Quick reflections on last night’s election results …
National
The Bad: In what was a late insurgent campaign, conservative Doug Hoffman loses New York 23 (though Erick Erickson tries to spin it into a favorable light). Tax-limitation initiatives in Maine and Washington went down in flames.
The Good: Obviously, the Republican sweep in Virginia — governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, seven more seats in the state assembly — is the big national victory. And a Republican governor in New Jersey? Priceless.
Colorado Local
The Bad:
- Pro-union, anti-reform forces strike back and claim a narrow majority on the Denver school board
- Reformers Amy Attwood and Natalie Menten both narrowly lose Lakewood city council elections
- On the Jeffco school board, incumbent Richard Rush is taken out by liberal Paula Noonan
The Good:
- The Douglas County school board reform slate sweeps into power
- Other school board victories? Laura Boggs in Jeffco, Patrick Albright in Poudre
- Katie Witt cruised to a spot on the Longmont City Council
- Poorly-timed tax hike proposals were crushed in Colorado Springs and the Greeley School District
There will be time later for more responses and more in-depth analysis. Please feel free to share any results that caught your attention or insights I likely missed.
And two out of three tax hikes went down in Boulder County.