California Democratic Lt. Governor John Garamendi has been declared the winner in the CA-10 special election. Garamendi will be more progressive than Tauscher, who was the chair of the New Dems when she was in Congress.
As Crisitunity says at Swing State Project:
So that's two nice upgrades in the House (from McHugh to Owens, and from Tauscher to Garamendi).
Democrats now have 258 seats in the House, up from 257. Whenever a party gains seats in congress, the voters simply are not rebuking that party. With the teabagger vanquished and an upgrade from Tauscher, that is a pretty solid night in the House.
Both Owens and Garamendi will be sworn in before the weekend vote in the House on health care reform. The Committee on Rules in the House posted the bill tonight, which paves the way for a vote in as little as 72 hours. No word yet on amendments, but more on that tomorrow.
Corzine is a real loss, given how few progressives are also Governors. However, with the economy in its current state, it is a difficult time to be an incumbent party.
Maine, as Adam describes below, is looking bleak. Enough to make your blood boil. The only bright side I can offer is that, once again, we are getting closer to winning these elections. Also, once again, we probably won them among voters under the age of 65.
If Democrats--whether Progressive, New Dem or Blue Dog--are going to succeed in 2010, then the objective economic conditions people face in their daily lives have to improve. It is only through a positive turnaround in the daily lives of average Americans that Democrats will continue to gain seats next year.
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