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3 Races Seen As Referendum on President Obama

UPDATED - November 03, 2009 12:18pm

WASHINGTON - One year after voters put Barack Obama in the White House, many Republicans are saying 2009 is their year and they're fired up . "If they can win in battleground Virginia, in New Jersey, New York, they’ll be in a whole different place than they did after Obama had his big sweep," said Politico’s Mike Allen. Republicans are counting on a voter backlash to give them the 3 and 0 victory. Republican Bob McDonnell is favored to win by a comfortable margin in Virginia. New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine is facing a tough reelection battle, with polls showing a tossup in the three-way contest. Analysts say the outcome is a verdict on Obama's political agenda. "You can bet that on Wednesday there are going to be people on either side saying this is a referendum, particularly if the Democrats lose all three of the races," said ABC News Washington Bureau Chief George Stephanopoulos. The third closely watched race is a special election in New York's 23rd Congressional district. The race took a bizarre turn when a conservative candidate launched a third-party challenge to the Republican nominee. Then the Republican, Dede Scozzafava, pulled out and endorsed her former Democratic rival. Some Democrats say the move exposes a split in the Republican party, while many conservatives are claiming victory. "The big story coming out of here is that conservatives won, they ousted the republican-backed candidate from that race, and now you have energy an uncontrollable energy out among those activists,” said Politico’s Jim VandeHei. While it may be considered a political off year, the outcome of the hotly contested races will weigh heavily on how Democrats and Republicans fare in 2010 and 2012. Attention will also be focused on Maine, where voters will have their say on whether to uphold a law that allows same-sex couples to legally wed. If the measure passes, it would be the first state referendum to approve gay marriage.

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