It’s been a year since Americans have gone to the polls, but as they do on Tuesday President Barack Obama may be less excited than he was last year, particularly in Virginia and New Jersey where his fellow Democrats are facing trouble.

Republicans are hoping to capture the governors’ mansions in those two states to rebuild some momentum after being trounced by Democrats last year. They also are trying to make it a referendum against Obama’s agenda to overhaul the U.S. healthcare system and financial regulatory structure as well as his plans to address climate change.

In Virginia where Obama won narrowly in 2008, Republican Bob McDonnell has built a sizable lead over Democrat Creigh Deeds while in traditionally Democratic-leaning New Jersey Republican Chris Christie is neck and neck with Democratic incumbent Governor Jon Corzine.

Obama has campaigned for both of his fellow Democrats but that may not be enough for them to win.

While Republicans are salivating at their prospects in those two races, Democrats are eyeing a congressional race in upstate New York to replace a Republican lawmaker who became Obama’s Army secretary. Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman was barely ahead of Democrat Bill Owens in the traditionally Republican district.

After tremendous infighting, the Republican candidate, Dede Scozzafava, withdrew from the race and endorsed the Democrat, highlighting the rift between moderates and the conservatives of the Republican party.

Elsewhere, the Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Markets Committee begins a two-day meeting this morning to discuss interest rate policy and whether the U.S. economy is starting to build its own momentum towards a recovery.

And the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee will begin working on a climate change bill, but unhappy Republicans are threatening to boycott the session.

- Photo credit: Reuters/Jonathan Ernst (Obama returns from a campaign trip to New Jersey)

Are Democrats trying to soften the blow for President Barack Obama if the Democratic candidate for Virginia governor, Creigh Deeds, loses in the November elections?

The Washington Post thinks so. It says in a front page story that top Democrats sense that Deeds is likely to lose in the key swing state so they’re trying to distance Obama from him.

The article cites senior administration officials who are frustrated with the way Deeds has handled his campaign, saying he refused some strategic advice. They also say he did not reach out to some key constituencies that helped Obama win Virginia in the 2008 presidential race — the first time in decades that a Democrat won in that state.

A senior administration official said Deeds badly erred on several fronts, including not doing a better job of coordinating with the White House. “I understood in the beginning why there was some reluctance to run all around the state with Barack Obama,” said the official, who spoke to the newspaper on condition of anonymity in order to speak candidly about the race. “You don’t do that in Virginia. But when you consider the African American turnout that they need, and then when you consider as well they’ve got a huge problem with surge voters, younger voters, we were just a natural for them.”

So will this prep work help shield Obama from any fallout if the Democrat does not win the Virginia governorship?

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Photo credit: Reuters/Jim Young (Obama campaigns with Deeds)

No major events are on the calendar today in the Federal City, but on the other side of the Potomac River there’s plenty to chew over.

Virginia Democrats on Tuesday night picked State Sen. Creigh Deeds, an unpolished moderate from the rural Shenandoah Valley, over better-funded rivals in the state’s gubernatorial primary.

This normally wouldn’t be big news, but the Virginia governor’s race is sure to get lots of national scrutiny as one of only two major electoral contests this year (along with the New Jersey governor’s race).

Virginia, long a bastion of conservative politics, has turned blue this decade. The state has elected two Democratic governors in a row, backed Obama in last year’s presidential race, and is now represented by two Democrats in the Senate.

Much of this shift has been driven by rapid population growth in the affluent Washington suburbs, where voters have more in common with liberal New Yorkers than conservative Southerners. Thus it’s interesting to note that Deeds, who hails from a sparsely populated, conservative area, defeated two better-funded, more liberal candidates who call Northern Virginia home — former Democratic party (and Clinton ally) Terry McAuliffe and state Delegate Brian Moran.

Deeds will face Republican Robert McDonnell in the November election. The two have faced off before: McDonnell beat Deeds by a mere 323 votes in the attorney general’s race four years ago.

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REUTERS/Chris Wattie      Terry McAuliffe waves at 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver

The year after a presidential election, there’s typically few electoral contests on the calendar as politicians focus on getting some work done so they’ll have something to brag about to voters during the next election.

The few races that do occur tend to be heavily scrutinized as pundits look for something to chew over in the slow period before next year’s congressional midterms.

Today, Democrats in Virginia go to the polls to pick a candidate for the governor’s mansion, as incumbent Tim Kaine is constitutionally limited to one term. On the Republican side, Robert McDonnell faces no opposition for his party’s nomination.

Virginia, formerly solid red, is now a swing state that has elected successive Democratic governors and backed Democrat Barack Obama in last year’s presidential race.

