Iowa Insurance

Forget the post-mortems of ideological movements, revivals or Republicans, the candidate had the most money. The legacy of Off-Off-year elections on Tuesday, maybe a little everywhere: Think small.

The questions are, finally, this week continued in the Governor elections - automobile insurance rates in New Jersey and the state tax on vehicles in Virginia - have never been spearheading the States ” of politics. The fact that the main concerns as such, after investigations Voters polls, underscores two realities on the current state of American politics: voters are relatively content, so that elections in these days, they do are not major issues such as unemployment. The space left for issues that are rarely talked about, a few months before the election to mount the head of the political discourse.

The success of the small scholarship issues is a perfect head of the strategy of President Clinton last year, the choice, when he seized a small but highly symbolic issues such as school. It also corresponds to the withdrawal of ideology in the current policy, it is one hour, if both parties are struggling for issues of definition.

”If the economy in difficulty, I do not think we are almost as these issues because they were dominant on Tuesday,’’said Vin Weber, former representative of Minnesota, a prominent conservative. ”The population is very happy at this moment, people can afford it, with these subjects.”

James S. Councillor Gilmore 3d, the Republican, was elected governor of Virginia, said she believes he won by a wide margin unexpectedly on Lieut. Dir Donald S. Beyer Jr., because he actually captured on a subject, with many powerful Virginians: he promised the elimination of the State infamous annual tax on cars and trucks.

In New Jersey, Dir adviser Christine Todd Whitman said Senator James E. Land McGreevey, his Democratic rival, came so close to moving the popular incumbent, because he is also a problem of the anger of ordinary voters: the state, auto insurance rates high.

Politicians and strategists across the country, even the Republicans and Democrats, said yesterday in interviews that if the economy of prisoners and there were no other new hot topics, hunting small hole in question could become a trademark of next year for races Congress and the Governor.

”You have the free choice of a backbone in the saddle,’’said Dir Howard Dean of Vermont, chairman of the Democratic Governors Association. ”And I think Gilmore and McGreevey has done very effectively.”

Mr. Dean said he would consult with the Democratic candidate next year, looking for issues that affect voters.

It est”en be different in different countries,”he said. ”It could be rules in Iowa pig farm, an illegal act reform of Alabama and flag Konföderierten South Carolina.”

Dir Tommy G. Thompson, Wisconsin, a Republican, has until next year election, agreed that the victory of Mr. Gilmore insbesondere”war a lesson for all Republicans.”

”You have to understand issues,”Mr. Thompson said that”they can be internalized. A family can understand that if it had to Gilmore they would be reducing their taxes on the car. People can internalize.”

Another attraction of these issues is narrower than Judaism, a populist and can be easily understood by voters. And they meet the needs of policy makers, in these days of the exercise of savings measures, not daring to propose measures of high cost.

It was very hotly contested races on issues that are not on the radar screen in Virginia and New Jersey also underscores a relative voter satisfaction with the status quo. In both countries, exit polls found, voters were satisfied with the state of the economy. And while Mrs. Whitman’s close call, the conclusion is that in New Jersey and Virginia and Staten Island is the special election for the House of Representatives, Republicans maintain the seats.

In New Jersey, has shown the exit polls, nearly nine out of 10 voters said the issue of automobile insurance was important in their choice for Governor. And Mr. McGreevey won the votes of voters in three of four, said the high cost for auto insurance was the No. 1 topic in an interview at his campaign bus the week before the election, Mrs. Whitman said: ”If this is something I could do otherwise, I will again and again, it was, as we decided to address auto insurance very beginning.