07 November 2007

With 100 percent of precincts reporting...

Kentucky has a new Governor, and Virginia became a shade more blue overnight as the Democrats gained control of the State Senate by the slimmest of margins. Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour was re-elected easily.

I was taken by two things - a story in the Washington Post suggesting the immigration issue wasn't the silver bullet some Republicans hoped it would be, and a piece by the Cyber Hillbilly on the importance of blogs in state elections.

On immigration, I think the results are meaningful but I'm not sure Virginia is the state where immigration is the top issue. I suspect there are other states that look at the issue more closely. However, this is clearly an issue that has migrated to the state level, and I think this is where the issue will be influenced by more personal and less abstract perspectives.

As for the CH piece on blogs and politics, he's clearly right. We already know more people are turning to blogs for information about everything. More importantly, people are turning to bloggers who share their world view as a more trusted source of information - call it the Fox News effect if you want, but it's real and that trend will only strengthen.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Interesting. My parents (NoVA residents) visited this past weekend, and we had a few political discussions. I haven't lived in or visited NoVA in a few years, but I can certainly understand why infrastructure and schools are becoming key issues for voters there.