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A NEW PARADIGM?

WHAT DID WE LEARN LAST WEEK?

Liz Peek, is a columnist for FoxNews.com and The Fiscal Times.

“Well, if it wasn’t a wave, it sure was a shellacking. The GOP is now in control of the Senate, and of Obama’s last two years in the Oval office.

The midterm elections were a convincing repudiation of President Obama’s policies; they were also, for Democrats, a worrisome sign that the president’s fabled voter coalition has frayed badly. The question is – will blacks, Hispanics, single women and young people return to Democrats in 2016, or are those voters now up for grabs?

Though Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu (D) managed to force a run-off in December, barely hanging on to her seat, and incumbent Democrat Sen. Jeanne Shaheen beat former Senator Scott Walker in New Hampshire, GOP wins in Colorado, Kansas, Georgia, Iowa, South Dakota, Kentucky, Arkansas, North Carolina, and West Virginia certainly sent President Obama a message. As did Governor Scott Walker’s re-election in Wisconsin and Republican Rick Scott’s victory over Democrat Charlie Crist in Florida’s governor race.

The last contest in particular is a slap to Mr. Obama; the Crist campaign began airing a radio spot just the day before the election, in which the president encouraged black voters to vote. Apparently it had little impact.

Mr. Obama (and his wife) worked hard in the weeks leading up to the election to boost black turnout, considered essential in Florida, North Carolina, Louisiana and Georgia. That Republicans in those states either won or came close suggests that even blacks, who recently polled 85% in favor of the president, were uninspired.

Like blacks, women appear to have defected from the president’s party. It turns out – thank heavens – that women are not one-issue voters after all. In Kentucky, for instance, Senate Minority leader Mitch McConnell made the election all about coal – and the gender gap disappeared, even though his challenger was female — Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes. (Not to mention just 35 years old.)”

READ: http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2014/11/05/voters-reject-obama-are-single-women-blacks-hispanics-and-young-now-up-for/

BIO: Liz Peek spent over 20 years on Wall Street, most of them as a top-ranked research analyst. After managing her firm’s entrance into international research and foray into the market for U.S. equities in Japan, she became Wertheim & Company’s first female partner.

FOX COLUMNS: http://www.foxnews.com/archive/author/liz-peek/index.html

FT COLUMNS: http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Authors/P/Liz-Peek

TWITTER: @lizpeek

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