersey by 17 points.

But Democrats insisted that Tuesday's results were neither a dress rehearsal for 2010's congressional elections nor a referendum on Mr. Obama. They pointed to exit polls that showed 55 percent of Virginia voters and 60 percent of New Jersey voters said Mr. Obama wasn't a factor.

Democrats pointed to history. This is the sixth time in a row that Virginia and New Jersey have elected governors of the opposite party of the president.

"The question on everyone's mind will be: 'What does this mean?' The answer is simple," said Nathan Daschle, executive director of the Democratic Governors Association. "Nothing. The party in the White House has lost these races for 24 straight years, and this election merely continued that streak. New Jersey and Virginia are independent-minded states, and tonight they reminded us of that."