America votes Nov 2006:

“In many ways what’s happening … is what is going on nationally – a rejection of very polarised, conservative policies,” the director of the Institute of Governmental Studies at the University of California, Berkeley, Bruce Cain, says. “People are tired of the rancour, the failure to deal with important problems, such as immigration and Iraq. They want to give a signal they are ready for something more pragmatic and compromising.”