The Rundown: Democrats Take It on the Chin in Tuesday's Elections

Voters roundly rejected Democrats and “progressive” ballot initiatives favored by President Obama in local and statewide elections Tuesday. In many cases it wasn’t close, and in many cases the left failed despite a heavily Democratic local population:

— The transgender “bathroom ordinance” was flushed by voters in liberal Houston, 61 percent to 39 percent, thus “staining the city’s reputation” for tolerance, according to the mayor.

— Anti-ObamaCare and Tea Party favorite Matt Bevin easily defeated Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway (D) to become governor. Bevin is only the state’s second Republican governor in more than 40 years. The race was expected to be close, but Bevin triumphed by nearly nine points.

— In Virginia, where Democrats fought hard to turn some districts blue, the Republican Party retained control of the state Senate. With both of the state’s chambers still controlled by Republicans, Governor Terry McAuliffe will struggle to enact his left-wing agenda, which includes a push for more gun control laws, before his term is up in 2017.

— In Pennsylvania, the GOP will have a 31-19 edge in the Senate. This is the largest majority since 1954.

— Voters in heavily liberal Portland, Maine, struck down a measure to increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour. The vote was not close, at 58% to 42%.

— In Coos County, Oregon, voters authorized the sheriff to ignore federal and state gun laws that he deems unconstitutional. The Second Amendment Preservation Ordinance passed big, with 61 percent of the vote.

— In leftist capital San Francisco, the “sanctuary city”-supporting sheriff who defended the release of Kate Steinle’s killer was booted from office.

— In Ohio, voters just said no to a marijuana-legalization bill.

— The only big win for Democrats came in Pennsylvania, where they now have a majority on the state Supreme Court.

So what happened? On Twitter, Democrat strategist Donna Brazile declared that the losses were due to Democratic candidates not being sufficiently pro-Obama:

Before I rest for the night, let me explain the election results. When you run away from the President of your party, you lose. Period.

— Donna Brazile (@donnabrazile) November 4, 2015

As Carly Fiorina might say, that is quite a theory.