They say that everything always looks better after the fact.  The Monday morning quarterback scenario is always easier than the actual game.  So, let’s quarterback and look at yesterday’s elections.

Last night, as I was trying desperately to fall asleep, I was listening to various pundits talk about what had happened.  The NY 23rd congressional district had fallen to a democrat.  No one truly knows the last time this seat had not been republican.  The republican candidate had withdrawn from the race on Saturday and still garnered 6% of the vote.  The race was decided by 4%.  It is possible that there would have been a different outcome had the republican candidate withdrawn earlier.  There is no way to know for sure, though.

More importantly, in my mind and in the mouths of many pundits last night, were the two gubernatorial races that come the year after any presidential election.  In both the case of NJ and Virginia, the sitting governors were democrats.  In the the case of Virginia, the sitting governor was not seeking re-election.  In both these states, the democratic candidate lost.

All night you could hear, I am talking after midnight as I was not near a television until them, the question, “Which was more important – the NY 23rd going democratic or NJ and VA going republican?”  Most people agree that the NY 23rd is not as important.  Number one, the person will only serve a one year term.  Number two, the election was abnormal.

Locally, the biggest elections in my area were the vote by Johnson City to dissolve the village and the mayor of Binghamton.  The Johnson City dissolution vote is hanging by a thread – one vote difference with over 200 absentee ballots to be counted.  The mayor’s race in Binghamton has the top two vote getters separated by 61 votes with over 500 absentee ballots out.

Election day may be the first day in November but that is not always when elections are decided.