Democrat and Chronicle from Rochester, New York • Page 11

DEMOCRAT AND chronicle DemocratandChronicle.com WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2009 11 A ELECTION 2009 GOP wins big in N.J., Va. Maine voters split on gay marriage vote 1 7 KM STEVE HELBER The Associated Press Governor-elect Bob McDonnell celebrates his win in Richmond, over Democrat R. Creigh Deeds. McDonnell prevailed in suburbs where Obama won last fall. Loss in races for governor may be bad sign for Democrats.

LIZ SIDOTI THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON Independents who swept Barack Obama to a historic 2008 victory broke big for Republicans on Tuesday as the GOP wrested political control from Democrats in Virginia and New Jersey, a troubling sign for the president and his party heading into an important midterm election year. Conservative Republican Bob McDonnell's victory in the Virginia governor's race over Democrat R. Creigh Deeds and moderate Republican Chris Christie's ouster of unpopular New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine was a double-barreled triumph for a party looking to rebuild after being booted from power in national elections in 2006 and 2008. The outcomes were sure to feed discussion about the state of the electorate, the status of the diverse coalition that sent Obama to the White House and the limits of the president's influence on the party's base of support and on moderate current lawmakers he needs to advance his legislative priorities.

The president had personally campaigned for Deeds and Corzine, seeking to ensure that independents and base voters alike turned out even if he wasn't on the ballot. Thus, the losses were blots on Obama's political standing to a certain degree and suggested potential problems ahead as he seeks to achieve his policy goals, When Californians rejected same-sex marriage, it was in response to a court ruling, not legislation. Maine's secretary of state, Matthew Dunlap, said turnout seemed higher than expected for an off-year election and voter interest appeared intense. Even before Tuesday, more than 100,000 people out of about 1 million registered voters had voted by absentee ballot or early voting. Five other states have legalized gay marriage Iowa, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire and Connecticut but all did so through legislation or court rulings, not by popular vote.

In contrast, constitutional amendments banning gay marriage have been approved in all 30 states where they have been on the ballot. "If we don't win, then Maine will have its place in infamy because no state has ever voted for homosexual marriage," said Chuck Schott of Portland, who stood near a polling place in Maine's biggest city with a pro-repeal campaign sign. Another Portland resident, Sarah Holman said she was "very torn" but decided despite her conservative upbringing to vote in favor of letting gays marry. "They love and they have the right to love. And we can't tell somebody how to love," said Holman, 26.

a will serve as a model for Republicans running next year." Said Tim Kaine, the Democratic National Committee chairman and the term-limited Virginia governor: "We are Democratic victories in both Virginia, a new swing state, and New Jersey, a Democratic stronghold, in 2005 preceded big Democratic years nationally in 2006 and 2008. Tuesday's impact on Obama's popularity and on the 2010 elections could easily be overstated. Voters are often focused on local issues and local personalities. Yet, national issues, like the recession, were clearly a factor, with voter attitudes shaped to some degree by how people feel about the state of their nation, a r. protect Democratic majorities in Congress and expand his party's grip on governors' seats next fall.

Interviews with voters leaving polling stations in both states were filled with reasons for Democrats to be concerned and for Republicans to be optimistic, particularly about independents the crown jewel of elections because they often determine outcomes. Independents were a critical part Obama's victory in Virginia, New Jersey and across the country. But after more than a year of recession, they fled from Democrats in the two states, where the economy trumped all. The Associated Press exit polls showed that nearly a third of voters in Virginia described themselves as independents, and nearly as many in New Jersey did. They preferred McDonnell by al GLENN ADAMS and DAVID CRARY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS PORTLAND, Maine Gay marriage was put to a vote in Maine on Tuesday in a closely watched referendum that gay-rights activists across the country hoped would prove for the first time that their cause can prevail at the ballot box.

Voters had to decide whether to repeal or affirm a state law that would allow gay couples to wed. The law was passed by the Legislature in May but never took effect because of a petition drive by conservatives. Early returns showed a close contest, as forecast. With 229 of 608 precincts reporting, each side had 50 percent. A vote to uphold the law would mark the first time that the electorate in any state endorsed gay marriage.

That could energize activists nationwide and blunt conservative claims that same-sex marriage is being foisted on states by judges or lawmakers over the will of the public. However, repeal in New England, the region of the country most supportive of gay couples would be another heartbreaking defeat for the marriage-equality movement, following the vote against gay marriage in California a year ago. It would also mark the first time voters had torpedoed a gay-marriage law enacted by a legislature. day cost: $5 $5 $5 S20 $10 $45' is city) wit if(' Bloomberg pulls out third term in N.Y.C. ft most a 2-1 margin over Deeds in Virginia, and Christie over Corzine by a similar margin.

