A GOP Disappointment in California

Republicans have real bragging rights to the election results in Virginia and New Jersey. But I’m still struck by how the National Republican Congressional Committee spun last night’s two congressional races by talking about the governor’s races, not NY-23 and CA-10. In California, a lot of conservatives saw an opportunity to beat a carpetbagging Democrat who was part of the unpopular state government — Lt. Gov. John Garamendi. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee endorsed Republican candidate David Harmer and had his HuckPAC volunteering and phone-banking for him. Polling suggested that Harmer was in spitting distance in a district that gave the Obama-Biden ticket 66 percent of the vote. Before the election, Michael Barone told me the results might not be known for three days after the election. In the end, Garamendi won by 10 points.