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Virginia exit poll.
Apparently last year was an anomaly. It is the morning after election day, and I find myself upset about the election results. This seems to be my norm, but I really enjoyed feeling upbeat and positive after last year's election. Not so much, this year.
I was looking at the exit poll for the Virginia gubernatorial election (linked above). The demographic numbers weren't really very surprising (though I would've expected the independent voters to be a little more evenly split). What surprised me, though, was the response to the question: "Which one issue mattered most in deciding how you voted for governor?". The overwhelming majority identified Economy/jobs as the most important issue.
Given all the news about the economy, I guess this shouldn't have surprised me. But I guess I'm fortunate to have a career that has insulated me from the economy. The economic downturn hasn't really had a meaningful impact on me, so it wasn't really an issue I gave much thought to. On the other hand, I have been growing increasingly frustrated by the growing transportation problems in this region, and the complete lack of reasonable response from our state leaders. For me solving our transportation crisis (and how to pay for it) was the critical issue. But this came in LAST in the exit poll.
Its a reminder that my experiences are far from the norm for Virginians. As an outlier, I need to step back and remember that all those voters in the rural regions of the state don't have to cope with horrendous traffic and resent being asked to pay to solve problems that they don't feel impact them. These are probably also the same voters who have felt the impact of the weak economy the most strongly. Once upon a time, I was one of those voters--as a voter in Upstate New York, I used to have similar attitudes regarding issues that involved New York City. Now I'm sitting on the other side, frustrated that the rest of the state is unwilling to address the growing problems in my region.
So, I'm not particularly happy with the outcome of the election, but I can take consolation in knowing that things will change. The Virginia Governor cannot run for re-election (a really weird term limit, IMO), so in four years we will elect someone else.
Apparently last year was an anomaly. It is the morning after election day, and I find myself upset about the election results. This seems to be my norm, but I really enjoyed feeling upbeat and positive after last year's election. Not so much, this year.
I was looking at the exit poll for the Virginia gubernatorial election (linked above). The demographic numbers weren't really very surprising (though I would've expected the independent voters to be a little more evenly split). What surprised me, though, was the response to the question: "Which one issue mattered most in deciding how you voted for governor?". The overwhelming majority identified Economy/jobs as the most important issue.
Given all the news about the economy, I guess this shouldn't have surprised me. But I guess I'm fortunate to have a career that has insulated me from the economy. The economic downturn hasn't really had a meaningful impact on me, so it wasn't really an issue I gave much thought to. On the other hand, I have been growing increasingly frustrated by the growing transportation problems in this region, and the complete lack of reasonable response from our state leaders. For me solving our transportation crisis (and how to pay for it) was the critical issue. But this came in LAST in the exit poll.
Its a reminder that my experiences are far from the norm for Virginians. As an outlier, I need to step back and remember that all those voters in the rural regions of the state don't have to cope with horrendous traffic and resent being asked to pay to solve problems that they don't feel impact them. These are probably also the same voters who have felt the impact of the weak economy the most strongly. Once upon a time, I was one of those voters--as a voter in Upstate New York, I used to have similar attitudes regarding issues that involved New York City. Now I'm sitting on the other side, frustrated that the rest of the state is unwilling to address the growing problems in my region.
So, I'm not particularly happy with the outcome of the election, but I can take consolation in knowing that things will change. The Virginia Governor cannot run for re-election (a really weird term limit, IMO), so in four years we will elect someone else.
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