Last year, independents split between Obama and Republican John McCain in both states. In Virginia, McDonnell won by big margins in rapidly growing, far-flung Washington, D.C., suburbs that Republicans historically have won but where Obama prevailed last fall by winning over independents and swing voters. Republicans swept all three statewide Virginia offices up for election: governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general. "Bob McDonnell's victory gives Republicans tremendous momentum heading into 2010," declared Haley Barbour, chairman of the Republican Governors Association. "His focus on ideas and pocketbook issues --u mm run publican but left the party in 2007 to explore a presidential bid, a dream he eventually abandoned.

For his third mayoral run, he ran again on the GOP and Independence Party lines. In Syracuse, voters have picked Democrat Stephanie Miner to be the first woman mayor of Syracuse. In upstate New York's other contested mayoral race, four-term incumbent Gerald Jennings easily won re-election over Republican challenger Nathan Lebron in Albany. Miner won with 50 percent of the vote, defeating Steve Kimatian, a businessman, and former city parks director Otis Jennings, who ran on the Conservative line after losing to Kimatian in September's run-off. With 90 percent of the vote reported, Kimatian stood at 40 percent, while Otis Jennings finished third with 10 percent.

Incumbent Mayor Byron Brown in Buffalo, a Democrat, ran unopposed for a second term. The 2010 Entertainment" Book' DINE. SHOP. TRAVEL SAVE All Books Now and FREE SHIPPING! RICHARD DREW The Associated Press New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg leaves the voting booth after casting his ballot in a closer-than-expected race on Tuesday. $35- NOW ONLyS $30 I THE ASSOCIATED PRESS NEW YORK Michael Bloomberg won a third term as New York mayor Tuesday in a closer-than-expected race against a Democratic challenger who stoked voter resentment over the way Bloomberg changed term-limits law so he could stay in office.

With 99 percent of precincts reporting, Bloomberg, the richest man in New York and founder of the financial information company Bloomberg LP, defeated William Thompson Jr. 51 percent to 46 percent. In the days leading up to the election, polls showed Bloomberg with as much as an 18-point lead, an edge so big that critics accused the mayor of overkill in his strategy of bombarding the city with campaign ads. His margin of victory was far smaller than the nearly 20-point blowout he pulled off in 2005. When all the bills are paid, Bloomberg will probably have spent more than $100 million on his campaign, the most expensive self-financed campaign in U.S.

history. Thompson, the city's comptroller, relied on donations and matching funds for his mayoral bid, and was on track to have spent about a tenth of Bloomberg's staggering total. Thompson ran up huge margins in black and Hispanic neighborhoods, winning by a 3-to-l margin in some districts. He beat Bloomberg handily in predominantly black neighborhoods like Bedford-Stuyvesant in Brooklyn and Jamaica in Queens. He won Harlem Save enough in one to cover the book's Dry Cleaning Groceries Oil Change Dinner lor 2 Movie Tickets Total Savings Retail price of most books $35 $45 (depending on and East Harlem easily, along with other heavily Hispanic districts in upper Manhattan and the Bronx.

By contrast, Bloomberg won easily on Staten Island, which has a much larger white population. He also fared better in Manhattan, particularly on the Upper East Side, where he lives. The tiny margin could weaken his power and make his third term more difficult at City Hall, where Democrats poised to sweep into citywide offices indicated they would not shy away from disagreeing with the mayor. "You'll see a lot of strong voices as checks and balances," said Democrat Bill de Blasio, who won the job of City Hall ombudsman Tuesday. "It will be a very different experience than what he experienced the last eight years." Bloomberg is just the fourth mayor to win a third term, after Fiorello La Guardia, Robert Wagner and Ed Koch.

Bloomberg was a Re- Mh(nlrtrjnmwt bod pott erf rt Jfitwtwwimt- MembeuMp hogiom. tScvinji In the book vwy by mortet find iwchonis. Sh book ww.mttoinmtf.cip fat deio Single oHmi (oupom iwyinwiw. OHw valid fw $5 off The rettnl pne ami free iloorkird shipping $5 valm) only, (ml may no) be (twibinwi with ony other offer. Off mi wW on put puithiiw AH pwei ond Awouiitt (tlwemed in rJotan Of fa ovwioWe tittkt though the URL Wl-ftee wmbei Dsttd.

Book pfKi wtaenttd iitn to yow kwi edition N( my by edttwn. OH wpt 1 13009. WB10NEWSNOV2.