It would be easy to read too much into the Republican victories in Tuesday’s gubernatorial elections in Virginia and New Jersey. These off-year contests were not, as some argue, a referendum on the Obama presidency. Local issues and the merits of the candidates dominated. Equally, though, Democrats protest too much when they dismiss them. Local politics aside, Republicans did well, and Democrats have cause to be concerned.

Virginia is the more worrying result for Mr Obama and his party. True, New Jersey should have been a safe Democratic state. Mr Obama carried it with 57 per cent of the vote last year and Jon Corzine, the Democratic incumbent, vastly outspent his opponent. But Mr Corzine had made himself deeply unpopular. New Jersey will return to the Democratic fold. The party’s setback there sends a weaker signal than the Republicans’ victory in Virginia.