Few individuals benefited more politically from Tuesday's results
than Mark Warner:
It might not mean much, but it's worth noting that of all putative '08 presidentials, only VA Gov. Mark Warner (D) helped bring a winner home on Tuesday.
Ex-NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R) made ads for NJ GOP Gov nominee Doug Forrester, who lost. AZ Sen. John McCain (R) traveled to nearby CA and made ads for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's initiatives, all of which went down in defeat. NY Sen. Hillary Clinton (D) campaigned for NYC Dem mayoral candidate Freddie Ferrer, who was trounced by GOP Mayor Mike Bloomberg.
In addition, Biden, Clark, Kerry, Richardson, and Bayh stumped for Manchester Mayor Bob Baines, who ended up being one of the few Democrats ousted by a Republican on Tuesday. (Chrstie Vilsack helped out as well.)
So NASCAR Warner didn't just manage to win the governorship, but he has helped grow the state's Democratic Party. Kaine, in many ways, ran a more liberal campaign than Warner ever did, and still managed to win his Red state. Dems also made small gains in the the legislature. This wasn't just a triumph of personality (Warner has gaudy approval ratings in VA and could've easily won reelection if his state didn't prohibit it), but a triumph of the Democratic Party brand in a state that's now objectively trending our way.
In short, Warner gave the voters of his state a reason to vote Democratic, rather than vote against Republicans.
And now my wife, an unabashed Hillary fan, is suddenly favoring Warner for 2008. That was highly unexpected.