Changes

In the Nov. 3, 2009, off-year elections, defeat was the fate of Democrats in [[New York City]], [[New Jersey]] and [[Virginia]]. Mayor [[Michael Bloomberg]], an independent, spent his way to a third term in New York City while Republican [[Bob McDonnell]] won in a landslide for governor of Virginia; in New Jersey Republican [[Christopher Christie]] ousted the incumbent Democrat [[Jon Corzine]] despite his millions and Obama's campaigning.

In the Nov. 3, 2009, off-year elections, defeat was the fate of Democrats in [[New York City]], [[New Jersey]] and [[Virginia]]. Mayor [[Michael Bloomberg]], an independent, spent his way to a third term in New York City while Republican [[Bob McDonnell]] won in a landslide for governor of Virginia; in New Jersey Republican [[Christopher Christie]] ousted the incumbent Democrat [[Jon Corzine]] despite his millions and Obama's campaigning.

Conservatives scored a major internal party victory in Oct. 2009 by forcing the Republican candidate [[Dede Scozzafava]] out of a House race in New York's 23rd district, for being too liberal. The Conservative Party candidate was defeated by the Democrat, however, opening up recriminations between GOP officials and conservatives on why the district was lost for the first time in a century. Already, conservative activists have zeroed in on the 2010 race for Florida's open Senate seat, in which the Republican party Senate campaign committee has endorsed moderate Gov. [[Charlie Crist]] but the more conservative Marco Rubio is mounting a strong challenge. "If I were Charlie Crist in Florida, what's happening in New York 23 would make me extremely nervous," GOP strategist Todd Harris said. "A lot of the establishment Republicans underestimated the grass-roots anger across the country about spending and the expansion of the federal government. The anger is boiling over now, but a lot of the seeds of discontent were planted over the last five to six years."<ref>Karl Vick and Philip Rucker, [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/31/AR2009103102219.html "In a war within GOP, the right wins a battle," ''Washington Post'' Nov. 1, 2009]</ref>

Conservatives scored a major internal party victory in Oct. 2009 by forcing the Republican candidate [[Dede Scozzafava]] out of a House race in New York's 23rd district, for being too liberal. The Conservative Party candidate was defeated by the Democrat, however, opening up recriminations between GOP officials and conservatives on why the district was lost for the first time in a century. Already, conservative activists have zeroed in on the 2010 race for Florida's open Senate seat, in which the Republican party Senate campaign committee has endorsed moderate Gov. [[Charlie Crist]] but the more conservative [[Marco Rubio]] is mounting a strong challenge. "If I were Charlie Crist in Florida, what's happening in New York 23 would make me extremely nervous," GOP strategist Todd Harris said. "A lot of the establishment Republicans underestimated the grass-roots anger across the country about spending and the expansion of the federal government. The anger is boiling over now, but a lot of the seeds of discontent were planted over the last five to six years."<ref>Karl Vick and Philip Rucker, [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/31/AR2009103102219.html "In a war within GOP, the right wins a battle," ''Washington Post'' Nov. 1, 2009]</ref>

[[File:Obama_total_approval_january_11_2010.jpg‎ |thumb|350px|Many Democrats were counting on riding Obama's coattails--but since the summer of 2009 those have become liabilities.]]

[[File:Obama_total_approval_january_11_2010.jpg‎ |thumb|350px|Many Democrats were counting on riding Obama's coattails--but since the summer of 2009 those have become liabilities.]]