Rejoice Republicans! (for once...)

Yesterday, voters in the MN district 28B went out in record numbers to vote in the special election to replace former Republican leader Steve Sviggum.

Despite the fact that:

- Republicans were pummeled in 2006
- Drazkowski, the Republican candidate, had been charged with beating his daughter and had issues with child support
- State Senator Dick Day had a record of speaking out against Drazkowski
- The Democrat most likely outspent the Republican
- The Star Tribune endorsed the Democrat two days before the election

Drazkowski won the election with nearly 53% of the vote overall, and a demanding lead of 15 points in Goodhue county.

Although the Democrats are claiming they gained ground because Drazkowski did not gain as many votes as Sviggum had in 2006, there are important signs of optimism for Republicans from this race:

Conservatism is alive and well- Steve Drazkowski took conservative stands on most issues, and because this election was the only item on the ballot (with the exception of Kenyon), it shows a mandate for conservative reform in St. Paul.

Democrats can no longer count on negative campaigning to win elections- Democrat nominee Linda Pfeilsticker ran a mostly negative campaign, focusing on Draz's rough divorce and dropped charges of child abuse. In the end, voters looked past his baggage and entrusted him to succeed Sviggum because he was willing to take stands on issues while Pfeilsticker avoided giving direct answers to most questions.

The tide is turning- and it's coming back to the right. Focusing on issues like illegal immigration and same-sex health benefits, this race showed that the Iraq War is not going to ultimately destroy the Republican Party. People in this area are increasingly anti-Iraq War and yet they still came out to elect a Republican. Although the war is not an issue in state politics, surely a good deal of the anti-Republican sentiment comes from troubles overseas. Just ask all the MN House Republicans that lost their seats in 2006 if they think the war hurt them in the election.

As long as Drazkowski avoids scandal and continues the conservative voting record of Sviggum, his numbers can only go up- With very little time to prepare for the election, Drazkowski had very little time to make his case to the voters. Every one of his ads and newspaper interviews showed exceptional communication skills and let the people knew who the real Drazkowski was. With time, voters will increasingly begin to forget his baggage and recognize him for the stands he makes in St. Paul.

I just hope State Party leadership is smart enough to see this victory for what it is- a blueprint for victory for other MN House Republicans in 2008.