Tea Party

The Rebirth of the New England GOP (Or Something Approximating It)

By Jay Newton-Small | @JNSmall | November 3, 2010 | +

In 2006 and 2008 Democrats wiped out every New England House Republican and with the departure (from the Party and then the Senate) of Vermont’s Jim Jeffords, and John Sununu and Lincoln Chafee’s losses at the polls, GOP senators looked endangered as well. Pundits talked about how New England was turning permanently blue and how it was only a matter of time before Maine Senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, and New Hampshire’s Judd Gregg, would not be far behind.

Then came Scott Brown in Massachusetts. And the door has been cracked open for a new breed of New England Republicans and some of them look a lot like the old breed of New England Republicans. Charlie Bass, the former chairman of the Republican Main Street Partnership – the near-extinct moderate House Republicans – won back his seat tonight by a slim margin, 49% to Democrat Ann Kuster’s 46%. And Kelly Ayotte, who narrowly beat back a Tea Party primary challenge, won the Senate seat being vacated by Gregg. Proof the moderate New England Republican isn’t dead.

That said, Lincoln Chafee was back on the ballot this cycle, but this time running for governor of Rhode Island. And not as a Republican but and Independent. He won with 36% of the vote in a bitter three-way race, proving that if there isn’t space for a moderate in the Republican Party, there is support for a centrist Independent amongst Rhode Island voters.

But there’s also a new breed of New England Republican emerging. Former Manchester Mayor Frank Guinta, a staunch conservative on social and economic issues and a Tea Party darling, beat Dem incumbent Carol Shea Porter.

Still, Democrat Richard Blumenthal turned back Linda McMahon’s millions in the race to fill Chris Dodd’s Senate seat in Connecticut. New Hampshire Governor John Lynch, a Democrat, won a surprise fourth turn in the face of massive GOP and outside spending to the tune of $1 million a week. Deval Patrick kept the Massachusetts’s gubernatorial mansion. And the Bay State kept all 10 of its House seats, even when a few were in danger. So, while the GOP made some obvious gains in New England this cycle, it’s clear it’s still an uphill battle for them in this blue corner compared to other parts of the country.

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Related Topics: charlie bass, deval patrick, frank guinta, john lynch, kelly ayotte, lincoln chafee, new england, richard Blumenthal, 2012 Election, Congress, Republican Party, State Governments, Tea Party

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  • deconstructiva

    Thanks, Jay. Still awake? But is this really a neo-R movement forming or just localized spots? Even in red states like Alaska, etc. progressives exist and now and then they’ll pull off a victory (like Begich), so does the opposite apply here? More importantly, which of you swampers will pull an all-nighter to feed us AK and CO updates?

  • gysgt213

    “Proof the moderate New England Republican isn’t dead.”

    .
    Yay! But I predict that a lot of these moderates will be tripping over themselves moving to the right.

  • stuartzechman

    Jay Newton-Small:
    .
    “Proof the moderate New England Republican isn’t dead.”
    .
    “Moderate” WHAT?

  • Ike Jakson

    The way I see it a label of being [so-called] moderate, conservative or any other label remains a label.

    A win is a win. And Bah bah bah…. Jay, won’t change that simple fact. Words or headlines don’t change that either. The GOP won this round.

    Bah bah bah will remain bah bah bah too.

  • newfreedomblog

    “So, while the GOP made some obvious gains in New England this cycle, it’s clear it’s still an uphill battle for them in this blue corner compared to other parts of the country.”

    .
    You are kidding, right JNS? In a DARK blue State like Massachusetts you are celebrating a “victory”.
    .
    Even a blind squirrel can find an acorn, once in awhile”

  • http://shortplaysaboutrealpeople.wordpress.com Michael Maiello

    On what planet is Kelly Ayotte a moderate? She’s a doctrinaire Republican who opposes stem cell research, abortion rights and same sex marriage while she supports tax cuts for corporations and wealthier individuals. Those stances are of course defensible by those who believe in them, but they aren’t moderate stances.

  • kathy

    Although this isn’t final yet, it appears that in Vermont the Democrat will take back the governor’s seat from the Republicans.

