A well known prognosticator recently pointed out “the last time a Democrat lost a special election for a U.S. House seat, George W. Bush was still president and gas was almost $4 a gallon. It was way back on May 3, 2008 when Hillary Clinton was still battling Barack Obama tooth-and-nail for the Democratic presidential nomination.”  A Republican held that seat, so it left the balance of power the same.  “The last time a Democratic seat was lost in a House special election, George W. Bush had only been in office for five months.”

As we all know by now, the Democrat’s special election streak in the U.S. House is over.  The national Democrats’ House campaign apparatus deserted their candidate in Hawaii several weeks ago, Republican Charles Djou ran on a campaign of commonsense conservative values and the GOP won the day.

As Republicans, such news should elicit great excitement.  President Obama carried this congressional district, in the state he grew up in, with 70 percent of the vote.  However, this development is not the first sign of Republican momentum affecting the make-up of the Congress.  On a state level, Republicans have won 57 state legislative special elections since President Obama was elected in 2008.  And thirteen of those victories are seats that had been held by a Democrat.

Voters are tired of out-of-control government spending, and an overreaching Democrat-controlled Washington, DC. They are responding with their ballots by rejecting at all levels Democrats who seek to drastically expand government. A recent national survey by Resurgent Republic showed “President Obama and Democrats in Congress have seen dramatic deterioration of their public standing, driven by disaffection from Independent voters who have steadily moved toward siding with Republican policymakers on fiscal, domestic and national security policies. Today, by more than a two-to-one margin, self-identified Independents think ‘we need more Republicans in Congress to act as a check and balance on runaway Washington government that is bankrupting the country and mortgaging our children's future.’”

We are seeing this trend in the states as well. For example, in North Carolina Republican Kathy Harrington leads 2:1 over the Democrat in the race for that state’s 43rd Senate District – a seat currently held by a Democrat. According to the poll, “Unity among the Republican Party appears to be a significant factor in Harrington’s lead as 86 percent of Republicans said they will vote for her.” Unaffiliated voters are supporting Harrington by a 43-24 margin, mirroring the national findings from the Resurgent Republic survey.

There is no doubt that Democrats have seen their share of successes in the past. However, their streak has ended. The proof is in the 57 and counting state legislative special election wins for Republicans. The evidence continues to mount with the overwhelming victories in New Jersey and Virginia, and we fully expect it to continue through races like those in North Carolina and other states across the country. Republicans at all levels are united, and that unity will help bring about real positive change in this country.