Reflections on an Election: November 2, 2010

American voters may have saved the United States yesterday, November 2, 2010. The stakes in this midterm election were just that high. I awoke this morning with renewed hope.


Overall, the results should hearten conservatives who believe in limited federal government, rule of law according to the Constitution as intended by our Founding Fathers, fiscal responsibility, and free market capitalism. With a few exceptions, the country roundly repudiated Obama and his far left modus operandi. So far, thirty-one Tea Party candidates won election.

There were a few disappointments for me. Foremost was the reelection of Harry Reid to the U.S. Senate from Nevada. I was rooting for Ken Buck for U.S. Senator from Colorado and Tom Tancredo for Colorado’s Governor. However, I knew they were long shots. Republican insiders sabotaged Delaware’s Odonnell; I blame them for her defeat. Results from Alaska will be delayed until November 18th. It is looking as though U.S. Senator Murkowski may have won reelection as a write-in candidate, which would be disappointing. However, these are blips on the radar screen compared to the sweep of Republican victories nationwide.

What struck me, as I watched the returns through the night and into the wee hours of the morning, was the breadth and depth of the conservative victory. A sea of red ink floods maps of the United States at the county level. Democrats in small islands of blue are even more isolated than before. Naturally, the national media focused on the national races for Congress and the Senate and, to a lesser extent, the governors’ races.

Not only did the U.S. Congress flip to a Republican majority, but so did many state legislatures. Come January, there will many more states with Republican majorities in both legislative bodies and a Republican governor. Some of these have not had Republican control since the Civil War.

This state-level Republican control will have profound long-term effects. This being a census year, these Republicans will control redistricting in their states, which must be completed for the 2012 election. Future national leaders often emerge from these state bodies. The most successful presidential candidates have been governors historically. A strong electoral base can swing the results in national races for the state through better organization and enthusiasm.

So, how did my candidate and referendum choices fare? The following candidates I voted for won:

· Marco Rubio for U.S. Senator

· Rick Scott for Governor & Jennifer Carroll for Lieutenant Governor

· Pam Bondi for Attorney General

· Jeff Atwater for Chief Financial Officer

· Adam Putnam for Commissioner of Agriculture

· Charles McBurney for State Representative (District 16)

For race results already announced, only Ander Crenshaw (District 1 Congressional Representative) and John Thrasher (District 8 State Senator) won without my vote. Also, all the judges were retained, and I always vote against all of them because I do not believe in lifetime appointments or the process by which they are selected. I am still waiting to hear results on the Soil and Water Conservation District races. I voted for Phillip Laibe for Group 1, Curtis Winkler for Group 3, and Stuart J. Coffin for Group 5.

The only amendment or referendum that did not go the way I voted was No. 1 to repeal public campaign financing. Voters did not give it the 60% approval necessary to pass a Florida constitutional amendment.

Passage of constitutional amendments 5 and 6 was especially pleasing. I have long fought against “minority access” districts; Florida has now outlawed them. Districts will have to be drawn to be as compact, equal in population, and use existing geographical boundaries as is feasible. District lines cannot be drawn to favor incumbents or a political party or to deny equal participation in the political process.

U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown, Florida’s most embarrassing politico, announced today she would file suit against these amendments. Her district is one of the most convoluted in the country, extending from Jacksonville to Orlando. She knows she will lose if she has to run in a geographically contiguous district here in Duval County. That prospect alone persuaded me to vote for amendments 5 and 6, despite opposition from most establishment Republicans and the Tea Party. Many Republicans and conservatives have come to love these minority districts because it isolates voters who generally vote Democratic.