Democrats say election losses give new urgency to agenda

WASHINGTON —

Blaming election setbacks on a drop in voter enthusiasm, congressional Democrats said Wednesday that losses in governors' races in Virginia and New Jersey — and a striking House win in New York — should give new urgency to their legislative agenda, including a sweeping health-care overhaul.

As they assessed the results, Democratic lawmakers and party strategists said their judgment was that voters remained uneasy about the economy and did not see Democrats producing on the health, energy and national-security changes they promised when voters swept them to power only a year ago.

"Most of us ran on that," said Rep. Gerald Connolly, D-Va. and president of the party's freshman class. "We must deliver. I need to give Democrats something to be excited about."

Democrats face the political dilemma that has dogged their health-care efforts this year and will continue to face tough choices as they take up issues such as curbing global warming.

Should they concentrate on motivating their core supporters, many of whom appeared to stay away from the polls in New Jersey and Virginia, by taking a more liberal approach, for example by embracing a public-health-insurance option?

Or do they try to write health, energy and fiscal policies that can attract independents, who broke for Republicans in Tuesday's voting, to protect more moderate Democrats in conservative districts where spending and the rising debt are top worries?

"We have to do something, but it has to be right," said Rep. Frank Kratovil Jr., a first-term Maryland Democrat who won his seat away from a Republican last year. "My biggest concern is cost. The impact on the deficit is a real problem."

Republicans portrayed the election outcome as a repudiation of Democratic policies and predicted significant congressional gains next year despite Tuesday's loss in a longtime House Republican stronghold in upstate New York.

"If we can continue to stand on principle and oppose these liberal policies and show the American people that we have better solutions that are common sense solutions, we are going to do fine," said Rep. John Boehner of Ohio, the Republican leader.

He predicted Democrats, fearing for their political futures, would press the leadership to rethink the party's direction.

Yet several Democratic lawmakers said the election could have the opposite result and spur Democrats on in an effort to recapture the coalition of young, minority, urban and suburban Democrats and independents who were central to the 2008 election victories.

"I think the issues of health care and energy independence are important issues the president has outlined early on, and those are issues we ought to focus on," said Rep. Allen Boyd, a centrist Florida Democrat.

Positive signs

From a congressional perspective, Tuesday was a positive night for Democrats as they retained a California seat in a special election and picked up the seat in upstate New York, partly as a result of a Republican Party feud.

The winner of that race, Bill Owens, has assured Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California he will support the party's health-care proposal that could reach the floor this weekend, aides said.

Owens and John Garamendi, a California Democrat who won a House seat in the Bay Area vacated by a Democrat, could be sworn in today, bringing the party breakdown in the House to 258-177 in favor of Democrats, a net increase of one. Next year, all 435 House seats will be contested, as will 36 Senate seats, 18 now held by each party.

While not discounting the Republican wins in Virginia and New Jersey, Democrats said the New York and California House races were the only contests that centered on congressional issues and Democrats won both despite months of Republican attacks on the legislative priorities of President Obama and congressional Democrats.

"The governors of Virginia and New Jersey don't have a vote on the Obama agenda," said Rep. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

Bad night in Virginia

Yet there were ominous signs for congressional Democrats in the results, notably in Virginia, where Democrats picked up three Republican seats last year and acknowledge that they will have difficulty holding on to them. Republicans noted that in two of those freshman districts, the Republican victor for governor, Robert McDonnell, won by a more than 20-point margin.

"The election in New York may provide a momentary victory for Democrats, but the results in two gubernatorial contests tell us more about what 2010 holds in store for the party in power," said Rep. Pete Sessions of Texas, chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee.

In the Senate, some Democrats said the voting Tuesday was likely to give some lawmakers from more conservative parts of the country further pause in considering how to vote on health care.

But Democrats in both chambers said their views on how to vote on the issue were being shaped by multiple factors and the election results would play little role.

"My decision is based on the substance of the bill and how it affects my constituents and nothing else," said Boyd, the Florida Democrat.

Material from McClatchy Newspapers is included in this report.