All eyes are on Terry McAuliffe, a former Democratic National Committee chairman who headed Hillary Clinton’s failed presidential bid last year.

McAuliffe has deep pockets and a high national profile and has emphasized economic issues. But he has not played a role in state politics before, and his ties to Clinton could actually be a detriment — Obama beat her in the state’s bruising February 2009 presidential primary.

The other two candidates are less known nationally but have deeper roots in the state.

State Sen. Creigh Deeds, from the Shenandoah Valley, hopes to appeal to rural voters with a moderate record and a pro-gun stance.

Former state delegate Brian Moran, who hails from Alexandria, has run as a liberal who backs gay rights and opposes a new coal power plant.

Polls are inconclusive and turnout is expected to be light, so those pundits should probably not read too much into the result.

Voting ends at 7 p.m.

photo: REUTERS/Chris Wattie (McAuliffe at the 2008 Democratic convenion in Denver)

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WASHINGTON – New Democratic Party head Tim Kaine wants to continue to win territory from Republicans, but he’s not ready to guarantee victory in George W. Bush’s home state.

As he took control of the Democratic National Committee from outgoing chairman Howard Dean on Wednesday, Kaine said he would continue Dean’s “50 State Strategy” to win votes in conservative places like Idaho and Utah.

“We will never again be a party that writes off states or regions or people,” Kaine said. “The 50 state strategy is now and forever what Democrats do.”

Kaine noted that was among the strategy’s first beneficiaries when he ran for Virginia governor in 2005.

But he declined to match Dean’s prediction that President Barack Obama will carry Texas when he runs for re-election in 2012. Obama lost Texas to Republican John McCain by 11 percentage points in the November election.

“I’m kind of more of the say-you’re-an-underdog-everywhere-and-sneak-up-on-people (school), rather than tell them you’re going to win, but I will say this: the trends in Texas are very positive,” Kaine told reporters.

Dean’s party-building in conservative areas helped Democrats win sweeping victories in 2006 and 2008, even though some Democrats – including Obama’s chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel – viewed the strategy as a waste of money.

Both Dean and Emanuel are known to be prickly personalities. Dean was conspicuously out of the country when Obama announced two weeks ago that Kaine would succeed him as head of the Democratic National Committee, a move that some Dean supporters described as disrespectful.

But both Kaine and Dean had kind words to say about each other at the meeting on Wednesday.

“I feel like I’m taking over from someone who just won 3 Super Bowls in a row,” Kaine said.

Among Kaine’s first tests will be governor’s races in New Jersey and his home state this fall. State law prohibits Kaine from running for a second term as governor.

But he will remain in the governor’s mansion through next January – an arrangement that has stirred criticism from Republicans in the state. Kaine said he will mostly work on DNC matters on weekends until the state legislature adjourns at the end of February.

Republicans elect their new party chairman next week.

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Photo credit: REUTERS/Jim Young (Obama introduces Kaine at DNC headquarters, Jan.

WASHINGTON - Democrats scored their first pickup in the U.S. Senate, taking the Virginia seat being vacated by retiring John Warner — but that doesn’t necessarily mean Democrats will win the state in the presidential race.

The popular former governor Democrat Mark Warner is projected to beat another former governor, Republican Jim Gilmore, according to the television networks. Gilmore was trailing by double-digits throughout much of the campaign.

Political experts have said that Warner’s victory could help Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama beat rival Republican John McCain in a state that hasn’t voted for a Democrat since 1964.

So far, as of 7:25 p.m., McCain was ahead 61 percent to 37.6 percent but less than one percent of the precincts have reported.

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- Photo credit: Reuters/Molly Riley (Warner with his wife at a polling station in Alexandria, Va.)

WASHINGTON - Election Day is finally here, the final opinion polls are in and now it’s time for Americans to make their way to the voting booth — but will weather be a factor?

According to the latest forecast maps, most of the country will not have adverse weather conditions, but there could be rain showers in two battleground states.

Good weather historically has helped Democrats.

Virginia, which has voted Republican since 1964, is now a toss-up state between Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama and will likely see showers most of the day stretching from Newport News north to the suburbs outside Washington, D.C., and west toward Roanoke.

Parts of North Carolina, a state that has been leaning slightly toward McCain, will experience showers during the morning.

Meanwhile Florida, Ohio, Missouri and Pennsylvania, all battleground states critical to a McCain victory, should be clear. Other key states like Colorado and New Mexico, where Obama hopes to help his cause, are not expected to have bad weather.

