Since last night, news sources have been telling us that the real loser in yesterday's elections was President Obama. They have been telling us that citizens voted in opposition to the Democratic Party in order to exemplify their disappointment over the lack of "change" and societal advancement since Democrats won the White House a year ago. In opposition, I do not believe that the elections were a referendum on President Obama. Instead, I believe the election results are illustrative of a general rejection of authority altogether--a trend that has gradually been developing over the last few years. We not only saw previously Democratic constituencies favor the Republican, but we also witnessed historically Republican precincts voting for the Democratic candidate.
In New Jersey, Republican Chris Christie won the race for Governor. A Republican has not won a statewide race in New Jersey since 1997. In Virginia, McDonnell, also Republican, won the gubernatorial election. McDonnell beat his Democratic opponent, Creigh Deeds, by almost 20% in a state where Democrats have won control of the office 5 out of the last 7 races.
On the flip side, in upstate New York, Democrat Bill Owens won the 23rd Congressional District--a district that has been held by republicans for over one hundred years. Some would argue against this example by saying the Democratic Party only won the seat because the Republican party was split between Diedre Scozzafava and the Conservative party candidate Doug Hoffman. However, considering Scozzafava's ideology and support of the Democrat after her withdrawal from the race, if anything, she split the liberal vote.
People are simply no longer accepting the dominant authority, meaning they are rejecting those previously in office, whether that be based on a rejection of the dominant party or a rejection of other historic norms of power. Several important races included a prominent third party candidate illustrating a refusal of the dominant party authorities (both Republican and Democrat) altogether. Additionally, voters seem to be rejecting authority not only on the partisanship of the incumbent, but rejecting the authority of precedent for a particular area. For example, in Atlanta Georgia, Mary Norwood received more votes than her contenders (although a run-off election is to be held). If Norwood is to be elected, she will be the first white mayor in a 35 year history of African American incumbents. The Houston, Texas mayoral race resulted in a 5% lead for Annise Parker. If she wins she will be the first openly gay mayor in Texas, a historically conservative state. In both these examples, voters are rejecting previous authority by refusing to support the historic norms within the region.
The areas in which incumbents did win resulted in very close races. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg won his third term in office. He beat his Democratic opponent, Bill Thompson by a narrow 5 point margin. Considering Bloomberg outspent Thompson 31 million dollars in his campaign, the closeness of this race still exemplifies an extreme refusal of authority even in the presence the incumbent's win.
We are experiencing an important political wave: one described not by an excessive partisan shift due to a disappointment in the predominate party, but one classified by a rejection of existing authority simply because it is the authority. People are looking for ways to transcend external power and thus, are favoring the alternative.
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