Whether or not the outcome marked a repudiation of Obama's policies a year after his historic 2008 win, politicos of all stripes are already confirming the economy will be at the heart of the 2010 debate with independent voters courted from all sides.
The White House rejected claims that Obama had any part in the stinging losses for Democrats after a Republican sweep for governor posts in Virginia and New Jersey.
But it was quick to recognize the threat: if Obama rallied most independents in both states during his run for the presidency, that critical constituency opted this time for the Republican candidates.
This time, it was a surge of independent voters that lifted the Republican Party for a surge it had not seen for years.
African-American, young and first-time voters -- all constituencies that came out in force for Obama last year -- did not back his party on Tuesday.
"The goal, looking forward to 2010, when we will have in fact a broad national election for Congress, is to motivate those independent voters who voted for us last time but stayed off this time," senior White House advisor David Axelrod told Fox News.
"There was a tremendous drop off, for example, in (New) Jersey and in Virginia in participation by young voters who voted for us in very large numbers -- we need to engage our voters for 2010 and we will."
The full House of Representatives and a third of the Senate are up for election next year.
The current governor of Virginia and chairman of the Democratic National Committee, Tim Kaine, acknowledged that "we're going to have to scratch our head a little bit" to get to the bottom of the Democratic losses in states where Obama scored a victory.
He told CNN that Obama remains popular among political independents, polling at 55 percent nationwide.
Eric Cantor, the third-ranking Republican in the House of Representatives, was less puzzled by the result.
The wins, he told Fox, "indicate that when Republicans stand united, we can win, whether it's in a northern state or a southern state. And we can appeal to the independent voters."
Cantor and other top Republicans indicated they planned to use the successful New Jersey and Virginia campaigns to lay the groundwork for next year.
They plan to stress continued unemployment forecast for 2010 and record deficits under the Obama administration, while carrying high the banner of their economic policies, including tax cuts.
Democrats, meanwhile, are counting on Obama's actions, said Kaine, pointing to the president's ambitious plans to overhaul the US health care system, which have stalled in Congress for months.
Passing a health reform bill "will create a real momentum for Democrats because it will show that on an issue where there's traditionally been inertia inside the beltway, the president and Congress can work together to accomplish something that's very, very important to everyday Americans," Kaine told MSNBC television.
But for such difficult reforms to be realized, Obama's allies must overcome worries about their 2010 reelection prospects to not take fright when voting time comes to pass.
Obama will "play an active role" in the Democrats' campaigns, said White House spokesman Robert Gibbs. But the president's authority in 2010 faces many hazards -- some domestic, others on the foreign policy front, such as the increasingly violent war in Afghanistan.
Republicans trumpeted Tuesday's victories in New Jersey and Virginia as a conservative comeback.
But their "renaissance" of sorts may hinge on whether voters will remember that they had blamed these very same Republicans for causing the worst economic crisis in decades.
Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele spoke to CBS about a "transcendent party" that has "really found its voice again was able to speak to people," as he predicted big wins for his party next year.
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