I tend to think that a libertarian-leaning candidate should be able to do well here, if we could only get past the “R” factor – I wonder if the GOP could support an “independent” candidate – might be worth a few points in the polls

Social issues are killer here – we’ll vote to make pot merely a civil law violation, but can’t manage to get rid of any tax/fee/toll put in place since the Coolidge administration.

That said, I do think the key to the Northeast is to re-engage the “moderates” and make the GOP a more acceptable choice. There are some who don’t realize that the society of Atlas Shrugged was meant as a distopia, not a target to shoot for; they’re largely hopeless unless we can trick them into moving to Canada. The middle, on the other hand, is somewhat susceptible to financial conservatism, considering their support for tax reducing initiatives in the past.

Conservatives will have to remember though that some in the NE may be “RINO’s” on conservative issues – It’s hard to see how a true conservative gets elected outside of a very bad year. Just remember that the other option is not a fiery conservative moving in but instead keeping a Democrat in the seat instead.