Out West, Weather.com reported that showers are expected in Portland, Oregon, and Seattle.

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- Photo credit: Reuters/Joe Skipper (Voters in Boca Raton, Fla. line up to vote on Tuesday)

WASHINGTON - A slew of new state polls released on Wednesday showed some shift in momentum toward Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama and away from Republican rival John McCain.

CNN/Time Magazine/Opinion Research Corp. released polls for five battleground states — Florida, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada and Virginia — that showed Obama ahead among likely voters in all of them, though still within the margin of error in four.

Obama held a 51 percent to 47 percent lead in both Florida and Nevada, a 53 percent to 44 percent lead in Virginia, a 54 percent to 43 percent advantage in Minnesota and a narrow 49 percent to 48 percent edge in Missouri.

CNN said its previous surveys of those states had showed McCain was up in Nevada, Virginia and Missouri. And previously in Florida the two were tied and in Minnesota Obama was up two points.

Meanwhile, new polls by Quinnipiac University in three key states also showed a small uptick in support for Obama after last week’s presidential debate.

In Florida, Obama’s lead grew to 51 percent to 43 percent, from 49 percent to 43 percent before the debate.

In Ohio, Obama was up 50 percent to 42 percent, versus 49 percent to 42 percent prior to the debate. Remember, no Republican has won the White House without the state.

And finally in Pennsylvania, where Obama has struggled a bit, he widened his lead to 54 percent to 39 percent from before the debate when he was up 49 percent to 43 percent. 

A McCain spokeswoman, when asked about Obama’s jump in a handful of polls, stressed that the Arizona senator was an underdog in the race and that it was a difficult year for Republicans.

(additional reporting by Jeff Mason)

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- Photo credits: Reuters/Brian Snyder (McCain at the Harry S. Truman presidential library); Jason Reed (Obama at a rally in La Crosse, Wisc.)

FAIRFAX, Va. - It was Republican John McCain’s turn on Wednesday to relish the kind rock-star treatment usually associated with his Democratic rival, Barack Obama, in the tightening race for the White House.

Under burning sunshine at a park in a suburb outside Washington, D.C., McCain and his newly minted running-mate Sarah Palin drew a crowd of approximately 23,000, which his campaign said was his biggest on the presidential trail.

Campaigns are notorious for inflating crowd estimates. But a McCain’s aide stressed the number was the real thing — provided by a fire marshal no less.

It could very well be accurate. Supporters by the thousands poured onto the grassy slopes of Fairfax’s Van Dyke Park waving blue and yellow McCain-Palin placards and chanting slogans (“Sarah, Sarah, Sarah” ranks among the loudest). Some chastised the media for “picking on” Palin.

The pair did not diverge from speeches they’ve delivered all week, almost to a word, threading a folksy narrative of their lives with the bread-and-butter assertions of their campaign: the Iraq war can be won, drilling for oil in the United States to secure energy independence and that their ticket would bring reform to Washington.

Much of the crowd was a sea of red shirts, courtesy of the Virginia Republican Party, which exhorted on its Web site for supporters to wear red, the party’s color, to keep the battleground state Republican.

After backing President George W, Bush in the 2000 and 2004 elections, Virginia is now a swing state, according to an average of statewide polls by Real Clear Politics which has McCain up a slender 0.7 percent in the state.

The growing turnout at McCain’s events has followed his surprise pick of the little-known Alaska governor as his vice-presidential nominee. Attesting to her draw, one supporter shouted her name holding aloft a sign that read “Palin power”. 

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- Photo credit: Reuters/Jason Reed

ARLINGTON, Va. - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama likes his chances in the White House battle with Republican John McCain, telling a fundraising reception the odds of his winning are “very good.”
    
“Let’s face it, there weren’t too many people who thought we were going to pull this off,” Obama told a fundraiser attended by about 40 people on Monday in Arlington, Virginia, in the suburbs of Washington.
    
“We are now in a position where the odds of us winning are very good. But it is still going to be difficult.”
    
Obama said he was pleased with his trip to Europe and the Middle East — “we executed very well” — but did not expect it to give him a big bump in polls.
    
He said people were still evaluating his candidacy because he was a new face in national politics.
    
“I don’t look like any presidential candidate America has ever seen,” said Obama, the son of a black African father and white mother from Kansas who spent part of his youth in Indonesia.
    
“It’s not just a function of race, it’s background, experience, resume — this is new for them, and new for us as a country,” he said. He expects a close race to the end.
    
“We’re not going to see some huge gap develop, some huge separation develop between now and Nov. 4,” he said. “This is going to be a close election for a long time because I’m new on the national scene. 

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