Election Night 2011: A Mixed Bag for Conservatives

◼ Election Day 2011: What to Watch For - Guy Benson/Townhall
◼ Election Night 2011: A Mixed Bag for Conservatives - Guy Benson/Townhall

Ohio: As expected -- and lamentably -- Gov. John Kasich's landmark collective bargaining reform law has gone down in flames, thanks to a well-funded and relentless program of demagoguery by Buckeye State Democrats and public sector unions. The margin isn't close; as of this writing, it stands at 61-39 to overturn the law. This is a satisfying, but unsustainable, victory for the Left. They may have beaten back an evil conservative law, but a fiscal reckoning still awaits. The math doesn't go away, even if the law does. What liberals won't mention is that there was another significant item on the ballot today: A referendum on Obamacare's tent-pole individual mandate. Ohioans' rebuke of Obamacare is shaping up to be even more overwhelming than the Issue 2 tally. Right now the margin in favor of the anti-Obamacare measure is 66-34. This is the second major swing-state repudiation of Obamacare since it was enacted last March.

Virginia: What a bloodbath in the House of Delegates. Republicans will emerge from tonight with at least a 2/3 majority, having picked up a minimum of 6 seats, if not 7 or 8. To add insult to injury, they also knocked off the Democratic Minority Leader in District 9.

Mississippi: Republican Phil Bryant handily won the Governor's mansion, which is being vacated by the term-limited Gov. Haley Barbour. A GOP hold. A human life "personhood" referendum also failed in this solidly pro-life state. Some liberals are excited about this development, but many major pro-life groups actually opposed the measure.