With just over two weeks to go until Election Day, the economy is the number one issue driving voters in their decision making process for which candidates they will support. States that have been hardest hit during the Great Recession are proving to be the battleground this election cycle. If you look at the unemployment situations in Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, it’s not hard to see why voters want to change the direction of their leadership.
Democrats took control of Congress in the 2006 midterm elections. Since then, Democrats have controlled nearly all aspects of the Federal government. Over that period of time, they have been at the wheel of an economy that has taken a turn for the worst and does not appear to be turning around anytime soon.
In Michigan for example, the unemployment situation has increased from 6.8 percent in January of 2007, to 13.1 percent as of July 2010 — nearly doubling since Democrats have taken complete control of Congress.
Michigan voters are indicating that they have had enough with the failed policies of Big Government. According to the RealClearPolitics average of polls in the Michigan Governor’s race, the Republican candidate leads his Democrat opponent by a commanding 19 percent. Further, polling conducted in the once safe Democrat seat held by the Dingell family for nearly 75 years indicates that the GOP challenger could win the seat come November.
Next door in Ohio, the situation is no better for the Democrats. Unemployment has nearly doubled since the Democrats took control of both chambers of Congress while the state received nearly $8 billion in “stimulus” monies. Democrats on the campaign trail in Ohio do not have many successes on which to campaign while Ohio voters are wondering what happened to the jobs and what the “stimulus” actually did to fix the state.
While Obama won in Ohio in 2008, just two years later in 2010, it’s a much different story. An average of polls conducted thus far for the Ohio Senate race indicates that the GOP candidate leads his Democrat opponent by 17%. Also, should the GOP take control of the House, the next Speaker is expected to be John Boehner who represents Ohio’s 8th congressional district. Ohio has now proven to be a thorn in Obama’s and the Democrat’s side.
And just next door to Ohio in Pennsylvania, another story is unfolding which indicates just how far voters are going to change Congress and their leadership in their state. According to the RealClearPolitics averages of both the Senate and Governors races, the GOP candidates lead by nearly 8 percent and 12 percent in each race respectively. Obama won Pennsylvania in 2008 and is now facing a landslide defeat for his party there in 2010.
In case you were wondering why voters are upset in Pennsylvania, just look to the unemployment situation. Since January of 2007, the unemployment rate has increased by 5.1 percent — more than doubling the unemployment rate as a whole. Pennsylvania was also the recipient of nearly $8 billion in “stimulus” monies.
One thing is clear, no matter how much “stimulus” a state received, Democrats are being blamed for the poor economies in these three states and rightly so. As Obama is learning that the mood of the electorate can turn instantly, the GOP should be taking to heart the lessons of 2010 and put an end to the ever-expanding government that the Democrat congress of the past four years has unleashed. Enough is enough, and the American voters are saying so.
Adam Bitely is the Editor-in-Chief of NetRightDaily.com.
NRD Editors Note: This is a continuing series on the 2010 midterm elections. To read the first part in this series, click here.
