On the GOP Virginia Sweep

The GOP sweep in Virginia, and a still-possible upset in New Jersey, recall their wins in those two states in 2009, prefiguring the GOP’s flipping the House in the 2010 midterms. Obamacare was nevertheless enacted in 2010, but Democrats had vastly larger congressional majorities. This is the final nail in the coffin for the Build Back Better Act, making it certain that there are insufficient votes among moderate House Dems who now have to appreciate their re-election risk heading into competitive midterms next year. Biden was elected with razor-thin congressional majorities with only one mandate: to not be Trump. But he hasn’t governed from the middle. This is a corrective, though it remains to be seen how he will respond. Heavily lagging in approval polls, Biden may seek an easy win: House approval of the bi-partisan infrastructure bill is his lowest-hanging fruit. It could happen quite quickly.