More often than not, independents tend to make or break an election for either the Democrats or Republicans – more often than not the Democrats. Monday night found that the independent vote loomed big in Virginia and New Jersey as both states had gubernatorial seats up for grabs.

In Virginia, it was Creigh Deeds against Bob McDonnell while in New Jersey, incumbent governor Jon Corzine was up agaisnt Chris Christie; on a smaller scale but no less important was a Congressional seat in the 23rd District of New York state, which had Bill Owens going against the Conservative Party candidate Bill Hoffman.

The end results of the elections? Let’s just say that the GOP made some progress with the 2010 elections right around the corner. As was probably expected, McDonnell won big over Deeds in the Virginia race while Christie edged Corzine in the New Jersey gubernatoirial race. Meanwhile, Bill Owens – a Democrat – defeated Hoffman; and rest assured, the independent vote played no small part in the aforementioned candidates’ victories.

The Virginia and New Jersey election results will no doubtfeed into discussion about the electorate, the status of of the diverse grouping that sent Barack Obama to the White House and the limits – or lack thereof – of the influence that Obama has, especially on the Democratic Party’s base of support and on moderate current lawmakers that he needs to advance his legislative agenda.

Seems to me that Obama’s sphere of influence has been weakened as he personally campaigned for both Deeds and Corzine, yet that didn’t seal the deal as voters rejected them. Now on the election front, the losses by Deeds and Corzine magnify problems Obama faces as he looks to achieve his policy goals, attempt to protect Democratic majorities in Congress and expand his party’s grip on governorships in next year’s elections.

Interestingly enough, an Associated Press poll indicated that nearly one-third of voters in Virginia described themselves as independents while New Jersey nearly matched that percentage; these voters preferred McDonnell over Deeds by a 2-to-1 margin while Christie was preferred over Corzine by a smaller margin.

Voters, while most concerned about local andstate issues, kept in mind the national issues, such as the economy. Attitudes were shaped with to some degree by how people feel about the current state of the nation. And these voters’ attitudes will loom large.

One must remember that the stakes went up markedly as moderate districts and swing states such as Ohio, Colorado and Nevada will loom large during the 2010 mid-term elections. In 2010, most governors, a third of the U.S. Senate and all members of the House of Representatives will be on the ballots.

If anything came out of this, it would be that Obama’s influence is waning and that the independent vote will be of key importance when the 2010 election cycle arrives. And any future actions by Obama will greatly influence the election results come November of 2010.

This is only the beginning folks. Regardless of what the Democratic talking heads and pundits spin on the talk shows and news programs, it is safe to say that the GOP is on the comeback trail, and Virginia and New Jersey were just the beginning.

Photo: AP