Obama popularity put to the test in off-year polls

THE Republican opposition hoped to draw blood yesterday as voters went to the polls in off-year contests seen as testing US President Barack Obama’s popularity 12 months after his Democratic party swept to power.

Gubernatorial elections in New Jersey and Virginia and an intriguing battle for a New York congressional seat will not change the power balance in Washington, where Obama’s Democrats have a hefty majority.

But with midterm elections across the country next year, the three contests were being scrutinised for signs of Obama’s resilience in the face of bruising debates on the economy, healthcare reform and Afghanistan.