From Maine to Connecticut, I find it hard to see how the Republican party's night could possibly have gone worse.
Barack Obama carried all 33 of New England's electoral votes. At the senate level, Democrats won races in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. Bernie Sanders, a socialist independent who caucuses with the Democrats, won Vermont. And Angus King, a more moderate independent who is widely seen (including by those pumping money into that race) as closer to Democrats than Republicans won Maine's senate seat. New Hampshire did not vote this cycle.
At the House level, Democrats won all twenty-one seats including a Massachusetts seat where the incumbent's in-laws had run an illegal gambling ring.
At the state level, Democrats won the two governorships, New Hampshire and Vermont, contested this year. They gained control of both houses of the Maine and New Hampshire state legislatures, while holding those in the other four states.
Some say this is because New England is a liberal region – and recently this has been true. But not always. In 1936, Maine and Vermont were the only states to vote for Republican Alf Landon over Franklin Roosevelt. Reagan swept New England twice, and Carter and Dukakis both lost Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Connecticut.
Nor can this be blamed on racial demographics; Maine, Vermont, and New Hampshire are three of the whitest states in the union, and the other three are all whiter than the national average. I don't know what the difference is between New England and the rest of the country that makes us so strongly democratic - education? religion?
But I couldn't be happier about results in this part of the country. I donated a few bucks and volunteered a couple hours for Warren, and I'm thrilled to see her, three other strong progressives, and a sensible moderate going to the senate from this region (and zero republicans) along with all 21 democratic seats in the house.
We swept it here. I'm proud to be a New Englander today. Time to celebrate. :D