    I know we’re a tiny state and not worth mentioning, but our politicians tend to have influence beyond our size, so this is not a small deal.

  • textee

    Newton-Small:

    What happened to your two hapless candidates for the U.S. Senate in Florida, to wit: Charlie “Thirty Percent” Crist and Kendrick “Twenty Percent” Meek?

    If a Martian only read Time magazine before today, he’d have thought that “Thirty Percent” or “Twenty Percent” would have surely won.

    Good luck pimping for those incumbent Reid/Obama Democrats running in 2012.

  • centfan

    Lincoln Chafee had more Democratic support than the Democratic candidate. Connecticut, home of money and corporations, stayed almost a blue as Mass. Having Linda “Grizzly” McMahon’s 50+ million dollar inauguration float (I loved the way she used kids with cancer as a human shield) derailed by a somewhat charmless “cowardly” vet that nobody should respect didn’t count as a bigger hiccup in your neat narrative?
    -
    I’ll bet in 2012 the Senate goes Republican and the House goes Democratic. No true right winger will win the Presidency and no non-right winger will survive the primary process… so Obama stays in the White House. Write it down. My narrative is just as good as any looping logic you’ll write about for the next two years.

  • jordancfan

    Election 2012 Tee Of At The Boston Tea Party On Halloween.

    Author: Jordan C. Fan, Prophet of Environmental.

    范楚漳，保護 環境先知。

    This Halloween, the Pirates of the Caribbean somehow managed to steal the ghost ship – “The Black’s Pearl” and sailed to the U. S. S. Constitution at the Boston harbor. The ghost pirates then dumped all those “black” tea cargo into the Atlantic Ocean. The Democrats lost not only as a result this 2010 – 2012 GOP golf match tee off at the Tea Party but also because of Obama mishandling of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Asking B. P. to pay $20 billion had deeply offended and insulted the only remaining major American ally, Great Britain. The lesson is:

    if you were going “trick or treat” at Number 10 Downing Street, London be careful about Jack the Ripper standing behind you with his sharp razor. He will give you something more than a close shave.

  • jordancfan

    Election 2012 Tee Of At The Boston Tea Party On Halloween. (continue)

    Author: Jordan C. Fan, Prophet of Environmental.
    范楚漳，保護 環境先知。

    Even Tiger Woods could not save the day!

  • jordancfan

    United States Election 2012 Tee Of At The Boston Tea Party On Halloween.
    .
    Author: Jordan C. Fan, Prophet of Environmental.
    .
    范楚漳，環境先知。
    .
    The Ripper will invit those “tricker or treaters” to this gravity defining, forever out of Earth, Tea Party at Mary Poppin’s haunted house in London where her china will continue to rise.
    .
    More U. S. election news will follow until year 2012 or afterward. As usual, My news reporting is very simple and precise. It is journalism at its very best!
    .

  • jordancfan

    United States Election 2012 Tee Of At The Boston Tea Party On Halloween.

    (Complete Version November 3, 2010)
    .
    Author: Jordan C. Fan, Prophet of Environmental.
    .
    范楚漳，環境先知.
    .
    This Halloween, the Pirates of the Caribbean somehow managed to steal the ghost ship – “The Black’s Pearl” and sailed to the U. S. S. Constitution at the Boston harbor. The ghost pirates then dumped all those black tea cargo into the Atlantic Ocean. The Democrats lost not only as a result of this 2010 – 2012 GOP golf match tee off at the Tea Party but also because of Obama mishandling of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Even Tiger Woods could not save the day. Treating the Saudi with $60 billion of weapons sale, Obama
    has offended the Jews. Then, asking B. P. to pay a $20 billion fine had deeply offended and insulted the only remaining major American allies, Great Britain and Israel. The lesson is:
    .
    If you were going “trick or treat” at Number 10 Downing Street, London be careful about Jack the Ripper standing behind you with his sharp razor. He will give you something more than a close shave. The Ripper will invite you to this gravity defying, forever out of Earth, Tea Party at Mary Poppin’s haunted house in London where her china will continue to rise.
    .
    More U. S. election news will follow until year 2012 and after.

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