Summary: The New York Times reports that Republican victories in the New Jersey and Virginia gubernatorial races “put the party in a stronger position to turn back the political wave President Obama unleashed last year, setting the stage for Republicans to raise money, recruit candidates and ride the excitement of an energized base as the party heads into next year’s midterm elections.” … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on Election Day 2008 — the 17th and final day of his write-in campaign against U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann in Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District — Aubrey Immelman reissued his Statement on the Iraq War, reiterated instructions for casting a write-in ballot, and reported on ongoing violence in Iraq.