Nation contributor and Princeton professor Melissa Harris-Lacewell appears on The Rachel Maddow Show to discuss the possible outcomes in the big gubernatorial races in New Jersey and Virginia. As Maddow points out, many of today’s electoral races might tell us more about the opposition to President Obama than expected, and Harris-Lacewell points out that if either states see losses for Democrats, they will pose a crucial challenge to the White House. “I hope they are ready to spin [possible Republican victories] away from something that could be very troubling for the nation,” says Harris-Lacewell. “Most of the country won’t be voting,” declares Maddow, and she may be right–but hopefully the incumbent Democrats, John Corzine and Creigh Deeds, will benefit from this instead of vice-versa.

—Fernanda Diaz

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