Some off-year elections are taking place in America on Tuesday, and polls indicate that it’s going to be a good day for candidates from the political center to the Left.  And the far right could pay dearly for extremist positions.

In New York City, a Democrat is expected to become Mayor of America’s largest city for the first time since 1989.  Bill de Blasio is currently NYC’s public advocate and holds a lead of up to 45 points over his republican rival, Joe Lhota.  De Blasio is a political progressive are a fierce critic of the police “Stop and Frisk” policy, which disproportionately targets young, minority men for random searches while doing nothing to reduce crime.  He appeals to Gothamites increasingly worried about income and wealth disparity – living in pricey Manhattan is largely off limits to the vast majority of New Yorkers.  De Blasio lives in Brooklyn, and his multicultural family looks more like the real New York.

In Virginia, the governor’s race tilts towards Terry McAuliffe, a pro-business moderate Democrat and long-term resident of former President Bill Clinton’s inner circle.  He’s buoyed by his extraordinary ability to raise money in a political system where money rules all, favoring moderate gun control, and his pro-choice stance.

It doesn’t hurt that McAuliffe’s republican opponent is viewed as a loony.  Ken Cuccinelli has tried to reinstate laws to ban oral sex (not kidding!); as the state’s chief prosecutor, he drafted letters to universities giving them permission to fire Gays and Lesbians; he denies climate science; and claims that states can disobey federal law, something that was pretty much settled with the Civil War of the 1860s (his side didn’t win).

Cuccinelli also seems to have a problem with Jews.  Over the weekend, he said his opponent McAuliffe has “brought plenty of chutzpah from New York with him.”  On its own, that might not be much.  At least he didn’t say that McAuliffe eats bagels while watching Seinfeld reruns on a kibbutz.  But it comes a few weeks after a close supporter cracked a Jewish joke at a political rally – He clearly should have known better.  And for the record, both Cuccinelli and McAuliffe are Roman Catholic.

But it’s not expected to be wall-to-wall wins for the Democrats.  In New Jersey, a state that demographically should be a Democratic stronghold, the popular republican governor Chris Christie is likely to be reelected – and with more than 50 percent of the vote, something that hasn’t happened to a New Jersey republican since Ronald Reagan was president. 

Christie upset ultra-right republicans when he worked with President Obama in getting aid to victims of Hurricane Sandy a year ago, and reportedly feuded with his party’s nominee to run against Obama last year.  His success while more extreme conservatives go down in flames might signal the republican party that it’s past time to give up the blood feud with the President, stop shutting the government, and actually come up with some ideas instead of merely opposing everything.